Changsha, June 14 (Reporter Fu Yue) - "She has no legs, yet she moves forward with strength; she is an orphan, yet she has become the mother of 138 children; for 37 years, she has walked a special path in life using stools as her legs." At the advanced deeds report meeting held on June 14 for “Good Party Members and Good Officials in the Style of Yang Shanzhou” in Hunan Province, Jiang Li, a volunteer from the Xiangtan Charity Federation, recounted to the audience the touching story of Xu Yuehua, known as the "Stool Mom," who is regarded as a good party member in the style of Yang Shanzhou from her hometown.
Born in 1956 in an ordinary farmer's family in Xiangtan, misfortunes struck Xu Yuehua one after another: losing her father at age one, moving with her mother to a new family at age four. At age 12, after her mother passed away, three months later, she tragically had both her legs crushed by a train, becoming a severely disabled person due to amputation.
When Xu Yuehua was most helpless, the local government extended its helping hand, sending her from the countryside to the Xiangtan Social Welfare Institute. No longer worrying about hunger and clothing, Xu Yuehua felt the warmth of society. With this sense of gratitude, she decided to give back to society, composing heartfelt odes to love with a perseverance beyond that of ordinary people.
"If you can walk, I'll arrange something for you." This was originally the director’s polite refusal of Xu Yuehua's request to help take care of the children at the welfare institute, but she took it seriously. Inspired by seeing children learning to walk while holding onto stools, Xu Yuehua began practicing walking with two stools. Afraid of being seen by others, she practiced secretly at night, often falling to the ground along with the stools. After more than a month, the blisters on her hands turned into thick calluses, her thin arms became strong and muscular, and Xu Yuehua truly learned how to "walk." Subsequently, she strongly requested to become an unofficial childcare worker at the welfare institute.
Helping children bathe, dress, sew soles for shoes, wash diapers... Xu Yuehua's life became busy and fulfilling. Most of the children at the welfare institute were born with disabilities or defects, but Xu Yuehua treated each of them like her own precious treasures, caring for them tenderly.
Shengli was a female infant suffering from congenital cleft lip and palate, where her mouth connected with her nostrils, making feeding extremely difficult. To take care of Shengli, Xu Yuehua turned the food into liquid and fed her drop by drop with a nipple, taking over an hour each time. When Shengli caught a cold, Xu Yuehua would carefully remove the mucus from her throat with her hands. At the age of four, Shengli underwent surgery at the hospital. Now, Shengli is already the mother of a 14-year-old child, living a very happy life.
In the more than 30 years since entering the welfare institute, Xu Yuehua has taken care of 138 children. As the children grew, Xu Yuehua also continuously improved herself. Initially, to take care of the children, she learned to walk. Later, to dress the children in beautiful clothes and treat their illnesses, she became the "knitting expert" and "herbal medicine master" of the institute. Most importantly, she became the "mom" of over 130 children.
"Each time I take care of a child, each time I finish a task, I feel that I am more useful to society." Talking about these past events, Xu Yuehua always wears a smile of happiness on her face. Her great acts of love have fulfilled the promise she made over 20 years ago in her application to join the Party: "Heaven gave me only half a body, but the Party gave me a complete soul. I will spend my entire life thanking the Party and giving back to society."
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