A happy ending to a love story.

(Baonghean) - This disabled couple lives in Hamlet 11, Dien Hoang Commune (Dien Chau District). The husband, Le Van Lan (59 years old), has both legs amputated, and his wife, Nguyen Thi Huong (57 years old), is blind in her right eye and only has 5% vision in her left eye...

UMBRELLAMr. Lan offered a cup of water to the guests, saying, "Since our youngest son went to study Information Technology at the University of Da Nang, our fifth son went to Dak Lak to work on a coffee farm, and our daughters got married, now it's just my wife and I left at home." Mrs. Huong couldn't hold back her tears whenever visitors came. Her voice choked with emotion: "Before, my eyesight was like everyone else's. At the age of five, I followed my aunt to shell peanuts for money to go to school, and to collect clams. My mother passed away when I was less than three months old..." Mr. Lan wiped away his wife's tears, went inside, and brought out a small box containing faded envelopes and an old, rusty planer for us to see. He said, "I was able to overcome so many difficulties thanks to the letters she sent me when she was a volunteer youth, encouraging me. Every time I read her letters, my self-consciousness about my legs lessens. And this plane, it has been my companion since I was 10 years old; thanks to carpentry, I've been able to support my wife and children..."

Mr. Lan's family in their new home.

According to his mother, Mr. Lan was born normal and the healthiest of his children. When he was just over a year old, he contracted measles, which led to paralysis, without his family knowing. At that time, like many other families in the village, Mr. Lan's parents were poor and couldn't afford to take their son to the doctor. By the time his legs gradually shrank and atrophied, making him unable to stand, it was too late. By the age of 10, he walked on his knees. He then recounted: After finishing primary school, he asked his mother's permission to drop out, partly because of the family's difficult circumstances and partly because many friends mocked him for his disability. One rainy afternoon, sitting on the back of his father's bicycle, he saw many people in the village working as carpenters, and he begged his parents to let him work as a carpenter. The carpentry workshop was nearly ten kilometers from their home (in Quynh Tho commune, Quynh Luu district). Seeing his son's passion for carpentry, the two of them rode their bicycles to Mr. Tu's workshop in Quynh Tho commune every day so that he could learn the trade. At the age of 10, a boy crawling on his knees evoked pity and compassion in many. Mr. Lan was fortunate to have the understanding and dedicated guidance of the carpentry workshop owner (Mr. Tu) who patiently taught him every step of the way.

With his rough, calloused hands, he produced simple initial products like student blackboards, sesame mortars, and cake molds, eventually progressing to more valuable items such as tables, chairs, cabinets, and beds. After more than three years of working and learning, with his skillful craftsmanship, Mr. Lan was hired as a master carpenter at a carpentry workshop, where he met a girl from the coastal town of Quynh Tho. He remembers vividly that in 1972, at the age of 16, many people praised his skillful and quick carpentry skills. Some came to the workshop to order furniture, others to see him, but he still carried a heavy burden of self-consciousness about his legs. At that time, Ms. Huong was the one who helped him overcome that insecurity. Every day, she would go to the carpentry workshop to collect sawdust, chatting with him, sometimes praising the beautiful chair he made, sometimes complimenting him on how quickly he built the cabinet, and sometimes showing off the betel nut trees in her garden that were laden with fruit this season... They became close, and once or twice a week, Mrs. Huong would give him guavas or a bunch of apples from her garden... Their feelings were truly innocent and pure.

Then, when he was 19, the same year Huong joined the Youth Volunteer Force, Lan realized he had fallen in love with her! His mother worried, saying, "With your leg like this, how will her family accept you?" Lan thought differently, because he clearly saw in the eyes of the girl from Quynh Tho a deep trust and sincere affection for him. The letters Huong sent from the front lines told him about the severe malaria suffered by many in the treacherous jungle, the nights of leech bites, and the sacrifices of the brave and resilient young Youth Volunteer Force member, which gave him strength and erased his feelings of inferiority. Then, letters from the rear and from the front lines encouraged each other, promising to marry when Huong's service was over and they would ask permission from both families to hold a wedding. But fate did not smile upon them. During an eye infection in the remote, dangerous jungle, without timely treatment, Mrs. Huong lost her right eye completely, and her left eye had only about 5% vision. Mrs. Huong was heartbroken; she even had to ask her husband's comrades to read the letters he sent her. When they finally met, they embraced, tears streaming down their faces...

