The disabled boy and his 9-year journey to find letters
(Baonghean) -For 9 years now, the boy with clear eyes has been tirelessly dragging his crippled legs to find letters. For Le Huu Bao, happiness is so simple, he dreams that one day he will wake up and have a pair of intact legs, so he can happily go to school with his friends.
Struggling to find words
Every morning, when the first rays of sunlight begin to appear in the east, people in Quynh Tan commune, Quynh Luu district (Nghe An) see a dark-skinned boy, his body as thin as a banana leaf, dragging his tired steps on the road. The boy's name is Le Huu Bao, a 9th grade student at Quynh Tan Secondary School. People in this arid mountainous area began to see him as a model of perseverance in overcoming difficulties.
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Born in 1993, when he was born, Bao was as healthy as any other child. However, somehow, when he was only 5 months old, Bao began to show signs of illness. Bao's legs gradually shrunk like dry wood, his body became emaciated. Neighbors looked at Bao and felt sorry for his family. Bao's father - Le Huu Hung quickly sold several tons of rice seeds and a sow, and took Bao to the Quynh Luu district hospital for examination. After a few days in the hospital, Bao's father sighed when the doctor said: Bao had congenital nerve atrophy, the district hospital could not treat him, he had to be transferred to Hanoi to have a chance to heal his legs.
At night, Bao's parents could not sleep. Thinking of their son being disabled for life, Bao's mother cried until she had no more tears. It was pitch dark, the cold wind seemed to cut every piece of flesh, Nguyen Thi Lien (Bao's mother) quickly rushed out into the street. She ran around to borrow money from neighbors and was willing to mortgage her buffalo - the only remaining asset - to get money to treat her son. Then she returned. Dazed. Everyone in the village was poor, where could she find tens of millions of dong to treat her son. That night, she hugged Bao in her arms, tears streaming down her face: "Consider it your fault, I have to let you suffer from disability."
Day by day, Bao grew up, his body still shriveled. Only his eyes were shining. Lien suddenly realized that: Even though his legs were paralyzed, she still believed that Bao had an extraordinary will. Bao's determined eyes spoke for themselves.
When he was 6 years old, one day Bao waited for his parents to finish working in the fields, then he dragged his feet out of the house. When they returned and didn't see him, Bao's parents thought he must have gone to play with the neighbor's children to relieve his boredom. But then, one day after work, Bao's mother called him until her voice was hoarse but she still couldn't find him. Panicked, Bao's mother and father split up to look for him. When they ran up the hill, they saw Bao lying on a pile of dry leaves, his eyes following the letters in a torn book, his hand holding a dry branch, scribbling on the ground. Catching his parents' eyes, Bao quickly hid the book as if he was at fault.
In the following days, Bao insisted on his parents letting him go to school. Thinking that he was sick and not strong enough to go to school, his parents tried their best to dissuade him. The sun was blazing hot, so Bao dragged his feet to the edge of the pond and sat there from morning to afternoon. No matter how his family called, Bao did not listen. No matter how hungry the leeches sucked his blood, Bao still pretended not to know anything. From then on, whenever his parents went to work in the fields, Bao crawled out onto the street. His hands and knees were bleeding. Many people passing by felt sorry and asked, but Bao replied: I want to go to school to see my friends learn to read. Having said that, Bao asked anyone passing by to take him to the school 3 km away.
Bao sat outside the classroom until noon. While the students were practicing writing on the blackboard, Bao also took a dry stick and practiced writing outside. After that, Bao's parents had to give up and let Bao go to school. In the morning, Hung woke up earlier than usual to prepare his books and notebooks. Bao's mother woke up early to cook rice for the two of them to have a light meal before going to school together.
During the first days of school, Bao always felt self-conscious about his illness. For most of the class, Bao just sat in the classroom and did not talk to anyone. At first, his friends often looked at him like he was an alien and teased him. Regardless, Bao just kept quiet and responded with bright red 10s. Then the class gradually got used to a disabled student who dragged his heavy steps to class every day. On the days when Bao was sick, the class was very sad. Then everyone came to visit and encourage Bao to quickly return to class.
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Dream from crippled legs
During the first years, sometimes the father and sometimes the younger brother took turns taking Bao to school. Feeling sorry for his father who had to work hard as a construction worker and his mother who had to work day and night in the forest to collect firewood to contribute money for Bao and his siblings to study, Bao often thought of quitting school. Knowing his thoughts, Bao's mother hugged him and cried: "Even though your parents are suffering, we still try to take care of you so you can study well." Hearing his mother cry, Bao lowered his head, tears rolling down his face: "From now on, I will go to school on my own two feet to make things easier for you and your parents."
The following days, Bao woke up earlier than usual. When his father told him to get in the car and let him take him to school, Bao firmly said: "I will go by myself." Said and done, Bao used his two hands and feet to crawl, inching step by step on the winding, bumpy, rocky road. On the first day, the 3km distance from home to school took Bao nearly an hour. Although he was sweating profusely, his hands and knees were bleeding, Bao was still not discouraged and smiled contentedly.
Since then, every morning, the people here have become accustomed to the image of a dark-skinned, skinny, sickly boy carrying a backpack, dragging his heavy steps to school. And, no one can count how many steps the disabled boy has taken day and night on this road. All we know is that for 9 years Bao has been crawling to find letters on his damaged legs. And, for 9 consecutive years, Bao has achieved the title of an excellent student.
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Bao's father, Hung, looked at the certificates and choked up: "No matter how difficult it is, my family will still let him study until the end. But next year when he goes to high school, the school is too far, almost 10 kilometers, how can Bao have the strength to drag himself to school. But he is very stubborn, he said he will go by himself. But, how can I bear it? On sunny days, it is difficult enough. But on rainy days, the road is muddy and slippery, who can bear to see a child crawling in the rain and wind like that, uncle?" Then suddenly he asked me: "If only there was a school with a boarding place to accept him and take care of him, that would be great. I have never been out of the bamboo village so I don't know anything, maybe you can help me find one."
He held my hand tightly, tears rolling down his face full of crow's feet: "Bao still longs day and night to go to school with his crippled legs. Many times, I discussed with my wife to buy him a wheelchair, to make it easier for him. But, the whole family only has 3 sao of rice fields, and has to feed 7 mouths, trying to save money to avoid hunger is already very lucky. Where can we get money to buy a wheelchair for our child? In the scorching sun and pouring rain, he still goes to school alone on the bumpy road. At times like that, my heart aches."
Leaving Bao’s house, passing through the winding, bumpy, rocky roads, I still imagined Bao’s bright eyes when he saw me off. I read in those eyes an extraordinary determination and a fierce passion. I promised myself that I would contribute to lighting up his dream, so that his disabled legs would be less tired in his journey to find letters.
Hoang Sang - Hoang Hao
