Man saves lives by providing free oxygen for COVID-19 patients in Ho Chi Minh City
Wednesday, August 18, 2021, 10:36 GMT+7
Hundreds of oxygen cylinders that have been supplied free of charge for the last two months by Huynh Quang Nhat Long, 45, have saved many lives during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Ho Chi Minh City.
Long, a 45-year-old resident in Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City, cannot remember how many kilometers he has driven over the past two months delivering free oxygen cylinders to the critical COVID-19 patients in the city.
“Hi! Are you Long? Please save my mother!” a woman sobbed over the phone one day.
“Be calm! Tell me what happened!” he comforted the worried woman.
The woman told him she lived in District 8, which is about 10 kilometers from Tan Phu.
According to the woman, her mother’s SpO2 level was just 74 percent then and she was breathing hard.
A healthy person should be able to achieve normal blood oxygen saturation levels (SpO2) of 94 to 99 percent consistently.
Medical advice says that when SpO2 falls below 92 for two hours in a row, the patient starts to suffer respiratory failure and should be rushed to the hospital for emergency care.
Jotting down the caller’s address, Long transferred an oxygen cylinder to her home right away.
Many patients now rely on such oxygen supply at home, waiting for medical help when city hospitals are overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases, as Ho Chi Minh City has accounted for over 156,000 out of Vietnam's 290,000 infections recorded since April 27.
He continued getting so many phone calls on the way that day. There were other patients who needed his oxygen support from District 8, Binh Chanh District, and Hoc Mon District.
There is so much demand for oxygen that Long does not have enough time to eat. He just takes along with him some cakes and milk cartons in the car in case he feels hungry during the day.
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| Huynh Quang Nhat Long carries medicines for COVID-19 patients in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Duyen Phan / Tuoi Tre |
Long began giving oxygen cylinders for nothing after an unforgettable experience in a makeshift hospital that treats COVID-19 patients in Thu Duc City.
“As my friend works at the makeshift hospital, I came there to donate medical equipment at that time,” recalled Long.
“I felt shocked to find that the hospital was overwhelmed then with so many patients without beds and some of them lying on the floor."
After being asked to help supply oxygen cylinders by the makeshift hospital, Long thought he should seek out ways to donate more to COVID-19 patients.
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| Huynh Quang Nhat Long eats a piece of cake in his car while taking a phone call on a trip delivering oxygen cylinders to COVID-19 patients in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Duyen Phan / Tuoi Tre |
No time to eat
He helped some of his friends in the beginning days by sharing the information on Facebook. Over time, many more people learned about what he has done, and they reached out to him offering donations.
From 40-50 oxygen cylinders delivered each day for free at first, he now provides 100-300 for free daily given increasing demand.
As an only child, Long understands his parents' worry about what he does.
His wife also worries about the danger of COVID-19 exposure during her husband’s volunteer work.
He tries his best to assure his family members that he will be safe by actively taking enough measures to protect himself.
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| Some oxygen cylinders are stored in a warehouse from which Huynh Quang Nhat Long transfers them to anywhere in Ho Chi Minh City whenever he receives calls for help during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: Duyen Phan / Tuoi Tre |
When starting the volunteering mission, Long and his friends bought oxygen cylinders out of their own pockets and gave them to patients for nothing.
After a while, however, some people donated money to ask them to buy oxygen on their behalf.
“I don’t call for financial contributions as I am not familiar with that,” acknowledged Long.
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| Huynh Quang Nhat Long wears a pair of surgical gloves to protect himself before driving his car carrying free oxygen cylinders to COVID-19 patients in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Duyen Phan / Tuoi Tre |
“The more donors, the more oxygen cylinders that can be delivered to patients," said the man.
"If there is no donation, I will still buy oxygen on my own.
"In fact, I buy them on my own mostly.”
As for Long, looking at many critical patients that passed away due to COVID-19 in person made him unable to sit still.
“Money is not so important at that last moment,” he said.
“What's challenging is the limited sources of oxygen.
"Apart from that, many patients borrowed oxygen cylinders without returning them, so we could not help others."
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| Huynh Quang Nhat Long shares some heart-warming messages from a man whose mother died from COVID-19 who wants to ask Long to donate a little money to help others. Photo: Duyen Phan / Tuoi Tre News |
Sometimes coronavirus patients could not wait for him and surrendered to their destiny.
Long turned his vehicle around with deep regret. He wished he could have come in time to be able to save them.
Despite considering what he is doing as a drop in the ocean, Long has done his utmost to help everyone.
“They call because they need me,” he said.
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