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Tran Nguyen Quoc Huy remains motionless, his body tangled in a web of medical tubing, but at the sound of her murmur, his eyelids flicker, a faint, deliberate blink.
It would be easy to think they have been together for decades and he is nearing the end of his life. But no, he is 22 and she is 21.
Thao, a university student in An Giang Province, gently massages his hands and body, filling the silence with stories about her day at school.
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Thao cares for her bedridden boyfriend in the hospital while talking to him, November 2025. Photo courtesy of Thao |
She has no doubt whatsoever. That as long as she keeps talking he will keep listening, and will one day answer. Their story began four years ago as high school sweethearts.
In the privacy of their romance, they would call one another "Turtle" and "Rabbit." Their love was gentle, anchored by a promise to build a home together the moment Thao graduated from university.
Gentle and hardworking Huy had a job in sales, determined to save for their future. "After getting his very first pay check he told his older sister that he was saving it all to take care of 'Baby Rabbit,'" Thao recalls with a bittersweet smile.
But tragedy struck one June afternoon in 2025. Huy suddenly had violent convulsions, began vomiting and slipped into a coma.
Later that night an ambulance rushing the young man from An Giang to the S.I.S Can Tho International General Hospital. The diagnosis was devastating: a critical cerebral hemorrhage requiring urgent surgery.
The surgery saved Huy’s life, but the aftermath was cruel: He was left in a vegetative state faced with a harrowing road to recovery that could span years.
His family finances, reliant on his father’s wage as a hired laborer was quickly exhausted. The debts for his treatment have mounted to nearly VND400 million ($15,000), a crushing sum for them.
Unable to bear the sight of her boyfriend lying there without proper medication, Thao made a choice, deciding to start selling goods on livestreams to make ends meet in addition to her studies and bedside vigil.
Every night, after cleaning Huy and feeding him, the young woman sits before her phone screen until midnight, pitching snacks and cosmetics to strangers.
Some nights she gets only one or two orders and on others manages over a dozen. "On many days I am exhausted. But when I remember how forgiving and protective he was of me during the last four years, and how he stayed by my side when my mother was seriously ill, I don't allow myself to slump," Thao says.
Her motivation comes from Huy’s microscopic daily victories. Now, whenever he hears her voice, he fights to blink in response. "When he eats, he often coughs or chokes, but when I remind him, he tries so hard to control it," Thao says.
The heartbreaking beauty of their romance has rippled across social media, garnering enormous sympathy and appreciation. Strangers have rallied to support Thao, helping her establish a steady customer base.
Along with Huy’s brothers, she is working to build a stable sales channel to fund his long-term treatment.
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Thao and her boyfriend before his illness, early 2025. Photo courtesy of Thao |
Tran Thi Hanh, 48, his mother, says she is not surprised by the depth of Thao’s affection for her son. "The girl is young, but mature and deeply understanding. Watching her go to school, run over to care for him, and scrape together every odd penny to help our family, I feel both immense love and pity for her."
Thao’s family too understands the gravity of the situation, and only gently remind her to take care of her own health for the long, arduous journey ahead.
Five months have passed. While doctors cannot predict when, or even if, Huy will fully wake up, positive signs have begun to emerge.
"Even if he comes back not as whole as before, I will be by his side," the 21-year-old says, gripping his gaunt hand tight. "I believe my love is big enough to wake my ‘Turtle' up."
