All the hospital staff were determined to save him but General Giap passed away due to old age, according to a senior official of the Central Committee for the Protection and Care.
> Photos of Gen. Giap on Ho Chi Minh Trail published for first time >> State funeral for legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap” />>> Photos of Gen. Giap on Ho Chi Minh Trail published for first time >> State funeral for legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap
“During the three last days of his life, a medical council came to visit him once per day. Before that, they diagnosed him every two or three weeks because he had been in better health conditions then” – the official said, adding that General Giap had no serious illness during his time at the hospital.
“Though he was in critical situations many times, he still overcame them. Sometimes his heath was good sometimes bad but it is not unusual for an old person” – doctor Vu Phi Hai at the 108 Military Central Hospital said with watery eyes.
A 37-strong medical team including doctors and nurses at the A11 faculty at the said hospital has a strong attachment to General Giap during his 1,559 days of treatment there.
All employees at the hospital consider General Giap a relative of theirs. Dr. Vu Phi Hai, deputy head of the A11 faculty, said: “At first, he was a patient. But after regular contacts with him, he was close to us as our grandfather”.
“He often asked for news of families and children of those who took care of him. He also liked to talk about trees and flowers because there was an orchid garden in his home. He also told them about his grandchildren”, Dr. Hai added.
Also, General Giap loved to read the newspaper to get updated news in and outside Vietnam. “As he could not read because of poor eyesight, nurses at the hospital read out loud for him” – said nurse Le Thi Kim Nhung at the A11 faculty.
According to Nhung, General Giap was able to remember the names of doctors, nurses, and chefs who contacted him at the hospital.
Since early this year, General Giap’s health condition turned worse but he was still able to listen to stories told by the nurses and followed all treatment and nutritional requirements.
“There were something he did not like but they were requirements by the doctors and he fully followed them”, Dr. Hai said.
When he was dying on the afternoon of October 4, all relatives of his and the hospital staff stood by his side. “At that moment, everyone acknowledged that his time would come, there were tears in their eyes. Even by now, I still don’t believe he died” – said Tran Ngọc Lan, one of two chefs at the hospital, in tears.
Now, people at the hospital will no longer have a chance to come to a room on the second floor where General Giap was treated to call “My grandfather”.
| Hanoi to name street after Gen. Giap Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, deputy chairwoman of Hanoi’s People’s Committee, told Tuoi Tre on Oct. 5 that they will do research to name a new street after General Vo Nguyen Giap as soon as they receive proposals from higher authorities. Ngoc said the committee has yet to receive an official proposal regarding this case. “Since General Giap has made significant contributions to the country, we will do research soon after we receive a proposal”, she said. “Even without the proposal, we will still conduct a research to select a major street in the capital to name after him. We will do it seriously” – Ngoc concluded. |
Đăng ký: VietNam News
