To me, Hanoi is always beautiful. It is the place where I chose to invest my dream in – the dream of a 22-year-old girl.
My parents gave me a modest height of 156 cm, I dreamt of one day getting my height increased. About 4 years ago I happened to find a program on VTV2 about limb lengthening surgery in the US. The cost for the surgery was not cheap at all. I was very excited, every day I motivated myself to try to earn enough money to fulfill my dream.
Last March, I read an article about the record of the longest length increased, which was 10cm, in Vietnam made by Assoc. Prof. Doan. Only then did I know that this type of surgery existed in Vietnam. I was excited to think about one day when I woke up with my height increased by 10cm, no one would be able to criticize me as the “pepper girl” anymore. With that thought in mind, I immediately called the doctor who performed the surgery to ask for advice. Unlike what I still thought, I would not be able to get my ideal height just after one surgery. In order to achieve that goal, I must go through at least 3 surgeries, facing a lot of pain and risks as well as going through perseverant treatment process and prolonged rehabilitation exercise. After the first surgery, I will have to stay in the hospital for 10 to 14 days, then I will be discharged to adjust from home every day. It will take abou 3-4 months to get the required length. That means I will have lie down and use a wheelchair during that long time before going to the second surgery. After that I will start exercising to be able to walk again soon. After about 18 months, the third surgery will be performed to remove the bone fixing device. When the bone is finally healed and becomes strong, I can return to my normal life and even play sports.
At this point, perhaps most of you will advise me not to take risks, but for me, I must definitely follow this long-cherished dream of mine. If someone has done it, I can definitely do it as well.
I was born and raised in the martial arts land of Binh Dinh. I am currently working for a company outside of Saigon. About a month ago, I flew to Hanoi to meet Assoc. Prof. Doan in person. After examining me, the doctor shook his head and decided not perform surgery on my legs because my bone structure was smaller than usual and could not take intramedullary nails for my legs to get lengthened. I cried a lot. Perhaps all hope are gone for me. Returning home, I was really depressed and didn’t want to do anything anymore. I locked myself in my room all day to cry. In my mind, there was only the thought of getting my legs lengthened.
I burst into tears of joy when Assoc. Prof. Doan called to inform me that there were two small people like me who had surgery to have their legs lengthened without the need of intramedullary nails. He had changed the method and would be able to perform the surgery for me. I was so excited that I quickly booked a plane ticket to Hanoi.
That was just the beginning, folks. I am actually not a strong girl. In order to realize my dream I also needed support. In the past, I have suggested this surgery to my mother many times, but she always rejected the idea and told me to stop thinking about it. She asked me if I was crazy. I was whole. Why would I want to break my legs and then fix them. I would lose a lot, including my years of life. I had never dared to talk about this with my father, because he was difficult. I also had great support from my boyfriend who encouraged me to do it. He promised that if there was an accident, he would take care of me (I doubt it (^_^)).
I planned on hiding it from my parents until my plan was complete, I told them that I was off to Saigon for work. The night before I left, my mother could roughly guess what I was about to do. She told me, her eyes filled with tears, that if something bad happened to me, she could not live anymore. Knowing that I could not hide it anymore, I told my mother everything. My mother was really shocked. I quickly hugged her and burst into tears. “Please support me and let me fulfill my dream, mom. I have found a reputable hospital and a top specialist. You can rest assured that I will come back healthy to be with you again.” My mother also cried, “Staying there all by yourself, you have to be careful, okay? Me and your father will wait for your return.”
To fulfill my dream, I had to accumulate wealth, found a caregiver to take care of me during the 3-4 months after the first surgery was performed when I would not be able to walk. I was certain that I would have to celebrate Tet alone in Hanoi and suffer the freezing cold of the winter in Northern Vietnam.
My journey began…
Stay tuned for the next part guys. Here are some of the pictures of my surgery.
Source: Examination and surgery on demand – 108 Military Central Hospital