Advertisement
Three years ago, 28-year-old Tran Thi Yen Nhung began complaining of pain inside her nose. It persisted, and even though she went to the doctors many times for a diagnosis, they kept sending her home, saying it was just sinusitis.
Over the years, her family spent almost $225,000 (about 500 million VND) on doctors’ visits and prospective cures. The final procedure Nhung attempted to rid her pain was surgery – but the procedure only ended up making Nhung’s condition even worse.
Back when Nhung was just 24 years old, before her nasal pain began, she’d wanted to become an actress and later, start a family.
Now, none of Nhung’s dreams can come to be because she tragically passed away on December 27, 2016.
Her family is absolutely heartbroken.
“Seeing Nhung in so much pain was heartbreaking,” said Nhung’s aunt, Tran Van Hong. “She never stopped hurting. But she was kind and begged for her family not to spend more money on her treatment. She said she was okay, she wished not for us to cry.”
The family spent all of their savings and even borrowed many loans to pay for medical bills. Every single treatment, medical and alternative, had been considered and attempted. But none of them worked.
During that final surgery, doctors had tried to remove parts of Nhung’s infected flesh. They had discovered, at that point, that she had actually contracted a severe sinus infection.
Doctors wanted to remove her infected flesh in hopes of allowing her body to heal, but over the course of the next year, the removed flesh only allowed flies to enter Nhung’s nasal system and infest her body. They had all but destroyed her nose, mouth, and entire face.
Nhung relied completely on the support of her family. Her parents spoon-fed her and her family constantly brought her to local temples, in hopes that the prayers of monks and nuns would help improve her condition.
In the end, Nhung passed away from her infection.
Doctors are at a loss as to how Nhung’s infection got to be so bad. Generally, sinus infections heal within a couple weeks after developing, but in other cases, the infection can spread to the brain in the form of meningitis.
Nhung’s condition, however, doesn’t align with anything doctors ever expected.
“The disease is different in different parts of the world. In the third world, the difference in medicine, climate and medical care are much different,” said one of Nhung’s doctors.
“There are also other diseases that look alike and feel alike sinusitis or rare tumours that doctors are less likely to notice. In less developed countries sinus infections can be deadly but is very rare in the west.”
In any case, our hearts go out to Nhung’s family and anyone affected by her death.
You can watch a video of her here, before her death. Warning: The content might be graphic for some viewers.
