A few days ago, when Gu Guangxin drove to the First People's Hospital of Xiangtan City to pick up his hospitalized father and return home, he couldn't imagine that his elderly mother would become an "Internet celebrity" who won more than 10,000 praises on the short video platform.
In the First People's Hospital of Xiangtan City, Nurse Lin of the Department of Geriatrics showed him a video: her silver-haired mother, who was less than one meter and five meters tall, did more than a dozen push-ups, opening and closing jumps, plus palm touching the ground in the corridor of the inpatient department. Nurse Lin told him, "Insisting on such an intense exercise is not easy for even young people to do."
Click to watch the video
Gu Guangxin's mother, Feng Genxiu, is 78 years old. In the ward not far from her "exercise place", her husband Gu Jiayun lived. Ten days ago, Gu Jiayun suddenly vomited and couldn't breathe, and was taken to the hospital by his family.
Gu Jiayun, 84, suffered a sudden ischemic stroke (commonly known as stroke) 6 years ago. In the past 6 years, his health has deteriorated, gradually from walking on crutches to now "someone must push a wheelchair around", and Feng Genxiu has gradually changed from occasional care to 24-hour escort.
In order to take better care of her husband, Feng Genxiu insisted on exercising from the year of her husband's stroke. She usually wakes up at 5 or 6 a.m., exercises for half an hour, and starts the day's care.
(On February 27, in the courtyard of Grandma Feng's family in Xiangtan County, Hunan Province, 78-year-old Grandma Feng did 10 push-ups in one breath)
Although the children are all local, Feng Genxiu does not want to bother them, and the nurse is far less caring than she takes care of. In time, she hopes to exercise well, take good care of her husband, and enjoy her old age in peace.
Internet celebrity grandma
In the dim kitchen of the Gu family, less than ten square meters, the dining table is next to the stove, and Feng Genxiu pushes her husband to the table, mixes the boiled sweet potatoes with rice with a spoon, and feeds it to her husband. Due to swallowing dysfunction, Gu Jiayun can only eat foods that are easy to digest and chew, and sweet potato porridge has become the main food for the two people.
Not long after, Gu Jiayun's right hand was raised, pointing back and forth, and a few syllables that were not very sharp were spit out in his mouth. Feng Genxiu didn't need to deliberately listen to it to understand that he was saying that he was full. She wanted to feed two more bites, but her husband immediately turned his head and refused. Feng Genxiu could only put the bowl down, skillfully wipe his mouth, bounce off the fallen rice residue, and push him out for a walk.
(Feng Genxiu is feeding Gu Jiayun)
Feng Genxiu said that since the illness, her husband's appetite has not been as good as before, he can only eat a small bowl at a time, and many meals must rely on her to half coax and half feed to swallow into the stomach.
According to the memory of his son Gu Guangxin, his father used to have a good appetite, but his eating habits were not healthy, his father had a history of diabetes for nearly twenty years, but he was not restrained in his diet, and eating was never meatless, and these became signs of his stroke.
In fact, stroke is one of the common diseases of middle-aged and elderly men, and in recent years, it has tended to be younger, and men, obese people, and diabetic people are all highly prevalent. To this day, stroke remains the leading cause of death among Chinese residents.
After Gu Jiayun's stroke, a number of complications followed, and his language function and behavioral ability were seriously damaged. During his illness days, Feng Genxiu acted as her husband's "nanny", cook, and even translator.
For 6 years, Feng Genxiu was responsible for all of her husband's escort work: changing clothes and pants, scrubbing his body, cooking and feeding, including carrying his husband who could not move in a wheelchair to go out for a walk in the morning.
A year ago, Gu Guangxin found that he could not understand his father's speech, and could only hear some babbling sounds, all relying on his mother to explain. "It was really hard to accept at first. But this day will always come, there is no way. Gu Guangxin said.
(Grandpa Gu is 84 years old, and his perennial illness makes this door in the kitchen become his main "position" to see the outside world)
He was relieved that his mother's physical condition had always been good compared to his father, and after the children had their own busy lives, the mother could still take on the heavy responsibility of taking care of her father.
But in fact, this Internet celebrity grandmother is not disease-free and painless.
