King Thanh Thai's Grandson Has Cerebral Palsy: Overcoming Adversity

Rare time to return to Hue to visit ancestors' graves

According to history books, King Thanh Thai had 19 princes, of which Nguyen Phuoc Vinh Giu was the 7th prince, living in Can Tho . This prince had 7 children including 6 boys and 1 girl; of which Nguyen Phuoc Bao Tai (1964-2020) was the youngest son.

Among the seven children of Prince Nguyen Phuoc Vinh Giu, the youngest son Nguyen Phuoc Bao Tai's situation was the most unfortunate. After marrying Mrs. Nguyen Bich Thuy, the couple gave birth to Nguyen Phuoc Thanh Tuyen, but unfortunately, their daughter was born with congenital cerebral palsy.

Cháu vua Thành Thái bị bại não: Con của vị hoàng tôn ...xấu số - Ảnh 1. — Not giving up on fate, Nguyen Phuoc Thanh Tuyen asked his mother to help him sell lottery tickets to make a living.

Mrs. Thuy said that when she was young, she worked as a restaurant assistant, while Mr. Tai drove a motorbike taxi. During lunch breaks, he often stopped by the restaurant, so they got to know each other. It was their similar tolerance for hardship and hard work that made them fall in love, and they decided to get married, even though there was no lavish wedding.

"Mr. Tai kept the fact that he was the grandson of King Thanh Thai a secret. It wasn't until I returned to my in-laws' house that I learned that his family was related by blood to the king," Ms. Thuy recalled.

Cháu vua Thành Thái bị bại não: Con của vị hoàng tôn ...xấu số - Ảnh 2. — The couple knows that the possibility of improving their child's intelligence is very low, but they always hope that Tuyen will become stronger and be able to walk on her own two feet.

Around 2005, when he moved out, Prince Vinh Giu gave Mr. Tai 20 million VND to start a business. However, this money quickly ran out when his daughter Nguyen Phuoc Thanh Tuyen was born. The days of inviting herbalists and taking their daughter to doctors pushed Mr. Tai and his wife into poverty. Mrs. Thuy confided: "My husband and I still believed that our daughter could be cured, so we were determined not to give up. I sold lottery tickets, my husband drove a motorbike taxi to earn money to pay for our daughter's treatment...".

Seeing that treatment in Can Tho was not working, Ms. Thuy and her husband took their child to Ho Chi Minh City so that Tuyen could both go to school and do physical therapy. During this time, Mr. Tai worked as a construction worker (sometimes driving a motorbike taxi), Ms. Thuy worked as a janitor. The income was not much but enough to eat and cover Tuyen's medical expenses.

Cháu vua Thành Thái bị bại não: Con của vị hoàng tôn ...xấu số - Ảnh 3. — Tuyen always tries to practice to learn how to ride a bike (donated by a benefactor)

Mrs. Thuy said that the glorious past of the family is gone, thinking about it is a source of pride. Understanding that "things change", the couple lives for their daughter, for the present and for the future, so they do not expect any blessings other than their own labor and determination.

But there was a very meaningful event in 2016, with the support of the Hue Monuments Conservation Center, the whole family had the opportunity to return to the ancient capital to attend the death anniversary of his grandfather (King Thanh Thai) and some kings of the Nguyen Dynasty. That was a rare occasion for Mr. Tai to visit his ancestors' graves, offer incense to his grandfather's grave, his father's grave (Prince Vinh Giu) and meet relatives in the Nguyen Phuoc clan.

"Even though Tuyen is not like other people, I will teach her to remember the source of water she drinks."

In the name Nguyen Phuoc Bao Tai, the middle name "Bao" is taken from the poem "De he thi" compiled by King Minh Mang, consisting of 20 words, used as the middle name for each generation from King Minh Mang onwards.

Despite being given a royal name with many expectations, Mr. Tai was somewhat unlucky. In 2020, he fell seriously ill and spent the last 3 months of his life battling many illnesses. At that time, Mrs. Thuy was in an unprecedented crisis, because the money to take care of her children and her husband was too much to bear. She had to go to work, go to the hospital to take care of her husband, and then go home to take care of her children.

Cháu vua Thành Thái bị bại não: Con của vị hoàng tôn ...xấu số - Ảnh 4. — Her husband passed away, leaving Ms. Thuy alone to raise her children.

Mrs. Thuy remembers that when Mr. Vinh Giu was in the hospital, he named his granddaughter Nguyen Phuoc Thanh Tuyen. Although Tuyen was not like everyone else, her father loved her very much and compensated her with everything he could. "During the time we were staying in Binh Tan District (old), to save money, we rented a room on the 3rd floor. Every day, Mr. Tai carried Tuyen up and down the stairs, which was very hard. But to give her space to play, no matter how tired he was on the way home, he would take advantage of it," Mrs. Thuy sadly recalled.

Despite going to many hospitals, Mr. Tai still did not survive (he died at the age of 57). After taking her husband back to his hometown for burial, Ms. Thuy went back to Ho Chi Minh City a few more times and then took Tuyen home for convenience. She confided: "In the city, there are only two of us, mother and child. After taking care of Tuyen, I locked the door of the rented room and locked her up. Back in the hometown, there are a few of Tuyen's aunts and cousins living nearby. When I go to work, I feel more secure."

Cháu vua Thành Thái bị bại não: Con của vị hoàng tôn ...xấu số - Ảnh 5. — Mrs. Thuy helps sell food to make ends meet.

Currently, Ms. Thuy works as a sales assistant at a restaurant with a salary of over 4 million VND/month. Tuyen also receives social security benefits. However, because she wants to help her mother, for over a month now, Tuyen has been helping her mother sell lottery tickets at the restaurant, selling about 100 tickets a day. Early in the morning, the mother and daughter take a motorbike taxi to work, sell all the lottery tickets and then return home.

"Before, I married Tai because I loved his gentle, honest, and hard-working nature. Even though he was not blessed, I could not let down my ancestors and family because of that. After my husband passed away, I tried to take care of my daughter for him. Even though Tuyen is not like other people, I will teach my daughter to remember her roots when drinking water," said Ms. Thuy.

Mrs. Thuy confided: "Mr. Tai is the youngest son, so he took on the responsibility of worshiping his parents. When he passed away, my mother and I continued that worship. On my father-in-law's death anniversary, I prepared a few trays of offerings, but not according to the tradition of the people of the South, but often with Western dishes that my father liked to eat such as fried potatoes with milk, beef cutlets, pork floss, cheese. The ancestral altar is always where I put my faith and pray for my dreams...". Talking about her father-in-law, she added that, despite his difficult life, Mr. Vinh Giu still maintained the demeanor of a prince with an elegant lifestyle, especially eating in the Western style, liking to use knives and forks in daily meals.

Not only on the anniversary, normally, Mrs. Thuy also often tells Tuyen stories about her paternal lineage. Thanks to that, the girl, despite having cerebral palsy, still knows many things about her roots. "I used to worry a lot because I knew that I could not live with Tuyen forever. How would she manage, whether she would still burn incense and pay respect to her ancestors... But luckily, until now, Tuyen still knows and remembers her grandfather, grandmother, and father. Every time the anniversary is near, she always reminds me to prepare," Mrs. Thuy shared.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chau-vua-thanh-thai-bi-bai-nao-con-cua-vi-hoang-ton-van-so-185250803113031168.htm