单亲妈妈把脑瘫儿子送进北大 如今又上哈佛
A famous saying by English poet George Herbert goes "One good mother is worth a hundred schoolmasters." In the case of Ding Zheng, who was born with cerebral palsy in China's Hubei Province and is studying law at Harvard University, his mother Zou Hongyan is worth a thousand schoolmasters and more. "There is little value in rescuing the baby. He will become mentally disabled or paralyzed. I suggest you give up," a doctor at Jingzhou District Hospital told Zou and her family on July 21, 1988. Zou was shocked. "We shall give up the baby. He will make our whole life miserable," her husband said. His "rational" words hurt Zou deeply. "No! I shall not let my boy die! I felt so happy when his little feet gently kicked my abdomen, and his heart beat together with mine, like dancing a ballroom dance," Zou said. "You are just too stubborn to listen to the doctor's advice. You will be the one to take care of the baby," said Zou's husband. Yet Zou did not change her mind and started the long journey of rehabilitation training for Ding. Zou divorced her husband when Ding turned 10 due to their differences over whether to raise Ding. "Of all the disabilities, I was most afraid that Ding Zheng would be mentally disabled," Zou recalled. She started to take Ding to Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine to check his intelligence when he was less than 100 days old. With continuous treatment, the day finally came when the doctor said Ding's intelligence level was normal after the boy turned one year of age. "Nothing was more soothing than the news that my precious boy has normal intelligence," Zou told Xinhua. However, due to damaged motor neurons in the cerebellum, Ding had great difficulties in sports: He could not hold things until the age of one; he learnt to stand at the age of two, walk at three and jump at six. Zou instilled perseverance into her son and never let him give up. "I don't want him to feel ashamed about his illness......I ask him to work harder than others and have higher requirements of him," said Zou. But Zou neither helped Ding with his homework nor forced him to participate in training courses. Thanks to his mother's intense nurturing, Ding graduated from the College of Environmental Science and Engineering of Peking University, and then enrolled in the Law School of Peking University in the same year. In March 2016, Ding was admitted by the Law School of Harvard University after working as a lawyer for a year. "I've never dared to apply for Harvard University, but my mom always encouraged me to give it a try. Whenever I hesitate, she is always there guiding me," said Ding. |