Dying mom stranded overseas
Husband trying to raise funds to bring mother of three home
Cheryl Chan, The Province
Published: Friday, October 19, 2007

The husband of a dying mother of three who is stranded in a hospital in Vietnam is desperately trying to bring her back to Canada.

"If she comes back, I know she'll die, too," said Johnny Huynh, 43. "But at least she'll die with family."

His wife, Chinh Ngo, 39, was diagnosed in August last year with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, a fatal, progressive illness caused by the degeneration of nerve cells.



She wanted to go to Vietnam to say goodbye to her family before she died," said Johnny.

With her doctor's permission, the Victoria couple and their three kids -- Eric, 10, Evan, 7, and Ethan, 6 -- travelled to Cantho, Vietnam, in April. But the long flight took its toll on Chinh, who was rushed to the emergency room on arrival. She has been in intensive care since.

The family stayed with her until early September, when the boys had to go back to school. Now Johnny is trying to bring his wife home.

A medical evacuation costs about $57,000. "I'm dead broke," said Johnny. "I've used up all my savings and personal line of credit. I've had to borrow money from friends to get by the last eight months."

A wedding photographer, he sold his camera equipment to help pay for the $110 daily cost of care in Vietnam.

Every day at 4 a.m., Johnny calls his sister-in-law at the hospital and she props the cellphone against his wife's ear.

Chinh, who is hooked on a ventilator, cannot speak so Johnny does the talking.

Yesterday, he told her about Ethan, who turned six on Wednesday, and his simple birthday party.

"His birthday wish was that his mom gets better," Johnny said.

Her breath tells him how she feels: normal breathing means she is doing OK; quicker, shallower breaths mean she's feeling tired.

Chinh is almost completely paralyzed now. Doctors estimate she has about a year to live.

Erin Bernard, the director of the hairdressing school where Ngo was a student, remembers her as diligent and family oriented. "Those boys are everything to her. It's horrifying to think they're here and she's left there."

The situation is "very tragic," said Debra McPherson of the B.C. Nurses Union, which is helping to raise awareness of the family's plight. To be "stranded thousands of miles away from her family with the potential she'd die there without seeing them again -- to me, it felt wrong," she said.

Huynh is coming to Vancouver today to appeal for help.

Fundraising efforts on Vancouver Island have raised about $22,000. "The road to my wife coming back to Canada is getting closer," said the exhausted dad. "But we still need help.

"Even dead or alive, I will want to take her back here. Canada is her homeland."

Donations can be made at Coast Capital Savings Credit Union.

chchan@png.canwest.com

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/ne...0-443e1bca6c1b