They got married when both were disabled and their families were extremely poor. Mr. Lan worried, "How will they make a living, what will become of their children, will any of them turn out like their father and mother?" The villagers who attended the wedding couldn't hold back their tears at the sight of the young, disabled couple. He still vividly remembers Mrs. Tu, a villager, holding his hand and saying, "Try your best, my dear," and slipping a few coins into his hand. Those coins were equivalent to a sack of rice back then.

They endured hardship. Mr. Lan continued working as a carpenter, while Mrs. Huong, despite her blindness, went to the village market every day to sell vegetables. People became accustomed to the sight of the husband crawling on his knees beside his blind wife at the market with their vegetable stall. Day after day, year after year, he shelled peanuts at night, worked as a carpenter during the day, and shelled clams at noon; his hands never rested. Then he cleared land, cultivated vegetables and crops, increased production, and raised a dozen pigs, his shirt always soaked with sweat. On the day she gave birth for the first time, the couple helped each other to the health station in the night. She was pregnant, the pain was intense, and since he could only walk on his knees, it was very difficult for him to support her. The two disabled people leaned on each other in the night. Mother and child were both healthy, and Mr. Lan's eyes welled up with tears of love for his wife. Then six children were born: four girls and two boys.

From his eldest child to his youngest, Mr. Lan single-handedly cared for them, doing their laundry, providing for them, even taking them to the hospital when they were sick... he never complained. Many times, Mrs. Huong cried alone, knowing how hard her husband worked and how young their children were. He hugged her, comforting and encouraging her, saying to cheer her up: "Since I got my prosthetic legs, I can move around much more easily, don't worry. My carpentry work is also busy, as long as you're happy and healthy, my children and I are happy too." Out of love for his wife and children, on cold winter nights, he would painstakingly shell a hundred kilograms of peanuts to deliver the next morning before going back to carpentry work. "I'm rich in eyesight, my dear. When my wife's eyes went blind, I felt so much pity for her, and I understood even more the hardship and pain she endured, especially every time she asked about the faces, smiles, and appearances of each of our children; my heart ached," Mr. Lan confided.

Even though he's nearly 60, he still goes around working as a carpenter in his wheelchair every day: "I have to try my best so my youngest son can afford his education." After recounting the old story, I finally saw him smile: "Since Linh started studying Information Technology at the University of Da Nang, I've been so happy, even though I worry about the expense of her education. How could I let all the hard work of the past decades go to waste? Luong works in coffee plantations in Dak Lak, and he's managed to save up some capital. With the help of fellow villagers there, he was able to borrow money to buy a plot of coffee." Then he added, his voice trembling: "At the end of 2013, considering our difficult circumstances, Syngenta Company provided 50 million VND to build a house and helped with labor throughout the construction process. Combined with the money I've saved from my carpentry work, and the contributions from neighbors, we were able to build this house. I'll remember this kindness for the rest of my life!"

A house built out of compassion was presented to Mr. Lan's family in Dien Hoang commune, Dien Chau district.

The acceptance of their fate and the determination to overcome adversity in life shown by the disabled couple, Le Van Lan and his wife, has earned them the admiration of many in Dien Hoang commune. For 35 years, they have shared countless difficulties, challenges, and persistent poverty, yet they have always supported each other. Now, with their hair streaked with gray, Mr. Lan occasionally brings out old letters. With their heads together, Mr. Lan reads them aloud to his wife, and their love fuels their strength and resilience in life!

Thu Huong