Guo Aiping and Chen Sun, in the face of difficulties, the couple stuck together.
Happiness
"He is still alive, he can still talk to me, I am very content with that." For happiness, Guo Aiping's expectations were very low: in her life, she couldn't be without Chen Sun. 17 years ago, they were the envied couple in the same class at Northeastern University of Finance and Economics, as sweet as honey. In 1993, Chen Sun, a poor young man from Xiaogan, was admitted to the undergraduate program in business management at Northeastern University of Finance and Economics. Guo Aiping was his classmate. She was beautiful, sincere, and admired by many boys in the class. In 1994, Guo Aiping suddenly contracted measles. Chen Sun disregarded everything and rushed her to the hospital for treatment, winning Guo Aiping's heart. In 2000, because the wedding car was stuck in the neighborhood, Guo Aiping, wearing her wedding dress, took a taxi herself, eager to marry Chen Sun. He promised, "Wife, we will change to a bigger house in five years, and drive a small car after ten years."
Despair
After eating breakfast, Guo Aiping began to busy herself with household chores, wiping the floor, washing dishes..., while Chen Sun lay on the sofa, staring at his wife, motionless.
"Can you help me do something?"
Since Chen Sun fell ill, the usually gentle Guo Aiping's temper had become increasingly bad.
Chen Sun saw his wife was angry, so he shakily got up, took the broom to sweep the floor. Before he could sweep three times, he was stopped by Guo Aiping: "Forget it, forget it, rest." She quickly snatched the broom.
In 2003, Chen Sun was the general manager of a company in Wuhan, and was diagnosed with a serious illness. The following year, he was confirmed by Professor Gui Xien of Central South Hospital to have a rare terminal illness - primary sclerosing cholangitis. There are less than 100 confirmed cases of this disease in China, and from the onset of the disease to liver failure, there is generally only three to five years.
Guo Aiping still remembers that dark day, "At that time, my mind went blank, my eyes turned black, I cried all day."
The fall of Chen Sun plunged Guo Aiping into despair. Countless nights, Guo Aiping told herself: one day, he will walk ahead of me, don't cry, don't fear loneliness. But, tears always flowed uncontrollably.
"We have lived together for 17 years, my life cannot be without him."
Salvation
By the end of 2004, Chen Sun's condition worsened day by day.
"I will give him half of my liver." At Tongji Hospital, Guo Aiping was eager to save her husband.
At that time, the doctors at Tongji Hospital kindly reminded her: "This disease has no cure, continuing treatment will not only drag you down, but also drag down both your families." At that time, Chen Sun once refused treatment, the demon of the disease had already drained their limited savings, "I don't want to drag her into a dead end." Once, Chen Sun fainted in the bathroom. Although she had made the worst possible preparations, when this moment really came, she still couldn't face it. "I thought he was really dead, he no longer cared about me." In the heart-wrenching cries, Guo realized how much she couldn't bear to part with Chen Sun.
Guo Aiping didn't want to give up, but she clearly understood: her salvation might be a moth-to-flame-like ending.
On January 9, 2005, Chen Sun prepared for a liver transplant, costing 200,000 yuan. Guo Aiping raised the money alone. Family, classmates, friends helped as much as they could. Finally, she sold her own house to a university classmate.
Guo Aiping almost went gray overnight; those days, she spent them in torment.
Torture
The real difficulties began after the surgery.
"His immunity is poor, in summer he can't get too hot or too cold, air conditioning can't be used, I have to fan him through the night, unable to sleep."
What made Guo Aiping most helpless was that there was never enough money. In the first year after Chen Sun's surgery, he needed to take imported medicine and replace the bile duct stent, costing more than 20,000 yuan per month. "I've already spent over 200,000 yuan, it was hard to save him, I can't just give up like this." From the first month after Chen Sun's surgery, Guo Aiping pondered every day where tomorrow's treatment fees for Chen Sun would come from?
Guo Aiping shamelessly asked her family and friends for help again, "Even if it's just a few dozen yuan, I'll borrow it."
Some friends and relatives once advised Guo Aiping to remarry, "When will this end? You've done your best, you should think about your future." To date, she has already spent nearly 500,000 yuan.
On March 26, according to the scheduled date, Guo Aiping had to take Chen Sun north to Tianjin to replace the bile duct stent. But even on March 25, Guo Aiping only had 2,000 yuan, far from the required 20,000-plus yuan for the surgery fee.
Recently, Chen Sun's urine has turned coffee-colored, and surgical treatment has become urgent. To save money for Chen Sun's treatment, Guo Aiping hasn't bought clothes for eight years, surviving on steamed buns. Due to being unable to bear more economic pressure, the 38-year-old Guo Aiping gave up having children, giving up the chance to be a mother.
Hope
Fortunately, under Guo Aiping's careful care for many years, Chen Sun's condition has stabilized overall. "Now, the bile duct stent needs to be replaced every three months, if treated well, it can be replaced every six months or one year." Chen Sun looks forward to, when his condition improves a little more, being able to work and earn money.
In 2007, Chen Sun registered for Wuhan's medical insurance, reducing the later treatment costs significantly. Guo Aiping said that many classmates and friends have been quietly helping them. Although the house changed hands, classmates still lent the house to them free of charge.
Currently, Guo Aiping, who has been unemployed for two years, is actively looking for a job. She hopes to find a suitable job near Nanhua, making it convenient to go home and take care of Chen Sun.
What has been troubling Guo Aiping all along is the debt of over 200,000 yuan, "I think, as long as I'm alive, these debts must eventually be repaid to everyone."
Regarding life, Chen Sun is very calm, "For a disease like mine, after surgery, the longest survival time is 13 years, generally 5 to 8 years, now I've survived for 6 years, it's worth it."
But Guo Aiping dreams that Chen Sun will create a miracle of life, holding her hand until they reach 60 years old.
Text/Photo by reporter Zhang Yongjun, intern Zhang Zehang, correspondents Cheng Guirong, Wei Yunxuan, Liu Ling
At 7 o'clock in the morning on March 25, Guo Aiping opened her eyes and counted twice the 2,000 yuan in her pocket. She was worried: tomorrow's hospitalization fee still needed 20,000 yuan, but she had borrowed all she could.
In the toilet, Chen Sun's urine had turned deep coffee color. His face was sallow, he was completely weak, and surgical treatment was urgently needed.
Helplessness and despair surged towards Guo Aiping like a flood. She got up, slowly went downstairs, hid in a corner of the neighborhood, and sobbed. Her hair had turned gray at the age of 38.
In Songtao Garden community of Nanhu in Wuchang, the story of this devoted wife saving her husband for eight years moved people deeply. Over the past eight years, she sold her house and incurred debts to help her husband undergo a liver transplant and regain life. Over the past eight years, she remained steadfastly by her husband's side.
Despite this, Chen Sun's life was still ticking down... (Editor: SN021) Related theme articles: Female teacher gives up staying in the city to teach in the mountains, worrying about students on her sickbed; Female overseas student encounters car accident upon arrival in the U.S., netizens relay search for her family on Weibo.