Ham So-won survives ICU: 'I want mommy's spaghetti'

Broadcaster Ham So-won revealed that a brief remark from her daughter, Hye-jeong, became the decisive force that allowed her to hold onto life while receiving treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) following a car accident. Ham, who did not want to show her vulnerable state to her daughter even after regaining consciousness from the brink of death, recalled that hearing the words "I want to eat mommy's spaghetti" made her realize she had a reason to return to daily life.

On the 20th, Ham reflected on her recent car accident and prolonged hospital stay by posting on her SNS, showing her daughter Hye-jeong eating spaghetti that she had prepared.

The situation at the time of the accident was extremely critical. Recalling the moment, Ham said, "I had already lost consciousness inside the car. Suddenly, it was so painful and so cold. Whether it was because of the anesthesia or the pain, the sounds felt so far away."

She also mentioned hearing the urgent voices of medical staff as her consciousness began to fade. Explaining the desperate moment, she said, "Someone was speaking into my ear, saying, 'We have to transfuse her quickly. She's going to die at this rate.' Only then did I understand. I need a transfusion. Otherwise, something terrible will happen."

After receiving a blood transfusion, Ham regained consciousness in the ICU. Although she was later moved to a general ward, she avoided showing her condition to her daughter until the very end. This was because she did not want her young daughter to see her lying in a hospital bed wearing urinary catheters, fecal catheters, and diapers.

"On the day I was moved to the general ward, I strictly forbade Hye-jeong, who said she missed her mom, from coming," she said. "I didn't want to show her the sight of her mother lying in a hospital."

Instead, she was allowed to have a phone call and conducted a video call with her daughter. As if everything were normal, Ham asked her daughter, "It's good that mommy, who usually tells you to clean up every day, isn't home, right?" Even while in the hospital, she made lighthearted jokes while worrying about her daughter's daily routine.

However, Hye-jeong's response was unexpected.

"No, I don't like it. I don't like it because I can't eat mommy's spaghetti. I want to eat mommy's spaghetti."

Those words, which might have seemed ordinary to Ham, instead came as a massive shock. She shared her emotions at the time, saying, "It wasn't much, but my throat tightened."

And she said that in that very moment, it was those words that made her, lying in the hospital, move again.

Ham revealed, "This is what made me get up quickly in the hospital. The thought was, 'I have to get up and go make food for Hye-jeong. I have to go do what my child wants to eat.'"

This confession leaves a special resonance in that the driving force that sustains life amidst extreme physical pain does not necessarily need to be a grand goal. At the moment when the instinct for survival is maximized, what pulls a human back to reality is sometimes something extremely trivial and specific, such as a family member's voice or a routine daily task.

In particular, for Ham, 'spaghetti' came to mean more than just food. It essentially reduced the reason she had to return home after passing through the non-routine space of a hospital and times filled with transfusions, surgeries, and pain into the language of concrete daily life. The ordinary act of 'making food for a daughter' acted as the most powerful command to recover her life.

Having returned to daily life after long treatment, Ham is actually making spaghetti for her daughter. She wrote, "I am so happy to see her eating it so deliciously even if it's not tasty, seeing her little mouth chewing away happily. I am truly grateful for today. My prayer in the hospital has been answered."

She continued to share her current ordinary daily life with her daughter, noting, "It's already the 4th time making spaghetti since I was discharged."

Previously, it was reported that Ham was involved in an accident where her vehicle collided with a utility pole during parking. Due to this accident, she suffered a pelvic fracture and underwent surgery, followed by a significant period of hospital treatment. Through her SNS and other channels, she has shared her two-month-long treatment and recovery process, as well as the changes in her daily life and psychological difficulties following the accident.

While a celebrity's SNS is often consumed as a space to display a glamorous daily life and moments of success, Ham's recent confession shows the exact opposite narrative. The process of experiencing the possibility of death in a hospital room and then returning to cook meals and sit at a table with a child ultimately leads to the question of what truly sustains a person's life.

Ham married Jin Hua, who is 18 years her junior, in 2018 and had her daughter, Hye-jeong, the same year. The two decided to divorce in 2022 but maintained a relationship regarding childcare and business until they reportedly parted ways in late 2024. Currently, Ham is raising Hye-jeong.

After undergoing surgery and hospitalization, what Ham has reclaimed is a perfectly ordinary day: preparing a meal for her daughter and watching her eat happily. However, after experiencing the threshold of death, that normalcy carries a new weight. For Ham, 'mommy's spaghetti' is no longer just a meal; it is the memory that allowed her to live again and the most concrete evidence that she has returned home.