A wheelchair-bound academic in China has overcome severe disability to become an inspirational teacher. - Photo: SCMP composite/The Paper
BEIJING: A 30-year-old man in China who has battled a rare muscle disorder since childhood has earned a PhD from the prestigious Tsinghua University, providing inspiration to many.
Chen Bin is now a psychology teacher at a college in his hometown of Huizhou in southern China’s Guangdong province, reported the Huizhou Daily.
Netizens affectionately call him “a doctor in a wheelchair”.
He was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a rare genetic disorder characterised by muscle weakness, when he was seven years old, and has been unable to walk since he was 12.
He is also unable to hold heavy objects and needs help to complete daily chores, such as getting dressed, washing and eating.
But thanks to his parents’ persistent support, Chen excelled academically.
He was admitted to Sun Yat-sen University, a top university in Guangzhou in Guangdong province in 2012 to major in psychology.
Four years later, he enrolled at Tsinghua University as a PhD candidate without taking an entrance exam because of his extraordinary marks from Sun Yat-sen.
He graduated in June last year with a PhD, and by the end of the year he had been hired by Huizhou City College.
“Even though the disease restricts the movements of my body, I still can realise my dream because of the care and love from my family and many friends,” Chen said.
He said he was especially grateful to his mother who has given him “the biggest support and encouragement”.
When he was young, Chen’s mother, Li Huiyun, took him to school and home every day, carrying him on her back up and down five flights of stairs to and from their flat.
“Son, do not worry. As long as you want to go to school, I will accompany you and carry you,” she said.
Li, who quit her job to take care of her son, recalled he weighed about 50kg while she was only 55kg at that time.
“I really did not know how I managed to handle it through those difficult years. I just carried on,” Li said.
Even when Chen became a university student, Li went to live with him to look after him.
Chen’s father was a migrant worker who did a variety of jobs in other cities for decades until last year when his son told him to stop working for the sake of his health.
“Once I lamented why life was so unfair to me,” Chen said.
“Then I read in a book that if you only work a bit harder than most people every day, you will succeed. This has become my motto.”
At the college in Huizhou, Chen’s students are full of praise for his teaching style.
They say he is focused and patient and uses plenty of examples to help students understand psychology.
“Whenever I am frustrated or losing confidence, I think of Teacher Chen. He has lived through such tough challenges. Is there any reason for us not to keep going?” one student said.
“What a great mother and what an awesome son. I hope their family will be healthy and prosperous in the future,” an internet user wrote on Weibo.
“He is an encouraging role model. We should all learn from him,” another person said. - South China Morning Post
