Women who have gone through war
(Baonghean.vn) - They are women who emerged from the war and are now attached to the Nghe An War Invalids Nursing Center. Each has their own fate and carries their own burdens, but what these women have in common is that they always keep their faith in life.
Be optimistic even though your body only has 4% life left
At Nghe An War Invalids Nursing Center, most of the men returned from the battlefield with a disability level of over 80%, difficult family life or no place to rely on. But there are also women here who have attached their lives to the room, the campus and the dedicated service of the center's staff.
The first woman we met when we arrived here was Ms. Nguyen Thi Luong (born in 1950), a war invalid with 96% disability and has been recuperating here for more than 40 years.
“I am from Thanh Ngoc commune, Thanh Chuong district. When I was young, I studied medicine and was assigned to the Central Highlands battlefield. We marched for months to cross Truong Son, into fierce places to serve in combat. Once, on a business trip to Gia Lai, a truck overturned and I was seriously injured, with a spinal injury that left me paralyzed on one side of my body,” Ms. Luong said.
Female soldier Nguyen Thi Luong was taken to various hospitals for treatment, but due to her severe injuries, she could not get up and from then on her life was tied to a wheelchair. After her injuries were treated, in 1979, Ms. Luong was transferred to the Nghe An War Invalids Nursing Center for convalescence.
At the age of 20, she marched to the battlefield, became a seriously wounded soldier at the age of 26, the girl from Thanh Chuong did not have the opportunity to express her love. The past 40 years of her life have been a series of endless lonely days, sometimes flowing quietly like a river, sometimes surging and rolling like ocean waves.
Although here, Mrs. Luong received special care and always received attention from the center's staff, she could not avoid lonely moments. Especially on rainy, stormy nights, facing herself in the small room, her heart suddenly felt bitter and resentful. At times like that, the woman always tried to hold back her tears, but tears still soaked her face.
Ms. Luong confided: “In my hometown, I still have brothers and relatives, the closest ones being my younger sister’s family. The happiest times are when I return to my hometown to meet my relatives or when my relatives from my hometown come to visit, because at times like that, I feel the warmth of family love and affection.”
Ms. Nguyen Thi Luong was highly appreciated by the leaders of Nghe An War Invalids Nursing Center for her spirit of overcoming difficulties and sharing with people in the same situation. Despite her severe disability, she still tried to be proactive in her daily life, cooking her own meals because she saw that the service staff was very busy.
Whenever someone was sick, Ms. Luong would kindly visit their room to ask about them and encourage them to help them fight their illness. Her efforts were recognized with a Certificate of Merit from the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee for her outstanding achievements in gratitude work.
Nearly 60 years of worshiping her husband
Although she did not directly carry a gun to the battlefield, the life of Mrs. Lang Thi Ngoc (born in 1946), from Ly Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) bears the heavy scars of war. The war with the American Empire took everything from her, so today, when she is about to turn 80, she has to live alone in a small room of the Nghe An Nursing Center for War Invalids for the homeless wives of martyrs.
“I got married in 1961, when I was just 15 years old. After the wedding, my husband immediately went back to the battlefield. Five years later, I received news that he had died. Everyone advised me to remarry, but I decided to stay single and worship my husband. In my last years, I was old and weak and had to rely on the State,” Ms. Ngoc said about her life.
Mrs. Ngoc's husband was martyr Nguyen Dang Niem. They were from the same hometown and fell in love with each other. When the war against America broke out, Mr. Niem quickly enlisted in the army and went to fight in the South.
In 1961, during a business trip to his home, the soldier stopped by to marry the young woman. As soon as the wedding was over, the soldier hurriedly said goodbye to his young wife to leave with his comrades.
After the wedding, the bride Lang Thi Ngoc was given the opportunity by her husband's family to study Pedagogy, and after a few years of graduation she became a teacher. During the years when the US Air Force bombed the North, causing many tragic scenes, teacher Ngoc still stayed in class, stayed in school with her students every day.
During the day she was absorbed in her lesson plans, at night she helped her parents-in-law with their work, and late at night she missed her husband even more. In mid-1966, a comrade came home to tell her that her husband had died, and the young wife was stunned and unable to say a word.
Later, several times people came to inquire about her, and her husband's family encouraged her to remarry, but teacher Ngoc shook her head.
The years passed quietly, her parents-in-law and her biological parents grew old and passed away one after another, the young teacher's hair gradually turned gray and she became an old woman. With no children or relatives, Mrs. Lang Thi Ngoc had to rely on the care of the State. For several years now, she has been a member of the Nghe An War Invalids Nursing Center.
“Here, I always receive special support and care from the staff, which helps me ease the loneliness of old age. But when I am alone, I cannot avoid sadness, forcing me to tell myself not to be weak, to be strong to be worthy of being the wife of a soldier who sacrificed for the cause of national liberation,” Ms. Ngoc confided.
Currently, the center is nurturing and caring for 7 women who are war invalids and martyrs’ relatives. They are always cared for and supported by staff members as if they were family members, helping them to ease some of the loneliness of old age.