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House Hansard - 47

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 28, 2022 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 47 - Mar/28/22
Mr. Kevin Vuong (Spadina—Fort York, Ind.)
  • Mar/28/22 2:00:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a short time ago, it was Rare Disease Day. I want to bring scleroderma, also called systemic sclerosis, to the attention of the House. This rare autoimmune disease impacts over 40,000 Canadians. One of those people was Ngoc Bé Huỳnh. She was studying to become a doctor before war broke out in her country. She evaded Communist soldiers, she fought off pirates, and she survived two years in a refugee camp before being welcomed to this country. She was grateful to be here, but it was not easy. She did not speak English or French, but her indomitable spirit was not going to let her fail. She learned English. She went to college and she retrained as an electrical assembly worker, becoming the first in her factory to be a female line worker. Ngoc Bé Huỳnh was her name. Others knew her as Belinda Vuong. I simply knew her as mom. We do not know much about scleroderma. We know it predominantly affects women and that it relentlessly attacks the body. Life expectancy is three to 15 years. My mom lived with it for over 18 years. She passed away this morning after her courageous battle. To my mom, who raised me to stand in my truth, to focus on doing right and to help as many people as I can: [Member spoke in Vietnamese]. [English] I thank my mom. I love my mom. I will miss my mom.
248 words
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