A 48-year-old man has overcome his disability to take care of his ageing mother on his own.
Chen Xinyin from Chongqing, south west China, lost his arms after getting a massive electric shock aged seven, reported People’s Daily Online.
Since then, he’s learnt to cook, farm and now even looks after his bed-ridden mother.
The disabled man’s amazing strength of character has been captured in a series of moving photographs that’s recently emerged.
Since 2014, the disabled man has had to take care of her full-time while running his smallholding.
Chen Xinyin’s 91-year-old mother has been getting weaker and weaker each year.
About a month ago, she became paralysed and can no longer move her arms.
Without the use of his hands, he has to do everything using other parts of his body, including spoon-feeding his mother using his teeth to hold on to the instrument.
But Chen Xinyin has never let his disability stop him.
Since he was 14, he has been helping on the family smallholding by rearing sheep and buffalo.
When he was 20, his father died. As his older siblings had already left home, his mother became the only person who kept the poverty-stricken family going.
Chen Xinyin wanted to help as much as he can, starting with learning to cook. But with no hands, he had to learn to use a cleaver with his foot.
The first time he tried to use the cleaver with his foot, he managed to lift it into the air using the toes on his right foot.
Unfortunately it then fell down on to his left foot, leaving a scar that can still be seen today.
But this didn’t stop him.
He eventually mastered cooking with his feet and has learnt to plant wheat, peel corn cobs and even weave baskets.
Now he is the only one who runs his smallholding of farmland and raises a flock of 24 sheep, two buffalos and four hens.
He has even managed to make a profit year on year.
Working with his feet is not without cost.
Chen Xinyin forgoes socks all year round because they take too long and too much effort to put on.
This means that in the winter he often gets frostbites on his toes, making life even more difficult.
Once, a villager suggested that he should consider begging.
Beggars in the large cities can earn tens of thousands of Yuan (upwards of £1,000) per year, which is significantly more than Chen Xinyin currently makes.
He was indignant about the suggestion and replied angrily: ‘I have no arms but I have good feet. I can’t go make that sort of money.’
Dignity is not the only reason for rejecting the idea.
Chen Xinyin is also worried about who will be left to take care of his mother if he leaves.
While many would have reached out for help, Chen Xinyin is adamant about doing as many things himself as possible.
Somehow, he even finds the time to help his neighbours in times of need.
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