Because of an illness in her early childhood, Feng Genxiu's vision was severely damaged, and both work and daily life were restricted to varying degrees, until an operation ten years ago allowed her vision to be partially restored.
My husband had a stroke 6 years ago and needed someone to accompany him at all times. Feng Genxiu was not in good health at that time, often dizzy, in order to continue to take care of her husband, she began to exercise consciously.
(After Grandma Feng finishes feeding the animals, she can also do a dance of old age.) Grandma Feng said: "I don't remember the dance name, I just watched it on TV and learned it." ”）
Feng Genxiu usually gets up between 5 and 6 a.m. to exercise. In order to avoid moving, even in winter, she will not wear too heavy.
Feng Genxiu's sports include: push-ups, opening and closing jumps, raising his legs to touch his ankles, etc. She usually chooses to start the day with stretching, and then gradually increases the intensity and difficulty. In addition, Feng Genxiu can also punch and dance.
At first, it didn't go well, many of the movements she did were not standard, and push-ups were even more impossible. At first, she exercised for 10 to 15 minutes a day, which gradually increased over the years, and now she can continue to exercise for half an hour at a time, including many high-intensity movements.
Feng Genxiu's exercise plan was never broken by anything, exercising at home when it rained and being in the yard when it wasn't raining.
In the past, Feng Genxiu occasionally moved his muscles and bones, but he did not form a habit. Her husband's sudden illness gave her a warning. She followed the TV to learn simple exercise movements, and the longer she persisted, she found that her body became more and more relaxed, and the symptoms of dizziness no longer appeared.
(Grandma Feng stretches the limbs of grandpa who has been sitting for a long time and has no exercise)
She once shared these exercise methods with friends, but the friends all refused her sports invitations, saying that it was difficult and could not be done.
59 years of togetherness
Every morning when exercising, Feng Xiugen would push her husband to the hall, and after the exercise, she would also give him a hand to move his joints.
The marriage between the two has gone through 59 years, and sometimes Feng Genxiu looks at her husband who is paralyzed in a wheelchair and feels pity.
She often recalls her husband's appearance when he was young, "he used to be the regimental commander's favorite soldier when he joined the army." In the army, he was the most physically qualified and responsive.
(Many of Grandma Feng's photos can no longer be found, leaving only a few photos of her relatives at the head of the bed pressed under the glass.) ）
According to her, the leg of her husband who now suffered a stroke has also been injured in the army. At that time, the nurses at the hospital had to cut open his pants in order to treat his legs. Afterwards, he complained to the nurse, who brought him a few pairs of brightly colored flower pants, but he resolutely refused to wear them until the regimental commander sent him a military uniform. Grandma Feng said: "He is such a person, sometimes you are angry, you will tell you jokes, you want something to drive to buy for you immediately, sometimes the temper comes very direct, stubborn." ”
Later, the first child of the two was born, and Gu Jiayun retired from the army. With no other means of subsistence, they began to sell vegetables for a living. "We got up at 4 o'clock, and it was very bitter." Feng Genxiu followed her husband to mow the grass and pour fertilizer. Because of an eye disease, she also accidentally fell into the pond, but fortunately she was rescued.
(Grandpa Gu holds the "Glory in the Party for 50 Years" commemorative medal in his hand)
The couple gets up early and greedy, but the hard life is difficult to see the end, and the money earned can only barely solve the problem of food and clothing. The eldest son grew to three years old, the daughter was born, and the family situation did not change much, but it had to support three children.
Gu Guangxin recalled that when he was a child, he lived in a thatched house, and it was common for rain to leak, and his home was always wet during the rainy season. Half of the furniture in the home was made by the father himself or picked up by others.
Feng Genxiu recalled that when her eldest son was in high school, he needed about 15 yuan a month, and she and her husband had to get up earlier and work more greedily. It was not until the three children reached adulthood that the family's situation improved slightly. Now that my brother has started farming and raised ten cows in his residence, his sister has already married and is now a junior high school physics teacher.
Life is getting better, but my parents are getting old.
(The cabinet is filled with medicine that Grandpa Gu took)
First, the mother was hospitalized for intestinal infarction, and at that time, the condition was sudden and quite serious, and the doctor suspected that it was cancer, and issued a critical illness notice. At that time, my father, who had not yet suffered a stroke, was very busy in the hospital.
