Fifty years ago, Huy Nguyen, then 12, escaped Saigon with his family during the Vietnam War, settling in Iowa as the first Vietnamese American family in the Quad Cities. His parents worked hard to build a new life, with his mother as a house cleaner and his father, a former South Vietnamese Army lieutenant colonel, becoming a chiropractor after earning his high school diploma at 45. Huy was inspired to pursue medicine, ultimately becoming a surgeon, while his three children are also following in his footsteps, with two attending the same medical school he did.
The family’s journey as refugees was challenging; they initially relied on welfare. Huy’s father, grateful for the assistance, sought to repay it by paying back the help they received. Though they were uprooted, Huy adapted to American culture, learning English through television and developing a passion for American football.
After settling in Iowa, Nguyen’s father juggled work and studies before establishing a successful chiropractic practice. The family later moved back to California, where Nguyen would eventually graduate, alongside his siblings who also pursued careers in law and medicine. Huy opened a private surgical practice in San Jose, California, a city known for its large Vietnamese American community.
Nguyen made significant contributions to medicine, becoming the first surgeon in the U.S. to perform a single-incision laparoscopic colon resection in 2008, and pioneering single-site robotic gallbladder surgery in 2012. Reflecting on his family’s success, Nguyen attributes it to hard work, support from the welfare system, and the kindness of the American people, embodying the American dream.
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