22-Year-Old Man In China Cares For Mother With ALS For 12 Years, Bathes Her Daily

Young Man Cares For, Bathes & Feeds Mum Who Suffers From ALS

Taking care of a bedridden loved one who requires constant attention is no easy task. Yet for Yang Zhiyang, a man from Shaanxi Province, taking care of his mother is what he does with a loving smile on his face.

Mr Yang’s mum suffers from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, a disease affecting nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control muscle movement. For 12 years, the filial son has been taking care of her every day.

As his mother is unable to fend for herself, Mr Yang feeds her, washes her, and takes her outside in a wheelchair for fresh air.

Seeing how unendingly patient her son has been, Mr Yang’s mother has nothing but gratitude for him.

Man cares for mother with ALS for 12 years

Mr Yang Zhiyang, 22, faced tough obstacles in his life since the young age of 10, reported Xinhua Net.

At that time, doctors diagnosed his mother, Ms Su Jing, with the rare uncurable disease known as ALS. The fatal condition progressively degrades neurons and causes a gradual loss of the abilities to speak, swallow, move, and eventually breathe.

With his father working long hours to make money, the then 10-year-old Yang took on the responsibility. After returning from school, he would proceed to take care of his mother.

As she lost her ability to talk, she would communicate limitedly via texting on her phone. But over the past 12 years, Mr Yang has learnt to understand what his mother needs just through eye contact.

Her inability to control her facial muscles also means that Ms Su can’t chew, so her son has to feed her by hand. Even when a bowl of rice takes an hour to finish, his patience never wavers.

The young man’s astounding patience shines through other tasks too, such as assisting his mother in the toilet, brushing her teeth and drying her hair.

Due to her illness, every minor task requires extreme care. Despite this challenge, Mr Yang only sees the time he spends with his mother as precious, given the fatal outlook of ALS.

Helps her exercise & takes her outside in wheelchair

After graduating, he began to dedicate all his time to caring for his mother at home.

To help mitigate the muscle degeneration, Mr Yang assists her with daily exercises, even singing to her while doing so.

Since Ms Su loves beauty and cleanliness, Mr Yang cleans the house every day on top of his other duties.

He also learnt how to apply makeup for her, trim her eyebrows, and braid her hair.

Although ALS took away his mother’s ability to walk, Mr Yang brushes aside the inconvenience and takes her outside often in a wheelchair for shopping or salon treatments.

His father even claimed that for 12 years, Mr Yang cared for his mother so diligently that she never suffered a single bedsore.

Her son’s filial piety is not lost on Ms Su, whose loving smile for him is clear in various photos and videos of them together.

She wrote:

ALS stole away the colours of my life, yet the dull monochrome days were lit up one-by-one by my beloved. Thanks to your accompaniment and care, I’ve become stronger than before. In the days to come I will ride the wind and break the waves, striding forward fearlessly.

Also read: M’sian Man Quits Job To Become Full-Time Caretaker For Bedridden Mother, Calls It The Best Decision

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Featured image adapted from Xinhua on Weibo and Xinhua.