A Vietnamese photographer has shared heartwarming photos of a young amputee couple enjoying a day out with their toddler son, who they say is their motivation to work hard and live a good life.
Minh Khuong Luu, 28, was walking around Hoa Binh Park, Hanoi, when he came across Le Thu Thi Nguyen and Ngoc Bao Doan with their son, Minh Tri Doan. Seeing the happy family together, Khuong snapped a few pictures of them.
“The happy way their eyes met, and the warm gestures between them prompted me to capture the moment and give the photos to them as a little surprise,” Khuong told The Epoch Times.
After listening to the hardships they had endured in their life and their amazing love story of coming together and raising their toddler son, Khuong said he felt a sense of admiration for how they had defied all the odds and the positive attitude that they radiated.
“I felt an urge to share their story with the younger generation, and so I shared their story to my page,” he added.
28-year-old Thu, who was born in Bac Giang province and works as an accountant in an education company in Hanoi, was only 10 when she met with an accident that changed her life forever. Holding her 7-month-old baby sister, she was hit by an excavator truck and the injuries were so severe that they resulted in the loss of her right leg.
Meanwhile, Bao, 29, who currently works as a freelance video editor, suffered from a rare disease called elephantiasis, which led to his left leg being amputated.
While Bao is fitted with a prosthesis, Thu walks with the aid of a forearm crutch.
Although both of them had to deal with the challenges of growing up without a leg each, Thu said they have been independent and never let themselves feel weak or pessimistic.
It was the couple’s unique circumstances that helped draw them together. Originally from Ung Hoa District, Hanoi province, Bao caught Thu’s attention due to his sporty, courageous nature.
Thu said that she came across Bao’s photo on Facebook as he took part in a marathon contest.
While scrolling through Bao’s Facebook profile, Thu came across more photos of him taking part in activities such as swimming, climbing, and running. She was also impressed seeing him use just one leg to skate. He was clearly unhindered by his apparent disability.
“I was drawn by his smile and his positivity and decided to make a move,“ she recalled. ”He accepted my friend request and we had some talks.”
The couple then set a date, but missed it several times. When they finally got to meet each other, they had already ignited a spark and knew they wanted to get to know each other more after that.
A few months later, on March 12, 2020, the couple tied the knot, surrounded by their family members and friends.
Not far down the line, the couple were overjoyed to know they were about to welcome their son, Minh Tri Doan, into the world.
However, Thu’s pregnancy was not without any challenges. Close to her due date, the then-expectant mom had a stomach ache and was worried about premature labor.
“I was in deep pain and couldn’t walk,“ Thu said. ”My husband, being amputated, couldn’t pick me up either. He was worried and had to ask for help from the neighbors. Luckily, we were all safe.”
On Nov. 17, 2020, Tri was born healthy.
Despite being blissfully happy with their healthy baby boy, when further lockdowns were imposed, the young couple were faced with a dire set of circumstances.
“We lost our jobs and didn’t earn any income,” Thu said. “It was a challenging time for both of us and if it wasn’t for love and compassion, we would have easily argued with each other.”
The couple took the time to take a holiday and spent time taking care of each other, educating their son, reading books, doing exercise, and improving themselves.
“We tried our best to provide our son with nutritious meals,” Thu said. “As for us, we were satisfied with just anything.”
Approaching life step by step, Thu and Bao have a grounded, sensible approach to parenthood, and are enjoying every minute with their son.
“Our son is the most precious gift that Heaven blessed us with,” Thu shared. “He is the reason we keep moving forward and is our motivation to work hard and live a good life.”
“He’s our medicine and joy,” she added.
Owing to mobility issues, Thu said they struggle with all the regular tasks in raising a small child, such as holding, feeding, and putting him to bed, as they require moving, standing, and balancing. Nonetheless, both parents have demonstrated amazing resilience in living their life.
“As for us, we have to hop,” Thu said. “However, doing so is dangerous, as we might fall down.”
When Tri began to walk, his parents took turns to guide his first steps.
“It was challenging of course,” Thu said. “We had to hop to guide him. When he went fast, we couldn’t keep up with him, so he fell.”
Thu said that they are first-time parents and thus are still navigating their way through parenthood.
“We keep in heart that we will create a healthy and good environment for him to grow,” she said. “We won’t put any pressure on him or ask him to follow our wishes.
“We just want him to know we’ll always be on his side.”
Additionally, Thu hopes to share her and her husband’s story with her son when he gets older, so that he can understand better and won’t have any self-pity that both his parents are amputated.
Their motto in dealing with difficult circumstances, Thu said, is that they approach life with a positive attitude and are determined to share that vibe with their community too.
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