Ty is a thirty-four-year-old woman with a beautiful smile. We treated her on a recent visit to Phan Rang in Vietnam. Ty’s hometown is Tân An City in the Mekong Delta region of the country. It’s quite far from Phan Rang, so Ty spent more than 7 hours on the bus to reach the hospital.
Though her smile is beautiful, Ty’s face is badly scarred. Two years ago, a vindictive boyfriend threw acid on her because she refused to marry him. The act destroyed Ty’s life as she knew it. Though her attacker is in prison, he was sentenced to just 5 years for this act.
Before the accident, Ty had a good job in a textile factory. She earned about $135 per month, or $0.84 per hour. After her injury, her employer would not retain her, telling her that her appearance made her unemployable. She now works picking fruit, earning just $0.67 per day. Most heartbreaking of all, though she receives support from her brother and aging mother, Ty is unable to earn enough to care for her 10-year-old son, who now has to live with his father.
In addition to her disfiguring facial and neck scars, Ty had not received sufficient post-burn care, so the skin on her right arm tightened, locking her elbow into a bent position. ReSurge performed two procedures on Ty, releasing her right arm so she can straighten it, and releasing the scars on her neck to improve the mobility of her head and neck.
Ty’s dream is to return to the workforce in a job that provides enough income so she can care for herself and her young son. She calls ReSurge her “second parents” for setting her on a path to a new life.
