The Story of Thongsy

A few years ago, a father rushed his newborn infant to Lao Friends Hospital for Children after doctors at a provincial hospital had pronounced the baby dead.

Airnoy Thongsy was born 12 weeks premature to a critically ill mother at the region’s Provincial Hospital. She was so tiny that she had an apnea, a suspension of breathing, which prompted the doctors there to pronounce her dead.

Stunned by the conditions of his wife and infant daughter, the father stared down at the newborn and noticed his baby gasp for air. She was still breathing!

He immediately brought her to LFHC’s Neonatal Unit where the medical team put her on a ventilator and closely monitored her vitals.

We heard a few days later that the mother had died and the father went back to his village without any word to the LFHC staff.

There was talk that Airnoy Thongsy would be put up for adoption and months went by without any contact from the family. The Outreach team called the village and spoke with the father but he refused to come see the baby as relatives believed the baby caused the mother’s death and was therefore bad luck.

The Outreach team persisted. They continued to call the father and after weeks of persuasion he finally agreed to see his daughter. When he saw the infant, he was almost in tears and cradled her with gazing eyes. He admitted he did not have the courage to see his baby because he was still in shock after losing his wife and believed he would not be a good father. But after holding her in his arms, he vowed to return to take her home when she was strong enough.

The father was so grateful to the Outreach team that he decided to name his daughter Kazu Thongsy, after Kazumi Akao LFHC’s Outreach Coordinator.

LFHC not only cares for the patient but also looks out for the welfare of the family. Through acts like these, LFHC continues to provide compassionate care for patients and their families.

Today, Kazu Thongsy is a happy and active 3-year-old. Her widowed father is a schoolteacher and relies on his extended family to care for his daughter while he is away at school.

She receives lots of love and affection from her large family, especially her grandmother and uncle. She plays happily with all the other village children, sharing the few toys she has.