Sometimes you come across an ordinary story that is so extraordinary that you cannot help but be awestruck for a while. Just now, I read a piece on VnExpress about a disabled man who overcame the overwhelming odds and achieves his own humbling success. It’s such a remarkable tale that I have to write about it.
(This post falls under the Fascinating Lives category where I write about the lives of people I find… fascinating)
A Healthy Man Turned Disabled
In 2010, a 23-year-old man named Nho got into a horrific accident that left him crippled from the crotch down.
Mr. Nho had just graduated from university at that time. And — just like that, in the blink of an eye, he woke up in agony with medical tubes all over his body. Seven intensive surgeries later, he now lost half of his body and had to use an artificial anus and urinary catheter.
His dad had just died and his mum was in poor health conditions. He was taken care of by his uncle. His sister, a school teacher who had just given birth, came to visit him in the hospital. She broke down in tears upon seeing him.
Mr. Nho attempted suicide multiple times. He failed it all, of course. He drowned himself in alcohol to forget the misery. He even snubbed his sister. From a healthy young man full of hopes and ambitions, he was now bed-bound; he couldn’t even eat or go to the toilet without help. He felt useless and hopeless.
Seeing The Light
One day, Nho heard his baby nephew crying. His sister consoled the baby and it stopped crying.
At that moment, Nho realised that even the baby stopped throwing a tantrum because it understood that it was being loved and cared for by someone else. Nho decided to stop being a baby and get on with his life.
(I think this anecdote is probably dramatised or shortened to fit a news article. VnExpress is notorious for this embroidery. Mr. Nho probably didn’t have an epiphany from one single baby-wailing event, but more like a gradual change of heart over many months.)
Getting on with Life
Nho decided to leave his hometown to go back to Hanoi and take IT classes. He couldn’t physically get to a workplace, so his only option was to work on a computer from home. He enrolled in a vocational training centre for the disabled.
There, he met his future wife Nga. His wife had it easier than him; she only had one disabled leg and could still walk.
In Hanoi, they rented a 10 square metre storefront and sell iced tea during the day to make a living. Every day, they would get up at 4 am to boil tea and prepare the beverages. They continued taking IT classes in the evening.
Every month, they made about 7 million VND and put aside 3 million in a savings account.
After a while, Nho was hired in a web design company and Nga also found an office job.
Building It All Together
After settling down with a stable job, Nho thought about marriage with Nga. Her family was vehemently against this, of course, seeing how Nho was a disabled guy with no possibility of even having kids.
By this time, they had saved up 200 million in their account. Nho decided to borrow another 700 million from the bank to pay for the mortgage of a small apartment in Ha Dong (a district in the outskirts of Hanoi). They held a small wedding ceremony right in this apartment.
With the new financial pressure to pay off the mortgage, Nho took another massive risk and quit his job to start his own Internet services company.
Gradually, he managed to employ a staff of nearly 40, many of whom also disabled people who get paid an average of 3 – 4 million/month. His company was getting more and more contracts, and there have been many days where he’d work 16 – 18 hours to get the jobs done.
Nho prides himself on always having paid his staff’s wages on time.
By now, he has paid off half of his mortgage. The couple now is looking into artificial insemination to start a new chapter of their life with a baby.
My Thoughts
Seriously, what a human being this guy is. I understand there are plenty of people who work hard days after days to provide for their family, and there are many many who have to live with debilitating illnesses.
But still — the thought of being a healthy and vibrant young man one moment, and the next moment both your legs are gone and you have to piss and shit through tubes — that is absolutely, mind-boggingly horrifying. You keep wondering why this has to happen to you, and whether life is still worth living.
Really though, life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. Mr. Nho at first reacted to everything with anger, shame, and desperation. Slowly over time he chose to just accept it all and embraced the hardship.
It’s really fucking hard to tell how you’d react when such an unimaginable tragedy falls on you, so I’m glad Mr. Nho chose the stoic way of dealing with it. I wish I could have half the character he has.
There are millions of those newly constructed apartment complexes in Ha Dong. They all look the same. If I was to walk through one of those residences and saw Mr Nho and his wife, amid a sea of other newly wed couples living in those affordable apartments projects, I wouldn’t even bat an eye. He just looks like a regular guy in a wheelchair.
But behind this ordinary-looking dude is an extraordinary story of perseverance and spirit. My utmost respect to Mr Nho, and I sincerely wish him, his family, and his business ventures the very best.