Chinese woman develops unique numeral code to communicate with her husband after he loses ability to talk

March 16, 2022

A Chinese woman invented a unique numeral code to communicate with her husband, who lost the ability to speak after a sudden heart attack and cerebral hemorrhage in 2012.

Luo Caiyun, 37, and her husband Hu Minglang, 51, met in 2007 at a nonprofit event and married two years later in 2009. The two are both from Fuyang, a southeastern Chinese province in Anhui, according to Yingzhou Evening News per South China Morning Post.

In January 2012, Hu suddenly suffered a heart attack and cerebral hemorrhage, rendering him unable to speak and walk, as well as requiring a nasogastric tube for him to eat and drink.

Luo’s family attempted to persuade her to divorce Hu; however, she refused and stayed by his side despite not knowing whether Hu was able to understand what she said while sitting at his bedside.

The idea of creating a unique form of communication came to Luo about half a year into Hu’s illness after she noticed he was able to understand and respond to what she was saying through simple gestures such as smiles and head nods.

Luo invented a numeral coding system in which numbers zero to nine are assigned to different consonants and rhymes in Mandarin pinyin. The Mandarin phrase for “I love you,” for example, would translate into 5512613114.

Luo told Yingzhou Evening News that communicating with the numeral coding system was challenging at first because she had to suggest many numbers to Hu in order to figure out what he wanted to express.

Eventually, the couple became accustomed to it and no longer needed to refer to the coding chart to figure out what the other was saying. They have now been using Luo’s communication system for over a decade, and Luo says that it has become “imprinted” in their minds.

After many years, Luo is now even able to understand her husband through certain looks that he gives, to which she responds with a series of coded numbers Hu can respond to by nodding or shaking his head.

Luo says that she will always remain by her husband’s side and mentions that she is the only person who is able to effectively communicate with and understand her husband.

“He might be able to stand up tomorrow or never; either way, I’ll stay with him for the rest of his life,” Luo told Yingzhou Evening News.

Featured Image via Weibo

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