The man who was paralyzed for 21 years used a computer mouse as a "brush" to paint over his life

Technology

(Dan Tri) - After an accident that left his entire body paralyzed, Pham Ngoc Cuong (born 1987, Cao Bang) still sits in front of a computer screen every day, designing Windows interfaces, building a TikTok channel to sell goods to earn extra income.

In 2005, Pham Ngoc Cuong was then a young man about to enter the university entrance exam. On the way home from school, a car drove out of the alley and hit him, causing a cervical spine injury, a spinal cord injury, and complete paralysis from the neck down.

Life seemed to have ended when the hospital returned to take care of the funeral. His parents had to run everywhere, looking for every way to save their child. All activities, work and income of the whole family were turned upside down.

At first, Cuong couldn't believe he was permanently paralyzed. During the dark days, he went on hunger strike and even tried to commit suicide. But the image of the father quietly carrying loads in the middle of the summer afternoon, sweating profusely and collecting every penny to bring home and instructing his wife to buy delicious food for their children, became the turning point that changed his thinking from despair to determination to live on.

"At that time, I just tried to practice sitting, breathing, and learning computers so I could learn a profession to earn money to help my parents with electricity and water bills," Cuong recounted.

Cuong's fate in designing began when a friend of his cousin who worked as a graphic designer stopped by and suggested he learn Photoshop.

He said, in 2008, social networks and the internet were not yet developed, there were not many online courses like there are now. The only documents Cuong has are a few CDs in English given to him by a friend.

Cuong's paralyzed hands were unable to turn each page on his own. His father had to tie a stick to it and tape it in place so that he could pick out each page of the dictionary, studying and looking up English meanings at the same time, at a much slower speed than normal people.

Graphic design requires precision down to every pixel, while Cuong's hands do not have enough strength to hold the mouse steady for too long.

"There were times when I was studying that I burst into tears because of helplessness. I could draw circles all day and couldn't draw them," he recounted.

"When I received my first payment from the job of designing an identity for a Facebook store, I couldn't hold back my tears. Parents also burst into tears when they saw their son earn his own income after more than 5 years of diligent self-study," he emotionally recalled.

However, accepting freelance design work on Facebook groups also puts Cuong at a disadvantage because his hands are not flexible, while other young people only take two hours to complete the product, while he sometimes works all day without finishing, misses the deadline and loses income.

Cuong turned to designing interfaces for Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems - products that are not time-bound. He posted for sale on his personal website and interface forums around the world with customers mainly abroad.

In recent years, as his health weakened and the competitive design market reduced revenue from selling interfaces, Cuong's income was also affected. He decided to build a TikTok channel to do affiliate marketing to earn more, and at the same time wanted to spread positive energy to people in similar situations.

Having a design background, Cuong taught himself how to create videos. Because he couldn't hold the camera himself, when his sister came over to visit, he asked his sister, and on other days, his brother guided him and asked his father to help him film. Gradually everything became a habit.

Since his mother passed away, the current house only has father and son relying on each other. The conditions for importing goods or hiring people to pack them are not feasible. He chooses affiliate marketing, just needs to make videos posted on the platform and then livestream daily to introduce the products to be able to earn extra income.

Thanks to encouragement from his family and everyone, Cuong still makes content for the channel regularly, each video takes 2-3 days to complete.

For more than twenty years of resiliently fighting a spinal cord injury, that journey of strength has always been accompanied by the silent companion of his father.

"Dad often updates social networks to see my work and supports me every time I livestream," he said with a smile.

His father once participated in the resistance war against the US. Even in his old age, he still learned completely new skills such as recording videos and supporting livestreams to help his children earn more income. For Cuong, his father has always been the biggest supporter helping him maintain his current life.

Long-term paralysis also causes arm and leg muscles to contract easily. Every day while sitting at work for about 2-3 hours, Cuong would have seizures.

"During the seizure, I will have pain and difficulty breathing. I will also fall over so I have to lie down for about 30-40 minutes. Then I ask my father or aunt to help me get up to continue working," Cuong said.

After the incident that paralyzed his body, there were things he thought he would never be able to do again. With energy and perseverance, he finally broke the limit to win himself.

"At first, I was completely dependent on my parents in all activities. To be able to hold a spoon and chopsticks to eat a meal by myself, I had to practice for 10 years to be able to do it," Cuong said.

A few days a week, the aunt stopped by to help his father take care of Cuong. All activities are confined to his small room. Even though his illness has narrowed his world, the gathering in everyday life has turned the room into the coziest space in the small house.

"In today's technological age, there are many online courses and documents for reference. No matter how difficult life is, just persevere and not give up. I believe everyone will learn a profession that can take care of themselves and be useful to their own family," he shared with a smile.