Till death us do part...

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-09 07:42

For 34 years, Han Huimin and his wife Xu Mingfang have been taking care of a paralyzed woman who was Han's first lover.

Han Huimin during CCTV's live broadcast of "People Who Moved China in 2008" program.

In 1972, Han joined a factory in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and met Wu Yueying. They soon fell in love. Two years later, a car accident severed the nerves in Wu's neck, leaving her paralyzed.

Han, who is now 55, took meticulous care of Wu for three years before finally giving in to his parents' pressure to marry someone else. But he had one condition: The woman must join him in taking care of Wu.

This impossible condition met an impossible candidate. Xu Huifang was deeply touched by Han's devotion and married him in 1980.

The couple have been trying to keep Wu as comfortable as possible. To keep her room warm, Han made a special stove by himself. As it was hard to get coal, he bought bags of sawdust from a faraway factory to use as fuel.

In summer, he bought ice blocks, 100 kg for each, from a cold drinks factory and put them under Wu's bed to keep her cool. He also fitted Wu's bed with a special mobile board to help her with her daily ablutions without having to be lifted up.

The two families have become one over the past three decades. Wu's mother and sister regard Han and Xu as their own family, while Xu spends her spare time by the bed of Wu, cheering her up with news.

Xu says she fully understands her husband's love for Wu and supports him in providing Wu with spiritual support.

In his simple way, Han has proved what true love is.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/09/2009 page8)