"Disability can bind the body, but it cannot bind my spirit!" Zhu Mingjing has never wavered in her belief of changing her fate through knowledge. During a rehabilitation treatment period that lasted four years, Zhu Mingjing never missed a single class. Even when hospitalized, she would ask her classmates to record the teacher's lectures with an MP3 player.
Just as Zhu Mingjing thought that a happy life was about to begin, fate played another cruel joke on her. In June 2009, Zhu Mingjing was diagnosed with severe systemic lupus erythematosus. It is understood that due to current medical limitations, there is no cure for lupus, so Zhu Mingjing must continue taking hormones. The use of hormones has accelerated the necrosis of both femoral heads, causing them to collapse and deform.
"My mom is over 50 years old. Every time I see her gray hair and strained expressions, I feel like I owe her too much," said Zhu Mingjing. Every morning, Zhu's mother carries her to class before cleaning the campus; as the class nears its end, Zhu's mother rushes to the classroom entrance to wait. "Sometimes classmates help, but Mom insists on carrying me herself, fearing that I might fall. On some days, she has to run up and down the stairs seven or eight times, covering over a hundred steps."
Two diseases counteract each other’s medications
Despite enduring unimaginable pain every day, Zhu Mingjing has never complained about her life, instead always feeling grateful. "This air conditioner was installed by teachers at our school who raised money this summer. The school has been very kind to us," she pointed to the air conditioner on the wall in her dormitory. During her university years, the entire faculty and student body raised over 60,000 yuan for her. To facilitate Zhu's mother caring for her, the school provided a free tile house. Although the entire tile house is only about 5 square meters, it gave Zhu Mingjing and her mother a temporary place to stay in Guangzhou.
In November, recruitment peaks in universities nationwide, yet Zhu Mingjing, a graduate of Guangdong Technical Normal University, still does not have a job. During her university years, she underwent surgery multiple times due to illness, becoming a role model of perseverance for her peers.
"Even angels with broken wings can fly, and so can I!" Zhu Mingjing said that her only wish now is to be able to stand up and give the interviewer a chance. It is understood that the way to help Zhu Mingjing out of her predicament is to quickly solve her mobility issues and make her stand again. The only way to eliminate the pain is to replace the hip joint, which requires nearly 140,000 yuan for both legs. With only her mother's meager income, this problem cannot be resolved. Zhu Mingjing's situation needs attention from society. If you wish to extend a helping hand to this strong girl, you can contact the Southern Daily.
After enduring numerous hardships, Zhu Mingjing cherishes life even more, fantasizing about the day when her suffering ends. In the cold winter of 2009, Zhu Mingjing carried a thick stack of resumes and certificates on her mother's bicycle to attend her first job fair. Among a group of formally dressed applicants, Zhu Mingjing was the only one who entered the job fair site in a wheelchair. After two hours of waiting, Zhu Mingjing finally received her first interview opportunity at a company engaged in foreign trade business.
Upon reviewing medical literature, it was found that systemic lupus erythematosus is a systemic autoimmune disease that can damage human organs. If patients do not adhere to treatment, they may face life-threatening situations at any time. Although Zhu Mingjing currently persists in returning to the hospital monthly for chemotherapy and blood tests, the doctor's diagnosis revealed that her kidneys had already experienced partial necrosis.
Determination despite disability has not brought Zhu Mingjing a job. For half a year, due to her disability, Zhu Mingjing has repeatedly been rejected by employers.
Zhu Mingjing was born into an ordinary family in the mountainous areas of northern Guangdong. At the age of 13, both of her parents lost their jobs, plunging the family into financial difficulties. The following year, her father died in a car accident, leaving her mother as the mainstay of the family, supporting the entire household with her meager income from odd jobs.
The only thing that could change her fate was knowledge, and Zhu Mingjing hoped to use her knowledge to bring happiness to her mother. In 2005, Zhu Mingjing successfully enrolled in the Translation Institute of Guangdong Technical Normal University. Unexpectedly, the following spring, she was diagnosed with avascular necrosis of the femur. Over the next three months, she underwent five major surgeries, losing the ability to walk in her lower limbs, and since then, she has been confined to a wheelchair.
A Mother Carries Her Daughter to University
At Guangdong Technical Normal University, the story of Zhu Mingjing and her mother is widely known. Since Zhu Mingjing started using a wheelchair, her mother gave up her job in Shaoguan to work as a cleaner at the university, just to carry her daughter to class every day.
"In order to survive, I had no choice but to accept the disability," Zhu Mingjing told the reporter. Her bones are eroded daily by hormones, forcing her to rely on painkillers to alleviate the intense pain. When the painkillers lose their effect, "I experience excruciating pain at night, unable to sleep. Whenever this happens, my mother has to get up in the middle of the night to massage my legs."
Graduate Zhu Mingjing: I Long to Stand Once for the Interviewer to See
Desire for Prosthetics to Help Achieve Independence
"Seeing me come in a wheelchair, they were still willing to talk to me, but they never gave me a chance to move on to the next round." Over several months, she sent out thousands of resumes, but the results left her greatly disappointed. Each resume she sent seemed to vanish without a trace, receiving no response.
Southern Daily reporter Li Qiang, intern Huang Shaohong, correspondent Zhang Xiang