At 101 years old, Nguyen Thi Sau from Nghe An Province continues to surprise those around her with her naturally black hair. Few people know that after suffering a broken hip and spending three months bedridden, she gradually recovered and can now walk again with the help of a walking frame.

A lifetime of perseverance through war and hardship

Now living in Hung Dung 7 Ward, Truong Vinh Ward, Nghe An Province, Nguyen Thi Sau has become well known not only for her longevity but also for her disciplined lifestyle and remarkable resilience after more than a century marked by war, personal loss and repeated health challenges.

Born in 1925 in the former Do Luong District, near the historic Truong Bon National Historic Site, her childhood and youth unfolded during some of Vietnam's most turbulent periods. From the Nghe-Tinh Soviet Movement to the August Revolution, patriotism was deeply ingrained in many people of her generation.

According to her second son, Nguyen Ham Binh, 73, Do Luong was one of the areas heavily bombed by the US Air Force during 1967 and 1968, particularly around Truong Bon.

"Bombs fell constantly. Older people, women and children had to evacuate. My mother carried my younger siblings in bamboo baskets to safer areas, while my father, my older brother and I stayed behind to look after the house," Binh recalled.

Nguyen Thi Sau and her late husband had 12 children. However, limited medical care at the time meant that three of them died from illness in childhood. Nine children survived to adulthood, including two sons and seven daughters.

Her husband passed away in 1979 while both of their sons were serving in the military. The responsibility of raising the family fell entirely on her shoulders, and she single-handedly cared for the five children who were still living at home until they grew up and started families of their own.

Years later, after her children had become financially independent, she continued living alone in her hometown. In 2006, she moved to the former Tuyen Quang Province to live with her son's family before relocating back to Nghe An four years later, where she has remained ever since.

Today, she has 28 grandchildren, 32 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. Although family members now live in different parts of Vietnam, Binh says what brings his mother the greatest happiness is seeing every generation work hard, live in harmony and preserve the family's traditions.

According to Binh, his mother always wore her hair long and naturally black. Only in recent years did the family cut it shorter to make daily care easier. Even today, most of her hair has retained its natural black color.

At 101, her hearing has declined and her memory is no longer as sharp as it once was. She still shares regular family meals consisting mainly of rice, soup, vegetables and finely chopped meat. Her daily routine remains orderly and consistent.

"Just a few years ago, before she turned 100, my mother's eyesight was still good enough for her to mend clothes herself. Now her vision has weakened because of old age. Every month I take her to the hospital for health check-ups and medication for high blood pressure and diabetes," Binh said.

A recovery that exceeded every expectation

The family says the most unforgettable moment came about five years ago when Nguyen Thi Sau fractured her left hip.

That morning, Binh had gone out for his usual exercise. When he returned home, he found his mother lying in bed complaining of severe pain and initially assumed she had fallen from the bed.

After checking the home's security camera, however, the family discovered that she had woken early to sweep the yard. She slipped and fell while cleaning, breaking her left hip. Despite the intense pain, she managed to crawl back into the house and onto her bed before calling for help.

Doctors recommended hip replacement surgery. However, because she was already in her late 90s, the family decided against the operation and instead cared for her at home while combining conventional treatment with traditional herbal medicine. She remained bedridden for three months.

At one point, relatives believed she would not survive and even prepared a burial plot in her hometown.

To everyone's surprise, however, she slowly regained her strength. Today, with the assistance of a walking frame, she is once again able to move around her home independently.

Over more than a century of life, Nguyen Thi Sau has lived through war, witnessed Vietnam's transformation, raised her children and now enjoys the company of a large multi-generational family. To her descendants, she is more than the family's oldest member - she is a living witness to history and an enduring source of strength and inspiration.

According to Le Hong Thai, head of Hung Dung 7 residential area, the neighborhood is home to two residents aged over 100. Despite being 101 years old and relying on a walking frame, Nguyen Thi Sau remains able to move around her home, and her overall health is considered relatively stable.

Tran Tuyen