A son's endless love for disabled mother
- By Wu Jin
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E-mail China.org.cn, June 23, 2016
It was 5:00 p.m. on June 12, 2016, when Cao Guilin, a third-grade middle-school student hurried to his last evening self-study before taking the high-school entrance exam the next day.
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For the past 10 years, a son's piety towards his mother has helped the woman suffering from cerebral palsy stay away from desperation. |
"What will my mother have for lunch when I attend the exam?" He worried while preparing during the last few hours before the coming exam, which plays a critical role for young students to step forward into high-school education.
Barely 17 years old, Cao has already become an expert in nursing his mother, changing her clothes and spoon feeding her, since she succumbed to cerebral palsy.
About 18 years ago, when Cao Yongqing, the father of Cao, worked manual odd jobs in Guizhou Province, he met Zhao Shimei, a woman with an inherent cerebral disease. They got married and gave birth to Cao.
Zhao's condition deteriorated when Cao grew up and the illness was so devastating that her hands and feet became completely beyond her control.
"Thanks to the considerate and kind-hearted boy, the family could survive these years," the father said.
While living with his maternal grandmother when he was no more than eight years old, Cao began to notice the special care that his grandmother gave his mother. Bearing this in mind, he received the torch passed from his maternal grandmother and carried the duty to extend tender care to his mother.
When Cao was 10 years old, the family moved to Xianju, Zhejiang Province. His father continued to work manual odd jobs which only allowed him to visit the family home every ten days, sometimes every half a month. Cao reassured his father that he didn't need to worry about the family since he can take care of his mother.
"Feel free to go to work, and I will take care of the family," Cao told his father at that young age. Every time the father recalls his son's words, he bursts into tears.
Instead of his compulsory school lessons, Cao, a junior student, gives his supreme priority to the care of his mother, cooking for her at lunchtime during the past several years with no exceptions. Lying beside his mother is a bony, senile woman who is the paternal grandmother of Cao.
Every day, the boy gets up at half past five, making breakfast for the two women. He usually feeds them noodles, but being afraid that they might get sick of the same meal, he also buys deep fried dough sticks and stuffed buns from the school canteen.
At around 6:00 a.m., he will get his mother dressed and cleaned up, combing her hair and washing her face when she wakes up. His mother cannot eat anything by herself so Cao divides the food into small bites and feeds her. It takes her mother about half an hour to finish the meal.
At 11:30 a.m., Cao rushes home to cook lunch. He said the vegetables he buys are cheaper and can be preserved for longer periods, such as potatoes.
Usually, Cao's mother will not sleep until the boy returns from school at about 9:00 p.m.. At this time, he will get her cleaned and assist her to go to bed.
The heavy load of housework has left little time for Cao to improve his studies. He doesn't perform well in either mathematics or English, and his school record is mediocre. Hence, there is little chance that he may be admitted to a high school which is not far from his home.
"I just want to stay in the same town so that I can keep an eye on my mother," said Cao in a trembling voice. "I don't know what will happen next, but all I can do now is to try to get a sound score in the entrance exam."
"However difficult it may be, I will keep my mother by my side. She is getting used to my care and becoming inseparable from me," the boy said.
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