A Life of Dedication and Impact
Every morning, Virginia Mary Lockett begins her day with a nine-kilometer journey to the Da Nang Hospital of Traditional Medicine. At 73 years old, she continues to dedicate herself to helping patients recover through physical therapy. Her work involves guiding patients through exercises such as tilting their heads, stretching their arms, and bending their legs. She also assists elderly individuals in practicing walking along parallel bars. Over the past two decades, both patients and medical staff have grown accustomed to seeing her sewing back braces by hand and supporting them through every step of their rehabilitation.
Lockett and her husband, David, live in a private home in Da Nang. Their commitment to the community has not gone unnoticed. "They gave me a meaningful life in Vietnam," she says, reflecting on the impact she has had on the lives of many.
A Journey That Began With Adoption
Virginia first arrived in Vietnam in 1995 with the intention of adopting a child. She was a physical therapist, while her husband, David, was a painter. The couple had been informed about the adoption process following the normalization of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Vietnam. They traveled to Nha Trang that summer to meet their child, but before returning home, a translator asked Virginia to examine his father. The man had suffered a serious injury from a truck accident, breaking his thigh bone, and later experienced a stroke that left him unable to walk.
Virginia realized that hip pinning, a common procedure in the U.S., was not available in Vietnam, and neither the translator nor his father understood strokes. As a result, the man’s condition could have been treated, but he lost the ability to walk. This experience stayed with her for over a decade.
A Return That Changed Everything
Ten years later, Virginia returned to Vietnam for a three-week volunteer program with a U.S.-Canada NGO at the Da Nang Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Hospital. Initially, she had no plans to stay, but the warm climate and kindness of the local people made it difficult to leave. She observed that patients were not receiving proper care or medication, and even experts who visited for short periods did not make a lasting difference.
After returning to the U.S., she wrote to the Vietnamese embassy in Washington, D.C., requesting to volunteer long-term at a public hospital. However, the embassy indicated that this would be challenging without an NGO. Determined, Lockett and her husband established a nonprofit organization called Steady Footsteps to provide rehabilitation support for people with disabilities.
A New Beginning in Vietnam
In 2006, the couple sold their house, quit their jobs, and flew to Vietnam with one-way tickets. They entered the country as short-term volunteers with Health Volunteers Overseas, a U.S. nonprofit that sends medical professionals abroad to train local healthcare workers in resource-scarce countries. Their goal was to form a long-term partnership with the Da Nang Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Hospital.
They received no salary in Vietnam and, being under 65, were not eligible for U.S. Social Security benefits. For 10 years, they lived off the money from selling their home. Steady Footsteps primarily offered their expertise in physical therapy and rehabilitation, which required little funding.
Despite the challenges, Lockett found joy in her work. Every day, she treats patients at the hospital while David stays home building assistive devices for donation. He once created a toilet seat to help caregivers reposition patients, cut plastic boards for use as bedside trays, and designed cutting boards for women with only one functioning hand.
Inspiring Lives Through Art and Care
One of Lockett’s most memorable cases during her 30 years in Vietnam was that of Nguyen Tan Hien, an art student from Buon Ma Thuot who broke his neck in a traffic accident in 2007 and was left paralyzed. Refusing to let him give up on his dream of becoming an artist, she encouraged him to paint and bought each artwork for $10 to feature on Steady Footsteps postcards.
At first, Hien used rubber bands to fasten his fingers and produced shaky sketches with no clear form, but Lockett still bought them. For the three years he stayed at the hospital, she was his only customer. His determination led him to switch to watercolors, creating hundreds of paintings. The disabled artist has since exhibited internationally and sold his work across Asia.
Another case that stands out is from late 2017 when a 66-year-old mother carried her paralyzed son aged in his 30s to the hospital. He had a spinal cord injury and almost no chance of recovery. Virginia knew the odds but still worked on strengthening his upper body and arms. After the first month under her care, his legs began to move slightly. Some weeks later, he lifted his foot for the first time without using the walker. For the first time in years, his mother no longer had to carry him from the wheelchair to the bed.
A Legacy of Compassion
Nguyen Thi Thuy, a physical therapy technician at the hospital and her colleague of 12 years, says no one can do what she does without total dedication. At 73, despite her own joint problems, Lockett sits on the floor, bends over, and helps patients relearn movement after a stroke, brain injury, or other trauma. Thuy often sees her take painkillers or rub oil on her back after a session. In the afternoons, Lockett sews back braces for patients. "But she never complains about being tired," Thuy adds.
Since moving to Vietnam, Lockett has only visited the U.S. twice to visit her family, the last time in 2009. Her husband handles everything at home, from daily chores to paperwork, so that she can focus entirely on helping patients. "We have a peaceful life surrounded by kind people," she says. "Da Nang has felt like home for a long time."