The couple’s figures have become a sight on the square.
Yesterday, Ms. Jia from Zhao County called in:
On the central square of Zhao County, one can always see such a couple—the wife is hemiplegic, and the husband accompanies her every day. They hold hands and exercise together, from summer through winter, which is especially touching.
Our reporter Dong Chang reports:
Husband holds his ill wife’s hand through spring, summer, autumn and winter
Yesterday, the weather was dry and cold. That middle-aged couple holding hands and exercising together appeared again on the central square near the Zhao County Theater.
There weren’t many people on the square. The man wore a short cotton-padded jacket, blue trousers, and black earmuffs, while his wife wore a long down jacket and a purple woolen hat. In the cold wind, they held hands and strolled around the square. The wife, whose legs were not very agile, walked with stops and starts, while the husband stood by her side, patiently encouraging her.
One lap, two laps… Their pace gradually quickened, and the husband didn’t forget to wipe the sweat from his wife’s forehead. When tired, the husband would help his wife sit on a stone bench. “Let’s rest a while, then we’ll keep going.” But the husband didn’t take time to rest himself. Sitting to the side, he would at times bend down to rub his wife’s right leg, and at other times rub her right hand. Looking at the husband who had accompanied her in fighting the illness, the wife wore not only a happy smile on her face but also a look of firmness in her eyes.
After a short break, they once again held hands and continued on their way...
And so, this couple, hand in hand, walked through the first spring, summer, autumn and winter since the wife fell ill.
They walked 5,000 li in 9 months — and he will keep accompanying her
The couple has been married for 31 years. The husband, Kong Qunsuo, is 59 years old, and the wife, Chen Suhua, is 51. They are from Caogutun Village, Zhao County.
On April 5 last year, Chen Suhua suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, which left her with hemiplegia. “When she was just discharged from hospital, her right hand remained tightly clenched, and she had almost no sensation in her right leg,” said Kong Qunsuo. After being discharged, they lived at their daughter’s home, which is close to the central square.
Starting in May last year, at 5 a.m. every day, Kong Qunsuo helped his wife get up and supported her as they went to the square for a walk and exercise. “At first, she still needed support, but now she can walk just holding my hand,” Kong Qunsuo said. From morning to night, whenever they had time, they would stroll on the square, walking several hours every day.
“We walk over ten kilometers every day, and have kept it up for nearly nine months,” he said. Roughly calculated, they have walked fifty thousand li together, and the wife’s symptoms have significantly improved. Her confidence in overcoming the illness has also grown. “As long as I can cure her illness, I will keep accompanying her,” he said.
Besides walking for exercise, Kong Qunsuo also gives his wife a massage every day, for two to three hours at a time. “Her right hand used to be tightly clenched all the time, but now it can slowly open up.”
Touching figures in a small county town — the husband interprets devotion through his actions
Since last summer, the corners of the square have all witnessed the presence of this couple, and their actions have touched everyone around them.
Familiar residents, when passing by, would always stop and quietly watch them, silently encouraging the couple with their eyes.
“From summer to winter, we could see this couple every day. Facing illness, they bravely confront it hand in hand. Whenever we see them exercising together, my colleagues and I are deeply moved,” said Ms. Jia. Her workplace is right across from the central square. At the end of each workday, when she looks out the window, she can always see the heartwarming sight of this couple holding hands.
Ms. Wang, a resident, said that in life, they are an ordinary couple. But after the wife fell ill, the husband held her hand and walked a long road of five thousand li over nine months. With his actions, he has shown a kind of love—love that is unwavering, and a bond that is unbreakable. “I believe that with his care, his beloved will recover soon.”