A quake survivor's tale

After her life-death experience, Bian says she has a brighter outlook on life.

She had no inkling at the time that her husband had been partially blinded and burned trying to save a co-worker at the chemical plant. He had pushed a female colleague out of the way when a vat of acid tumbled down. The woman did not survive.

"Her clothes burned off, so they put a new dress on her," Bian says. "That melted, too."

Acid burns covered her husband's body, except for his chest. He was blinded in one eye, which he can no longer close.

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"He cried out of both eyes when we were reunited 10 days after I was pulled out from the rubble," Bian says. "It was exhilarating to see him again. I was so frightened but also overjoyed. We just held each other tightly and sobbed."

She says she has gotten used to her husband's appearance. Yet it has taken her time to get used to the dark.

"When I was trapped I had to open my eyes, even though I could only see darkness. If I closed my eyes I was more afraid," she says.

Bian initially said the major change in her life since the quake is that she bought a car. Then she remembered that she has learned Putonghua since the disaster from speaking to outsiders about her experience. The fact her husband was blinded appears to be an afterthought.

The couple still work for the same companies. Bian earns 1,300 yuan ($210) a month, while her husband brings home about 2,000 yuan.

"After the quake, the chemical factory offered him an easy job," Bian says. "They tried to make him a janitor. He refused. He knew he could do more."

She says her husband initially had an "inferiority complex" after the disaster. But he has gotten over it.

"Our relationship is the same," she adds. "I'll never desert him. It's amazing both of us survived the quake. We should cherish and love each other more."