A home where love and care are paramount

In the series The Stories about Time and Me, Chen Zhiya records many touching moments in the care home. One is about a couple, both over 85.

The man was severely disabled, and his wife suffered from severe dementia. At home, the wife usually looked after the man. As her dementia worsened, both were sent to the care center, living together at first.

The wife would treat the old man like a child, "disciplining" him. If she saw that he was reluctant to eat, she would swiftly raise a shoe and hit him. Because living together posed a risk of harm, they had to live separately. However, the man felt very uneasy, and the wife would look for him everywhere when she couldn't see him, running back and forth.

The first picture by Chen Zhiya depicts a scene on Feb 21, 2020, when both were relatively stable and happily holding hands.

However, about half a year later, the wife suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and became unresponsive to any external stimuli. Despite the pandemic at that time, Chen Zhiya found a way to arrange a meeting between them. On the way to the wife's CT scan, the caregiver brought the husband to her side, who slowly reached out and gently held her hand. A miraculous moment occurred: sunlight streamed through the window, shining on them, and at that instant, the wife turned her head to look at her husband and tears rolled down her cheeks. This was their last meeting.

A little over two months later, they passed away within 24 hours in different places.

This scene is deeply etched in Chen Zhiya's mind. She drew a picture from the photo she had taken and added a heartfelt caption: "I strive to keep my eyes open, just to see you once more when we hold hands."

"This picture touches many people. That's why we organize such a competition with a theme about elderly care. I want to let people know that elderly care is not only about pain, chaos, sadness or lifelessness," she says.

Contact the writer at yangyangs@chinadaily.com.cn