People say that husband and wife are originally birds of the same forest, and they fly separately when disaster comes. But Zhang Yan, a resident of Jizhen Community, Raofeng Town, Shiquan County, has not only been accompanying and caring for her husband who has been injured and disabled for more than 20 years, allowing her husband to recover his self-care ability, but also carefully taking care of her mother-in-law with cerebral atrophy, giving her relatives strong support and warmth, which is a good story in Raofeng Town, and in 2022, she was rated as a "good daughter-in-law" in Ankang City by the Municipal Women's Federation.
In 2001, Zhang Yan's husband He Zhongqin was rescued in the hospital for more than 20 days due to gas poisoning, and was hospitalized for more than five months after being out of danger.
Zhang Yan, a resident of Jizhen Community, Raofeng Town, Shiquan County: After being hospitalized for nearly a year, he didn't know anyone, he couldn't speak, let alone eat, he couldn't eat, he couldn't put on clothes, he couldn't do anything, and he was more annoyed than a baby.
Due to the disability, her husband can neither speak, nor is his hands and feet flexible, so she dresses, washes his face, feeds him, and helps him go to the toilet every day, and Zhang Yan takes care of her husband like a child. She also consulted with medical staff on how to care for the mentally handicapped so that her husband could recover his mental and physical functions as much as possible. Under Zhang Yan's careful care, three years later, her husband He Zhongqin was basically able to take care of himself.
Zhang Yan, a resident of Jizhen Community, Raofeng Town, Shiquan County: Every morning at dawn, I put on his clothes, washed his face, and took him out to climb the mountain, taught him to speak, taught him to read, and taught him to recognize money one by one. Feed him, bite by bite, feed him slowly. After 3 years, he gradually became able to speak, and after 4 years, he was able to slowly hold a spoon and eat by himself, and then he gradually became able to get dressed, and he has been recovering, and he has returned to this state until now. He can now wash his clothes in a fully automatic washing machine, take a shower by himself, and put on his own clothes and shoes.
The huge debt incurred by the husband during his medical treatment made the situation even worse for the family, which was not wealthy. Zhang Yan took good care of her husband while running a small shop to pay off debts, trying her best to maintain the family's life.
Zhang Yan's husband He Zhongqin: I thank my daughter-in-law for taking care of me and caring for me for decades, I always regret it, I am sorry for my daughter-in-law, I can't say it clearly, I can't express it......
Zhang Yan's eldest sister He Zhongzhi: If she hadn't maintained the family, my brother and their family would have been separated, and she would have been fine.
Zhang Yan's mother-in-law was frail and sickly, and in 2016, she had a cerebral infarction and cerebral atrophy, which caused her to be unable to take care of herself, and she needed to be taken care of 24 hours a day. Zhang Yan had to run a small shop and take care of her husband, and because she was the director of the community supervision committee, she also had to undertake community work, so she couldn't stay by her mother-in-law's side to take care of her, so she discussed with her husband's sisters and hired a nurse for her mother-in-law. Even so, Zhang Yan was still not at ease, and every week she had to buy daily necessities such as meat, milk powder, diapers, etc., go back to her hometown Puxi Village to visit her mother-in-law, and cook for her mother-in-law, clean up, and wash clothes until her mother-in-law passed away peacefully.
Zhang Yan's eldest sister He Zhongzhi: My mother is not in good health, and often Yanyan comes back to wash my mother, cut her hair, wash the bed, and bathe her.
Zhang Yan, a resident of Jizhen Community, Raofeng Town, Shiquan County: I am good to my mother-in-law now, and my daughter-in-law will definitely be good to me in the future. And I feel that my husband was chosen by myself, so for so many years, even if he got sick and had an accident, I must have done my best to take care of him and take care of our family. I just want to say to the daughter-in-law of the world that everyone will grow old, and teaching by word and deed is also a good example for his descendants.
Shiquan Financial Media Reporter: Guo Yiping