Student, 19, cares for her bedridden mom

'My biggest wish' is for her recovery, daughter says

"Mom, it's time to have breakfast!" says Di Huimin, a 19-year-old student, as she lifts a spoonful of porridge to her bedridden mother's mouth after washing her face.

There is no response, so Di repeats the words, much louder, before using her left thumb to open her mother's mouth. She gives her a spoonful of the porridge, then another, occasionally lifting her chin gently to help her swallow.

This has been the start of Di's daily routine since her mother, Zhang Bang, was left in a vegetative state after suffering a massive brain hemorrhage. Doctors told the family Zhang would require lifelong care - and Di willingly took up the task of providing it.

"My mother is very nice. She took good care of us," Di said. "I feel very happy when I see her looking at me and blinking her eyes, and I often dream that she is talking tome like before."

The daily act of feeding her mother has made Di's thumb calloused and hard, and her hair is turning prematurely gray. She remains positive, however, smiling as she tells her mother everything that has happened to her during the day when she returns home from Zhengzhou Normal University. She majors in bioengineering at the School of Life Sciences.

She does her homework sitting on her mother's bed, and reads aloud from books in the hope of catching her attention.

Di grew up in Lankao, Henan province. However, when she gained admission to the university, she took her mother with her so that her father, Di Gangqiao, would be free to return to work in the construction industry and support the family.

"I also brought my brother, Di Yongjie, here. He is learning to cut hair in Zhengzhou now," Di Huimin said.

They live in a rented house where two beds occupy most of the space in their 6-square-meter room, one for Di and her mother, and the other for her brother.

Life changed forever for the family on July 16, 2013. Di phoned her mother and asked her to bring some books she needed at school but had left at home. Zhang immediately got on her electric bicycle to deliver them, but fell off on the way.

Di heard about the accident from her father, and rushed to the hospital where Zhang had been taken. All she knew was that her mother was breathing but unresponsive.

Doctors diagnosed a brain hemorrhage and performed surgery. In the months that followed, the family spent 150,000 yuan ($24,100) on hospital bills.

Zhang must be kept dry and turned regularly to prevent bedsores, and someone has to be nearby whenever possible to take care of her.

In order to save money, Di washes her mother's bed linen and changes her diapers after her university classes.

Huang Minghai, head of the Communist Youth League of Henan Provincial Discipline Inspection, donated 20,000 yuan and visited the family.

He said Di, a member of the Communist Youth League, studies well and is popular at school, where a volunteer group has been formed to help her take care of her mother.

Wang Xinzhi, director of encephalopathy at the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of TCM, has carried out a preliminary examination of Zhang.

He said she showed some basic emotional responses, such as shedding tears and following movements with her eyes, and suggested she undergo a CT scan at the hospital to confirm the state of her brain.

Di added: "My biggest wish is for my mother to recover."