The more difficult the situation, the more filial piety is tested. After going through the challenges, many people believe that happiness is when life begins with love and ends with filial piety.
The more difficult the situation, the more filial piety is tested. After going through the challenges, many people believe that happiness is when life begins with love and ends with filial piety.
1.
Huan's parents were still very young, they had 3 children together. Before being hospitalized and completely losing the ability to move, Huan was the healthiest and smartest child in the family. I don't remember exactly what disease Huan had, I only know that his parents took him to seek treatment everywhere. After many times of confusion, hope and disappointment, Huan's parents had to accept to maintain their child's life with machines in the special care area of the Intensive Care - Anti-Poison Department, Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital.
In this special care area, family members are only allowed to visit their children three times a day, each time for about 30 minutes.
People tell each other that in cases of long-term maintenance treatment, there is little hope of recovery and most of them have lost consciousness. But Huan is different, his body has lost the ability to move and react, but his consciousness is still alert like any other 6-year-old child - he knows pain, sadness, joy, and pity...
To accompany their child, Huan's parents rented a tiny, old room near the hospital, taking turns taking care of their child. I witnessed many of their emotions during this journey: Heartbreak every time visiting hours ended, having to hide from the eyes searching for their child's mumbling mouth; Happiness that made their eyes water when they were allowed to take their child out of the sterile room and feed him; Whispering to their child for hours, patiently guessing his thoughts through the expressions in his eyes; Then being stunned when the doctors announced that their child had to go back on a ventilator...
“The most painful thing is that Huan is very conscious, because he is conscious, he has to endure pain and loneliness when his parents are not around. I used to wish for a lot and was willing to give up everything to bear all his pain. Now, I just wish he can always feel how much his parents love him,” Huan’s mother once confided.
2.
Also at Nghe An Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital, I met a couple who have been taking care of two children with cerebral palsy for 12 years - 12 long years without a good night's sleep, 12 years not daring to go far from home, 12 years not allowing themselves to rest or get tired.
I also met a man who left behind all his fame and career with a bright future to become a full-time father, changing diapers 6-8 times a day for his child, feeding him spoonfuls of rice, and teaching him letters himself.
Or a young mother who sells groceries at the hospital gate during the day and sleeps alone in the hallway at night, not giving up hope that her 8-month-old child will wake up one day...
A person's luck is to be born into the love and care of his family. Illustration: Nguyen Book
It is not difficult to find stories about the great sacrifices of parents. The instinct of parents makes them persistently love and hope, even when miracles do not happen. Perhaps this is also the first happiness that most people receive as soon as they cry when they are born: Life begins with the love of parents.
3.
Among thousands of patients, Ms. Van is remembered by doctors and nurses at Nghe An Oncology Hospital because of her serious condition. When she was admitted to the hospital, her breast cancer had metastasized to her bones, making it very difficult to treat. Things were even more difficult when she was a single mother whose income depended on a night food kiosk on the sidewalk of Phong Dinh Cang Street (Vinh City).
During her stay in the hospital, her 18-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son became her biggest “medicine”, taking care of her every little thing. After each treatment, the two sensible children continued to be diligent “employees” at their mother’s late-night restaurant, the older sister making rice paper rolls, the younger brother cleaning tables and serving.
Visitors who had seen Ms. Van with her bald head, skinny body and sunken eyes were now amazed at how she miraculously overcame her illness. People said she was strong and determined, but she knew her true strength came from the filial piety of her two children.
Ms. Van and her eldest daughter. Photo: Diep Thanh
“
Because of me, both children were “forced to grow up” before their age, having to do jobs that other children their age did not want to do. The eldest daughter asked to postpone her plans to study, the second son both helped with housework and tried to study well to make his mother happy. As long as they knew what would make their mother happy, they would silently do it. Life’s ups and downs took many things from me, but gave me a priceless gift: good children.
Ms. Van (Vinh City)
4.
In her many years of nursing, my friend has witnessed many touching stories of filial piety. She said: “The most admirable things are the elderly who take care of their parents at an age that is “rare in the past and present”.
There is an uncle who is 70 years old this year, his health is already weak, but he insists on taking care of his bedridden mother, feeding her porridge, emptying the bedpan, washing clothes, bathing her... himself. Every time he decides to do something, he always asks his mother's opinion and wishes politely. Before going to bed, he always hugs his mother and whispers to her for a long time. When his mother passed away, he cried like a child. Perhaps it is always like that, in front of our parents, no matter how old we are, we are still children...".
5.
Not long ago, when writing an article about the family of the People's Armed Forces HeroPhan Van Trinh, I was particularly impressed with the 3 daughters-in-law in his family. Although they were not really well-off, they could have proposed to their husbands to live separately with a more comfortable and freer life. However, they chose to live together, taking care of their elderly mother-in-law and sick father-in-law, together creating a happy home with 4 families and 15 members.
Mr. Trinh and his wife live with their three sons' families under one roof. Photo: Diep Thanh
“
I don't think our choice is different. We have received love and protection from our parents and now we give back with respect and love, which is a normal thing that anyone can do.
Ms. Vu Thi Duyen - the eldest daughter-in-law of Mr. Trinh's family (Hung Binh Ward, Vinh City)
In the eyes of everyone, Mr. Trinh’s family is a rare model, a special story. But when sharing about their family, their children think it is a normal, obvious thing.
Looking back on her life and the days of extreme poverty, Ms. Vu Thi Chuyen - Mr. Trinh's wife confided: "To me, happiness is living in peace."filial pietyof children. And perhaps for everyone, in the last years of life, there is no greater happiness...".
