7-year-old Chinese boy is the sole carer for his paralysed father

It looks like China is home to some of the most caring little children ever. We recently brought you the story of the three-year-old girl who lovingly cared for her injured mother in hopital.

Now, we tell you the story of a seven-year-old schoolboy in southwest China’s Guizhou Province, who has been tenderly looking after his paralysed dad for over a year.

According to CCTV News, in 2013, Ou Yanglin’s father Ou Tongming fell from the second floor of their house, which was under construction.

The accident left him with a spinal cord injury, resulting in paralysis from the waist down. The family’s savings rapidly ran out due to the cost of treatment needed for the injury.

7 year old Chinese boy cares for his paralysed dad: Ou Yanglin amazingly still finds time to study, despite everything.
Image from CCTV News

Ou Tongming’s wife couldn’t cope with the tragedy and, taking their three-year-old daughter with her, left him and their son Ou Yanglin, never to be heard of again.

But young Ou Yanglin rose to the occasion and has looked after his father since then — all the while continuing his education.

You won’t imagine what Ou Yanglin’s day is like. Keep reading on the next page to find out. 

Ou Yanglin’s daily schedule

At 6am every day when other children of his age are still sleeping or being helped by their parents to get ready for school, this young man prepares breakfast for his father and then heads off to school.

After he eats lunch at school, Ou Yanglin comes home to “feed his father with his own hands, just as Ou Tongming had once fed him.”

The little boy doesn’t have the luxury of playtime unlike other children his age.

When his classes are over, he reportedly “spends his time searching around the school for scrap that can be exchanged money.” The boy told China Youth Daily that the money is needed to buy medicine for his father.

Ou Yanglin returns home after collecting his day’s scrap material and applies medicinal oil on his father’s back and buttocks, where “an ulcerated bedsore has spread to his pelvic cavity.”

Reportedly, Ou Tongming has even contemplated suicide to bring his suffering to an end. But the thought of leaving his little son an orphan stops him from doing this.

And as for this caring young boy — he says he can’t live without his father.

In a world where we hear numerous stories of adult children neglecting their elderly parents, we applaud the caring attitude of young Ou Yanglin and wish him only the very best.

We at theAsianparent hope this little boy and his father get the help they need and deserve.

What’s your message of hope to Ou Yanglin? Write it in a comment below.