With his iron will, Pham Thanh Son has overcome his debilitating paralysis to master IT skills, run a successful business of his own and provide jobs for several other physically-challenged people.

Son, 45, has run his ASA business in southern Ba Ria Vung Tau province entirely from his self-elevated bed at home. With its staff of 11, Son’s company earns almost VND100 million (US$4,714) a month by offering bookkeeping services. Son himself earns VND40-50 million a month by writing accountancy software for enterprises.

In 1994, during a trip to Binh Chau hot spring in southern Ba Ria Vung Tau province, Son’s doomed jump into a quite shallow lake resulted in his critical vertebra trauma, leaving him paralyzed since.

Son’s following treatment drained his family out financially and mentally, however, there was no sign whatsoever of his recovery. This plunged the young man into desperation and he suffered a living death in the following two years.

He soon gulped down 100 sleeping pills sent by one of his friends to relieve his sleeping troubles in one shot. When he was on the brink of death, the images of his elderly parents flooded back and he decided to call for help.

“Only then did I realize how precious life is. I was then set on starting my life afresh in my own way,” Son recalled.

He spent six months teaching himself office computer skills before teaching them to neighbors’ kids. He also learned Autocad on his own and taught it to petrol engineers.

He initially used a wheelchair to be a little more mobile, but he soon got gangrene on his buttocks and had to have the decayed flesh removed. He has been confined to his specially-made bed since.

Typing on the computer has also been painful for him too. He has to tie his two fingers into one with a piece of cloth to type, and attach a pad to the mouse to aid his feeble hand. His elderly mother has to massage his legs every 15 minutes to help with his blood circulation.

Son’s tremendous efforts finally paid off. His turning point came when his former boss asked him to upgrade his company’s accounting software in 2000. After painstaking study, his work called “ASA accounting management system” came into being and was sold in late 2001.

The same year Son was conferred the title “The IT knight” by local eChip magazine to recognize physically-challenged IT talents. He founded his ASA software production company in 2008.

The satisfaction in his work gradually helped him regain his self-esteem and confidence. After a chance meeting with Vo Thi Ngoc Mai, chair of the Vung Tau City’s Association of the Physically Challenged in 2005, Son joined the association, where he soon became an active member, and resumed outdoor activities which he had stopped altogether following his accident.

Though busy, Son opens free computer and English classes for the physically-challenged every weekend under the sponsorship of a philanthropist. Nine out of more than ten staff members in his company also have physical disabilities. He also donates money to the provincial Association of the Physically-Challenged on a monthly basis.

“Life is so precious, and the most precious thing is living for others,” Sơn shared.