When Gu Guangxin hurried to arrive, he saw his father holding his mother's hand by the bedside, which was the first time in his life that he had seen his father from the military shed tears. Gu Jiayun instructed the three children at the bedside, "We must cure my mother." ”
Gu Guangxin said, "At that time, we cured my mother, but now we can't cure my father." ”
In the past two years, Gu Jiayun has been unable to move, and has become more and more "clingy", often shouting her name loudly without seeing Feng Genxiu for a few minutes, and always needs her to be around. Sometimes the meal is not appetizing and there will be shouting.
(Grandma Feng is exercising)
Feng Genxiu was distressed about her husband, never complained about the current situation, always responded to every need, walked quickly to her husband's side, bent down to listen to him. Because in the face of her husband's bad temper, Feng Genxiu knew in his heart that he might be afraid of separation that would come sooner or later.
Half-life escort
The mother, who is over 70 years old, insisted on exercising for 6 years, just to take care of her father who had suffered a stroke, and the children felt guilty whenever they thought about it.
Gu Guangxin said that her mother is a very kind person, not willing to trouble others, the children have a family, she can afford more. On the one hand, to keep fit is to take care of the husband, and on the other hand, it is also to not increase the financial burden of the children.
Nowadays, Gu Jiayun, who has suffered a stroke in bed, is only cared for by his wife, the younger son often goes home to visit, and the eldest son and daughter who live farther away usually come on holidays and when the elderly need it.
On the issue of the father's medical treatment, the family also made a clear division of labor. The mother was responsible for taking care of the father closely, while the children were responsible for transporting the two to the hospital and paying for the father's medical expenses.
(Seeing the stray puppies on the side of the road, Grandma Feng and her young son will be adopted into the house)
Gu Jiayun's monthly medical expenses are about 500 yuan, and he goes to the hospital two to three times a year for hospitalization, and these expenses are paid by his children. But they also had a hunch that their father's body was worse than a day's worth of health, and that the cost of treatment would be even higher in the near future.
Gu Guangxin said that if one day the mother's ability is not good, they can only ask the nurse to come to the door, because no one has the time and ability to accompany the whole process. But he also believes that for the elderly who have lost the ability to take care of themselves, finding a caregiver is sometimes not even a problem that money can solve.
In fact, the situation of Gu Guangxin's family is not unique, in the seventh census, the proportion of the population aged 60 and over was 18.7%. The "China Development Report 2020: Development Trends and Policies of Chinese Population" released by the China Development Foundation predicts that by around 2022, China's population over the age of 65 will account for 14% of the total population, achieving a transformation into an aging society.
(The youngest son of the family came out early and returned late, and Grandma Gu also helped to feed a few cows in the family)
Behind the aging society, there are old people like Gu Jiayun and Feng Genxiu, and there are also middle-aged people like Gu Guangxin.
Perhaps because Chinese traditional habits, the elderly are reluctant to live in nursing homes and caregivers, and separation from their children and land is a cruel challenge for them. Situations like Gu Genxiu's are most of China's geriatric society, and most of the people who accompany the elderly, whether in towns or villages, are partners.
And Gu Guangxin, who is middle-aged, not only makes him unable to get rid of the pressure of work, but also has the expenses of his own small family waiting for him to pay. Under double pressure, it seems difficult to find the best of both worlds.
However, these problems are not the problems that Feng Genxiu is considering at the moment. What she has to do every day now is to take care of herself while taking care of her husband, in her words, "One more day is one more day." ”
(Grandma Feng wrote the birth date of the couple in the closet in the early years)
On the closet door panel of Feng Genxiu's bedroom, she clearly wrote her and her husband's names and birthdays in chalk. Feng Genxiu thought that one day when they were gone, the children would remember their names and birthdays.
On this old cabinet door, their date of birth is February 22, and this mysterious coincidence seems to have tied the lives of the two people together.
Editors: Wu Jiaxiang, Ye Zhengxing
Text: Zhou Yuke | Photograph: Li Dan
Proofreading: Wu Yihe | Typesetting: Li Yongmin
Operation: Han Ningning | Coordinator: Wu Wei