Xuan Fengying didn’t think twice.
17 years ago, a truck hit her daughter-in-law, Xu, in a village in Qingyun County, in China’s Shandong Province. It had been only a month since her wedding. Xu was left in a vegetative state, and Xuan, now 68, decided she would be the one to care for her.
Her routine was exhausting. She fed Xu liquid food one spoonful at a time, and each meal took an hour. She turned her over more than ten times a day to prevent pressure sores, cleaned her, massaged her muscles, and played her favorite songs. She told her about the latest family news and repeated her name over and over, in case she ever responded.
A few years ago, Xu responded. She emerged from the vegetative state, and Xuan helped her learn to walk and do her rehabilitation exercises. Today, she can say a few words and cook simple meals, although the brain damage left her with the abilities of a 4-year-old child. In a video, she looks at her mother-in-law and says: “Mom, that’s wonderful”.
“She married my son, so she is my daughter too. How could I abandon her?” Xuan reportedly said. According to local media, what reassures her most is that Xu now knows how to cook: that way, she will have something to eat on the day Xuan is no longer here.