Patients with advanced cancer insist on driving online car-hailing just to save more money for their mothers
"Goodbye, take your time." Wang Jun, the driver of the online taxi, stopped the car steadily and turned around to greet the passengers in the back seat politely. His face was slightly pale. After delivering a passenger, he stuffed a pill into his mouth and took it with boiling water in a thermos cup. Then he drove to the next destination according to the voice prompt of his mobile phone.
This is a scene that took place last week. No one could have imagined that the driver was a terminal cancer patient.
Wang Jun only wanted to drive for one more day when he was confident that his body could still support it. He didn’t dare to stop because his mother, who was dependent on him, had uremia and mild Alzheimer’s disease. The monthly treatment fee of several thousand yuan was a fixed expenditure, and he wanted to save a little more for his mother’s living expenses and medical expenses.
Son with cholangiocarcinoma who still insists on using online car-hailing
Wang Jun, a native of Yuzhong District, Chongqing, was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma in early July.
The scariest thing about the disease is the insidious nature of the disease. Patients often have no symptoms in the early stage, and once detected, they are advanced. Doctors say that patients with the disease can usually survive for six months to a year, and if treated well, it may last for two years. But so far, no case has been found in the world that has survived for five years.
Wang Jun is only 37 years old. This is undoubtedly a huge blow to any family. But Wang Jun didn’t fall, he didn’t even stop getting out of the car. Because he knew there were more important things to do.
It turned out that my mother had been diagnosed with uremia. Uremia usually doesn’t kill people all at once, but dialysis must be adhered to. Since then, dialysis three times a week has been unstoppable. Each dialysis costs 200 yuan, and the monthly dialysis fee is at least 2,400 yuan. Wang Jun’s mother, Xie Zaigui, has a pension of only 2,600 yuan.
In order to take care of his mother and increase family income, in 2015, Wang Jun resigned from the bus company and started to drive an online car. The car was purchased with a loan and operated by an online car-hailing unit. Nearly 140,000 yuan for the car, a monthly payment of 3,200 yuan, and now there are still 3 years of loans, about 88,000 yuan that have not been paid off.
After being diagnosed with cancer, Wang Jun felt that his physical strength could still support him. Under the condition of ensuring the safety of driving, he continued to drive every day. If he could earn a little more, he could earn a little more. He calculated the account and drove an online car, and he could earn three or four hundred yuan a day. For every extra day of running, he could save an extra one or two times to do dialysis for his mother.
Wang Jun kept a lot of photos of his mother in his phone. When he was resting, he took them out to take a look. This is the source of support for him.
A mother with uremia and fading memory
Wang Jun’s mother and son have always had a very good relationship. Wang Jun’s father died of illness when he was 4, and it was his mother who raised him. His stepfather also died a few years ago. After Wang Jun divorced in 2016, he and his mother depended on each other for life.
Since Wang Jun had to drive, most of the time Xie Zaigui went to the hospital for dialysis by himself. Last year, Wang Jun vaguely felt that something was wrong. One day, the dialysis was supposed to end at 11 am, but his mother didn’t come home until 1 pm. It turned out that she suddenly didn’t know where she was going and took the wrong car. Another time, eating at home, his mother suddenly looked up and said to him: "You and your father will go out later, and you need to come back early."
He took his mother for a checkup, and it turned out that her mother had mild Alzheimer’s disease. Memory declines, and if left unchecked, severe cognitive impairment can occur.
Mom now often sits at home watching TV or watching the neighbors play cards. She used to like to keep the house spotless, but now she doesn’t like to clean it, and sometimes she doesn’t even care about the rice in the pot.
Wang Jun checked the Internet and found that becoming lazy and not moving were all symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. He had seen the movie "Eraser in My Memory" and knew that Alzheimer’s disease would erase his memory bit by bit like an eraser until he couldn’t remember anything.
Seeing that his mother’s memory was fading day by day, Wang Jun was very anxious. He heard that practicing calligraphy can exercise his brain power, so he bought a copybook and asked his mother to write it, just like coaxing a child. After writing it, he gave her his favorite dessert. Wang Jun also coaxed his mother to cook, but the effect was minimal, and his mother remained the same.
In order to take care of his mother, his son has not traveled far for many years
Huang Lu, a friend who has played together since childhood, said that in the past, Wang Jun would actively participate in friends’ gatherings and outings. But after his mother fell ill, he never went out again. Wang Jun is very much looking forward to taking his mother for more walks. Because of dialysis on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, he can’t go out for more than two days.
This spring, he drove his mother and aunt to the Fuling Great Wood Flower Valley. Xie Zaigui was as happy as a child, wearing his favorite clothes, wearing a silk scarf, and taking many pictures in the sea of flowers. Seeing his mother so happy, Wang Jun decided to take her out as much as possible before her memory deteriorated. If you can’t go far away, you can go nearby. Let her memory leave the best look in this world.
Earlier this year, in order to make it easier for their mother to receive dialysis treatment three times a week, the mother and son sold the old house they had lived in for decades and bought a second-hand house near the hospital. The new home is only one stop away from the hospital. Xie Zaigui can take the bus and walk back.
The new home of only 50 square meters made the mother and son very satisfied. Wang Jun thought that this was a new beginning, and he wanted to drive well and let his mother live a good life. But he didn’t expect that fate would play such a joke on him again.
The son was hospitalized, and his mother gave him a sick meal
After learning that her son was sick, her mother was obviously more "obedient" than before. She may not be completely clear about the severity of Wang Jun’s condition. But her temper is not as stubborn as before, and she is much more obedient.
After finding out his condition and driving for more than ten days, Wang Jun felt that his physical strength was gradually running out. He knew that driving while sick was also a safety hazard. Due to the blockage of the bile duct and the need for stent drainage surgery, Wang Jun reluctantly admitted to the hospital. He told his mother that the weather was hot, so he stayed at home and did not come to see him. But his mother still insisted on taking the car to the hospital, guarding Wang Jun’s bedside, holding his hand tightly, and did not want to leave. Wang Jun had to ask his classmates to help build a small bed next to him, and his mother accompanied him during the day and slept here at night. The mother and son took care of each other. He combed his mother’s hair, and her mother gave him a sick meal, and then accompanied him to the hospital downstairs in the evening.
Xie Zaigui held her son in her thin, shriveled hands, just like when she was a child, holding hands to send him to school. Xie Zaigui would forget what she had done five minutes ago, but her son’s childhood was clearly remembered. She muttered silently, "I have been very obedient since I was a child, and I am not naughty. I am safe and orderly, and I have never fought…" (from "Chongqing Morning News")