Injury Date: February, 1977
Injuries: bone degeneration due to shrapnel lodged in hip
District: Vinh Linh
Intake Date: VMP, June 2001
CPI Assistance: hip replacement surgery
Occupation: farmer

Born in 1960, Nguyen Thi Kinh grew up in the war-torn District of Trieu Phong in Quang Tri Province where, in February of 1977 she was working with 05 others in a student work party on an irrigation dyke when there was an explosion. One of the group was killed instantly, and the 2 others had minor injuries.

But Kinh was 06 months in the hospital, and had numerous surgeries to remove shrapnel from her right groin and hip area. The group leader of the student work party paid her regular visits during her convalesence. Two years later they married and together began farming in their home commune of Trieu Trach in Trieu Phong District. Their eldest of 5 children attends university, and their youngest first grade.

While Kinh had worked hard after her accident to recover fully, her mobility remained impaired. She was included in the second CPI Group Medical Assessment at Quang Tri General Hospital in December of 2001, and referred for shrapnel removal. When she was sent for treatment at Hue Central Hospital this spring, however, the doctors discovered that the fragment missed in 1977 had caused severe bone degeneration in her hip: their recommendation was a hip replacement, and CPI agreed.

After 04 months in the hospital recuperating, Kinh returned home - but not for long. Though the doctors encouraged her to wait awhile yet, she was determined not to delay her rehabilitation and has since returned to the hospital for physical therapy.