Source: www.straitstimes.com
Baby savaged by wild animal captures Vietnamese hearts - again
<!-- headline one : end --> <!-- more than 7 paragraphs
--> <!-- story content : start --> HANOI - VIETNAMESE
toddler Phung Thien Nhan, not yet two years old, is a born survivor
whose horrific story and cheeky smile have touched hearts and drawn
offers of support from across the nation.
Many people here remember reading about Nhan in newspapers back
in 2006 after he was abandoned after birth by his teenage mother in
a remote and poor central mountain area.
Dumped outside the family shack and left to die, hidden under
papaya leaves and bamboo, the newborn was mauled by a wild animal,
most likely a dog, that chewed off his right leg and badly savaged
his groin.
Villagers found the boy, his pale and bloodied body crawling
with ants.
By the time he was taken by motorcycle to the nearest hospital,
72 hours had passed and yet, miraculously, the child survived.
Hospital staff amputated his leg at the hip and stabilised his
condition, and visiting Buddhist monks named him Thien Nhan or
'good person.'
<!-- show media links starting at 7th para --> After two
months local authorities, inexplicably, sent him back to his
family, into the care of his grandparents.
The case disappeared from the news. Many people presumed the boy
had died.
But Tran Mai Anh, a 35-year-old Hanoi journalist, couldn't stop
thinking about Nhan, tormented at night by visions of what had
become of him.
Her worst fears would turn out to be true.
When, after months of research, she tracked him down in December
in his family hut, he was badly neglected, dirty, anaemic and
suffering diarrhoea.
She took him to a medical centre and, a month ago, adopted him,
together with her husband and fellow journalist Phung Quang
Nghinh.
They took him back to Hanoi, where Nhan was treated for free at
the French-Vietnamese hospital.
VietCot, a German-funded charity, hand-crafted a prosthetic leg,
urgently needed to stop further damage to Nhan's body - the first
of many that he will need as he grows.
His adoptive parents have contacted international hospitals
about the plastic surgery and hormone therapy Nhan will need to
lead a normal life.
News quickly spread in the media, on Internet forums and in
offices.
Many hundreds emailed and visited the family house in Hanoi's
Old Quarter, bringing toys, baby clothes and their own children to
play with Nhan.
'Many people came just to have a look because they couldn't
believe he was alive,' said Mai Anh. 'Everyone is offering to help.
I didn't know there are so many good people.
'One old woman from the countryside came and insisted on giving
us the little money she could spare. She wanted to see Nhan before
her eye operation, in case something happened and she couldn't see
him afterwards.'
Friends set up an online diary at http://www.help-thien-nhan.blogspot.com and an
account for donations to help cover the child's surgery and therapy
bills, expected to run into the tens of thousands of dollars.
At first Nhan hid in corners, cried and only slept sitting
up.
'He ate bananas and cold rice, that's all he knew,' said Mai
Anh. 'He didn't know what toys were, they were meaningless to him.
We put him in front of the TV, but it seemed like the television
set was invisible to him.'
After a month with his new family, Nhan was cheerfully greeting
visitors this week, playing with toys, and swaying on his new leg
to the tune of his new big brother Minh, 8, playing the piano.
'His emotions still change, but he's so much happier,' said Mai
Anh. 'Now he eats everything,' she added with mock exasperation.
'He's getting fat!' -- AFP
=> 真是不可思议的因缘