It is amazing just how far a mother’s love could take her children. With her unwavering love, unfaltering support, and unstoppable dedication a mother from China is showing the world the great feats a mother’s unconditional love can conquer.
When Zou Hongyan from Hubei, China gave birth to her son in the year 1998, she was the happiest.
However, because her son was nearly suffocated during birth due to a complication, Ding Ding was left with a cerebral palsy.
Knowing that the child has a disability, Zou Hongyan’s doctor and her husband encouraged her to give him up. Apparently, they fear that given his condition, Ding Ding will be bound to live a miserable and worthless life.
Fortunately, Ding Ding’s mother did not give up on him. Believing that he has the potential of living a fruitful life, Zou Hongyan did not listen to her doctor and husband’s advice.
In fact, the respectable mother even divorced Ding Ding’s father just so she could keep her son.
From that day on, Zou Hongyan took it to herself to raise and support Ding Ding. It’s truly an extraordinary example of the power of a mother’s love. In her desire to give her son a bright future, she juggled 3 jobs simultaneously to support Ding Ding and her family.
She was a full-time faculty at a college in Wuhan, a part-time protocol trainer, and a charming insurance agent.
She handled all of these jobs at the same time to be able to cover funds for Ding Ding’s training, therapy, and education.
Despite her tight schedule due to the demands of her three jobs, Zou Hongyan was still able to spend time with Ding Ding.
She accompanied Ding Ding to his rehabilitation sessions, regardless of the weather. She learned how to properly massage his stiff muscles, a manifestation of his disability.
On top of these, she also played brain-boosting games with her son which would stimulate his senses and develop his intelligence.
She was also the one who taught him how to properly use chopsticks even though Ding Ding could barely grip them.
Zou Hongyan did everything a single mother could in order to raise Ding Ding into a fine man he is today. Today, Ding Ding is an achiever and a fighter in his own right.
“I didn’t want him to feel ashamed about these physical problems,” Zou Hongyan shared with South China Morning Post.
“Because he had inferior abilities in many areas, I was quite strict on him to work hard to catch up where he had difficulties.”
Zou Hongyan’s hardwork and dedication did not go to waste. Proving her doctor, ex-husband, and the world wrong Ding Ding graduated from Peking University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Sciences and Engineering.
On top of this, Ding Ding has been accepted in Harvard Law School and is currently studying Law.
People who have read of this mother’s incredible devotion have since showered her with well-deserved admiration:
A reader who goes by the name of Bonnie Cotman rightly recognized her for giving all her efforts in raising a wonderful son.
Louis, another reader simply stated the obvious, Hongyan personifies ‘a mother’s love’ in it’s truest sense!
It’s true that disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy can leave a child incapable of fending for themselves. However, with unwavering support and unconditional love, a child with disability can also achieve things greater that you could ever imagine.
Ding Ding, a now successful graduate student of Harvard Law School, is a living proof that people with disability cannot be defined by the things they couldn’t do.