Yesterday afternoon, when the reporter came to the hospital again, Huang Bihai had just finished buying groceries. Without a break, he helped his mother exercise once more. Lu Shengli moved her trembling steps like a child learning to walk, step by step, circle by circle. After a round of exercise, Lu Shengli sat down to rest, while beads of sweat were already on Huang Bihai's forehead.
In order to awaken his mother's memory, whenever he had spare time, Huang Bihai would lean over and tell stories in his mother's ear - stories about his university life, his future plans, and the hard but happy times they spent together... over and over again.
In 2006, Huang Bihai was successfully admitted as a postgraduate student in Chemistry and Molecular Science at Wuhan University. After graduation, he continued his studies for a doctoral degree. In June this year, he graduated with a doctorate degree. Due to his outstanding research abilities, he was recommended by his mentor to work and pursue postdoctoral studies at a world-class research institute in Japan, with an annual salary of 400,000 yuan.
A promise from his son brought great comfort to Lu Shengli. Due to increasingly severe gastrointestinal disease, she was frequently hospitalized and was forced to retire early, relying on her pension to cover her son's education and their daily expenses.
Huang Bihai was overjoyed - finally, his efforts paid off! "That was the happiest day of my life," said Huang Bihai. In the days that followed, it felt like he was fully charged, and he called out to his mother and told her stories even more diligently.
"It is I who have wronged you, dragging you down..." On November 30th, in the bed of the gastrointestinal surgery ward at the Renmin Hospital of Hubei Province, 54-year-old Lu Shengli looked at her son with tears in her eyes. "Your health is my greatest comfort," replied 28-year-old Huang Bihai, holding his mother's hand without hesitation.
After a consultation with hospital experts, it was determined that Lu Shengli was constantly facing the risk of death, with little chance of regaining consciousness.
During the year of Huang Bihai's high school entrance exam, his mother fell ill again. Since he had to take care of his mother, he only managed to get into an ordinary high school. Lu Shengli felt both disappointed and desperate, believing that her son "definitely wouldn't pass the university entrance exam," and cried secretly every day.
■ Believing in Miracles, Filial Piety Moves Heaven and Earth
Lu Shengli and her son Huang Bihai lived in Wuchang Vehicle Factory. Their suffering began back in 1997. Huang Bihai held his mother's hand.
Huang Bihai was extremely anxious. On one side, his mother was critically ill; on the other side, there was a rare opportunity for further study. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. After much thought, he decided to stay by his mother's side and take on the responsibility of taking care of her. "I only have one mother in my life, she needs me, I should stay!" "As long as I work hard, I believe everything can turn around." Huang Bihai knew well that waking up his "vegetative" mother was no easy task, but he didn't want to give up and hoped to create a miracle through action.
■ Caught Between Choices, Choosing Family Bonds
■ Father Leaving, Mother and Son Supporting Each Other
Finally, a turning point appeared! A month later, Lu Shengli's lips began to move, emitting weak "babbling" sounds.
Huang Bihai recalled that when his mother first woke up, she was still in a state of amnesia and repeatedly called him "mom." But for him, such a misunderstanding was also exceptionally sweet.
A few days later, Lu Shengli finally woke up and could slowly start talking, although only fragmented words, which were more valuable than thousands of words for Huang Bihai.
After regaining consciousness, Lu Shengli was able to eat by herself, so Huang Bihai bought chicken and duck from the market every day to provide her with more nutrition. Her hands were too weak to hold chopsticks, so he fed her bite by bite. However, her defecation still had to be completed with the help of a colostomy bag. For this reason, Huang Bihai had to change the bag for his mother every day. If not careful enough, the colostomy bag would break. The previous noon, this happened - the colostomy bag broke, and the waste splashed all over Lu Shengli's bed. Without saying a word, Huang Bihai quickly gave his mother a bath and changed the bedding.
According to Li Jin, a classmate of Huang Bihai, during that time, every time he visited the ward, he would see Huang Bihai sitting by his mother's bedside, chatting nonstop about various things. Although his mother did not respond, he never got tired of it.
Since his mother could not eat, she could only rely on intravenous nutrition provided by the hospital. Worried about insufficient nutrition, Huang Bihai used a syringe to let his mother "drink" eggs and milk through a gastric tube every day. To prevent bedsores caused by prolonged bed rest, he turned his mother over every two hours.
What deeply consoled Huang Bihai was that now he could communicate normally with his mother again, because not long ago, his mother was still a "vegetable person."
Huang Bihai shared the good news with his mother, and Lu Shengli was overjoyed. However, on August 21st, she was hospitalized due to a recurrence of gastrointestinal diseases, underwent surgery on September 16th, and suffered a large-scale cerebral infarction two days later, falling into a coma and becoming a "vegetable person."
According to Huang Bihai's classmate Li Jin's recollection, during that time, every time he visited the ward, he would see Huang Bihai sitting by his mother's bedside, telling her all sorts of things. Although his mother did not respond, he never got bored.
After treatment, Lu Shengli spoke more and longer, and occasionally stretched her hands and right leg. Therefore, in addition to continuing telling stories to his mother, Huang Bihai added another task - giving his mother a massage.
Currently, Dong Shengli's memory has returned to normal. Her attending physician, Luo Jianfei, introduced that for Lu Shengli, who became a "vegetable person," surviving was already fortunate, let alone recovering memory and partial motor function, and not showing common symptoms such as bedsores, permanent leg and foot dysfunction, etc. "It's a miracle, truly a miracle!"
That year, 14-year-old Huang Bihai was in the third year of junior high school, with excellent grades; both parents worked at the Wuchang Vehicle Factory, living without worry, and the three-person family was full of joy. However, one summer day, the father took away all the family savings, abandoned his wife and children, left home, and disappeared without a trace. During that period, Lu Shengli lost her appetite every day, feeling unbearable pain. She suffered from gastrointestinal diseases, and with her husband leaving, how could she, as a single woman, support the family? Fortunately, her son was sensible and consoled her: "I will study hard and won't make you worry!"
On November 12th, Huang Bihai discovered that his mother miraculously stood up holding onto the bed frame. He immediately took a picture of this moment, uploaded it to Weibo in the first instance, and sent group messages via his mobile phone to report the good news to those who cared about them.