Anna Journey To Live
https://give.asia/campaign/anna-journey-to-live#/
My name is Do Hanh An. About a year ago, I was just a 18 year old who spends her free time volunteering & singing with music bands to raise money for charity. My life was full of unlimited possibilities. At school, I was head student for the Art subject, and I absolutely adore painting. I was determined to go to an Art school for college. I’ve lived such an exciting life, but it only took 3 days of having symptoms like extreme headache and gum bleeding - 3 days - and all my hopes and dreams shattered into pieces.
My world came crashing down the day I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), which is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes abnormal myeloblasts (a type of white blood cell), red blood cells, or platelets. Adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. This type of cancer usually gets worse quickly if it is not treated..
But it wasn’t only me that took the hit. I had to watch my the people that I love most - my family - took the hit too. All my life, my father was the strongest, bravest man I’ve ever known, but on that day, his eyes were painfully red, but he still smiled at me, and with the warmest look, he told me that everything was going to be just fine. Just like that, I wasn’t just a 18 year old anymore. I unwillingly had to put on my armor, and be a soldier fighting for my own life, but I was assured that along this vicious journey against cancer, my family, my dad will be there holding my hand every step of the way.
After a month of treatment in Vietnam, my body did not respond to the treatment at all. My mother could only cry. Dad was like our pillar of rock, he kept us calm and at peace by teaching me to meditate. I remembered him saying “Be like water, if you block one side, it takes the other turn to continue its journey. So don’t stop your journey with one failure. Obstacles will only make us braver and hold on to each other even tighter”. After days of research, my father decided that we seek a different treatment in a more developed country. In preparation to for this, my father had to sell a fair amount of our family’s properties. I knew that it was extremely hard, especially for a workaholic like my father to have left behind his job to be by my side on the path we called “Singapore - Journey back to life”. On October 6, 2017, we arrived at Singapore and met with Dr. Yvonne Loh at Raffles Hospital.
After seven months of fighting undauntedly like warriors, we cried in joy receiving the result that my bone marrow transplant was a success. We said goodbye to our doctors and nurses in Singapore to reunite with our family in Vietnam. We were beyond thankful and delighted.
Me and my father arrived in Vietnam on April 26th, 2018, but who would have thought that such happiness could be so short-lived. After only 4 months of being back home, my cancer relapsed. The cancer cells invaded 25% of my bone marrow, and my doctor said I that need to be back at Singapore for a newer therapy. I painfully relived the moment of my first diagnosis, watched my father, our rock still encouraging my mother and other family members that were in tears that we’ve made it once, we will make it the second time. i was drowned in depression, not only because I’ve relapsed, but because I was worried about my family. My cancer has pushed my family into multiple difficulties, making not only me but my brother, my little sister, my mother, and mostly my father to suffer, and I couldn’t do anything to help. With all of my family’s sacrifices, I felt like a burden.
In desperation, I came up with this insane idea of not receiving treatment anymore, but my dad told me: “With every breath out you blow challenges and fear away, with every breath in you keep faith and courage closer. Keep your faith strong and our family will be happy like before. Come to Singapore with me, I will take care of the rest”.
My father was still positive despite any obstacles. He remained strong and still kept that gentle smile on his face every step of the way. But I knew behind that smile, there were too many worries, and he had too few things left to sell.
It pains me to see my dad bearing such a huge burden financially and emotionally for my illness, and I refuse to do nothing about it. From the very first day, he has called it “Singapore – Journey back to life”. Please give me strength to continue on this journey to fight for my life. I’m kindly asking for your help, your donation would bring tremendous relief in this dark time in our life. Please support me so that I can help share my dad’s burden, and maybe someday see his real smile when I’m finally alright again.
The complete treatment is estimated to be around $270,000 but we’re only asking for $100,000 which we are short of, and we hope all you kind donors can help us to get through.
Thank you for your kindness!