The couple have been married for nearly 40 years but have never seen each other.

(Baonghean.vn) - Married since the early 80s of the last century; together raising 3 children to adulthood... but the couple have never met each other. That is the story of a war invalid couple at the Nghe An War Invalids Nursing Center.

In 1969, Ms. Cao Thi Hai (born 1952) from her poor hometown Dien Tho - Dien Chau wrote a volunteer application to join the Youth Volunteer Force. At the end of 1970, Ms. Hai was injured in the Quang Tri battlefield, returning with a 100% permanent disability rate, dozens of head injuries, 14 missing upper teeth, a piece of shrapnel deeply embedded in the middle of her neck, and a broken hip joint.

Mr. Dao Xuan Tinh (born in 1952), a son of Thach Dai commune (Thach Ha, Ha Tinh) participated in the campaign to liberate the South in the years 1972 - 1975 and then participated in the Cambodian border war in 1977. After a pursuit of Pol Pot soldiers in 1978, he returned to the rear base with a 96% disability, lost his left arm and was blind in both eyes.

Living together for nearly 40 years, having 3 children and 5 grandchildren, the couple have never seen each other. Photo: Thanh Cuong

After a long time struggling with death, the two people met and fell in love at the Nghe An Nursing Center for the Seriously Wounded in 1980.

At first, when they decided to get together, many people were concerned and worried about the future life of the blind couple, so they advised them to consider carefully. However, with sincere love and determination to come together, the two families organized a wedding for Mr. Tinh and Mrs. Hai in early 1980 in Dien Tho commune.

"Before getting married, the staff at the Center helped us with our daily activities, but after getting married, we had to do everything ourselves. Hundreds of worries weighed heavily on our shoulders, especially when my wife was pregnant with our first child," Mr. Hai recounted.

Every day he had to go to the well to fetch water to water his vegetables and for daily use. He groped around with his bucket to get water, sometimes falling down and spilling all the water along the way and having to go back three or four times to get it, or sometimes getting lost and having to follow the barbed wire until his hand bled to get home. Then, each time he went to fetch water, Mrs. Hai had to sit and knock on the back door with a stick to help him find his way home.

Although he is blind in both eyes, he still repairs all the broken appliances in the house. In the photo, Mr. Dao Xuan Tinh is taking care of a turtledove given to him by his son-in-law. Photo: Thanh Cuong.

At the end of 1981, the couple cried tears of joy when Dao Dinh Quan - their first son - was born. However, many difficulties came. Mr. Tinh's wife had no milk, so all the canned milk given to the parents was for the baby. With hands instead of eyes, the blind war invalid couple tried to take care of the baby, but the baby was so malnourished that the grandparents could not eat well or sleep well.

"Every time I feed him, his eyes and nose have more food than his mouth," Mrs. Hai said. With one hand, she has to hold his head tightly, and with the other hand, she finds baby Quan's mouth to feed him.

In 1983 and 1986, two children, Dao Bich Hai and Dao Thi Ngoc Bich, were born. With more people and mouths to feed in the house, relying only on the couple's meager disability allowance, life, which was already difficult, became even more difficult.

"At that time, my husband and I discussed asking relatives to send seeds, fence the garden and dig the soil to grow vegetables; and he asked relatives in Ha Tinh to build a barn to raise a few more litters of pigs each year. Every day, Quan held my hand and led me to the garden to water the vegetables, then two or three times a week, father and son went to Coi market to sell. After saving for a long time, the difficulties gradually passed" - Mr. Tinh recounted.

"The three brothers grew up with eight diapers cut from cloth that the Center's staff gave them on Quan's birthday. Up to now, each of them has their own family, a stable job, and has given birth to five healthy, well-behaved grandchildren for my wife and I. Despite the difficulties, the children are all well-behaved, obedient, and take care of their studies, which is what we are most proud and happy about."

Thanh Cuong