The Story of an Abandoned Baby (Part 1)
This is a two-day-old male infant, the product of love, with a delicate face. The redness from birth has yet to fade, but due to having only two fingers on each hand and underdeveloped feet, he was abandoned by his parents in a roadside bush. A kind-hearted person found him and brought him to Yuan Lihai's place for abandoned babies. Although not wealthy, Yuan Lihai takes care of dozens of children in her humble shack, ranging in age from two days to twenty years old. Among them are Japanese geishas and those who practice mixed-gender bathing. The children come in all shapes and sizes: some have snow-white hair, others suffer from cerebral palsy and cannot move, some have heads full of oozing sores, others crawl on the ground unable to walk, and there are also deaf and mute children. Virtually every type of disability known to man can be found here, though there are also healthy children.
The shack is dilapidated and dark, filled with donated clothes. Perhaps due to the smell, flies buzz around. Due to the limited space, regardless of age, each bed holds several children, especially the newborns. In the past, some of these newborns were sent here without disabilities, but now most are disabled: some are blind, others suffer from heart or other diseases, the milder cases being cleft lips, the more severe ones fatal illnesses. Standing in the dark, low-ceilinged shack, I see the newly arrived boy crying loudly, his tiny fist no bigger than a garlic clove waving about. His head moves back and forth searching for his mother's nipple, finding none, he begins to suck on his own little fist. After sucking twice, he cries again. Watching him flail his limbs helplessly, weak and vulnerable, I wonder how any parent could abandon him. He is so small, only as big as an adult's shoe. Though he has a nose, eyes, and mouth, he lacks awareness. He doesn't know that he will never find a nipple again, that the woman who gave him life has abandoned him. He doesn't know how fragile and tender he is, how a mere gust of wind could take his life, how a slight lack of care could cause him to perish. He doesn't know that he was abandoned in the wilderness just two days after being born, like a blade of grass—or perhaps less, because abandonment for a newborn means death. He is so unfortunate for being abandoned, yet so lucky for being discovered in time and brought to Sister Yuan. He doesn't know that this place is a haven for disabled children, their main base. Here, there is no discrimination, no abandonment; Sister Yuan treats him like her own child. Despite the overwhelming number of children here, making it seem like hell on earth, there is love and family here. These two things are enough.
The first time I came here, I couldn't control myself and burst into tears for the many abandoned babies—those either missing hands, feet, covered in sores, suffering from cerebral palsy or cleft lips. My heart broke seeing the faces of these troubled children. Children, the most touching word in this world, the most lovable little beings, God's angels, earthly treasures, capable of bringing endless joy, light, and hope, stirring boundless love in people—these little beings carry our hopes and dreams for the future. People give them the most beautiful words, like treasure, baby, darling, sweetheart, etc. But here, you don't see hope, beauty, or joy; instead, you see endless sorrow, pain, and torment. Because these children might be a lifelong burden and debt, or the root cause of a lifetime of poverty and unhappiness, so their parents abandoned them, perhaps out of despair, because they couldn't afford treatment.
People don't realize that among the smallest children, especially the newly arrived infants, the survival rate is very low. When abandoned, they are usually left in the wild. This is tolerable in spring, but in summer or winter, such fragile lives can hardly withstand the harshness of the world. According to Sister Yuan, in winter, some children are brought in covered in snow, while in summer, some are already swarming with flies. Those who survive are considered very fortunate, given the poor conditions here—a large leaky shack, few caretakers, and a lack of funds despite numerous donations. In winter, bricks are used to hold down the blankets to prevent children from kicking them off and catching colds. Although the hospital is right next door, luxurious like a hotel, money is still needed for medical treatment. Because of its proximity to the hospital, there are even more abandoned babies, many of whom are confirmed to have serious illnesses at this hospital and then abandoned due to exorbitant medical costs. Despite being separated by only a wall, one side resembles heaven, the other hell. But this isn't the fault of the hospital staff, as unaffordable healthcare is a nationwide issue, a systemic problem, not an individual one. It's just that Lankao is poorer, so these problems may be more pronounced. While some in the hospital complain that Sister Yuan affects their image and want her removed, there are also many warm-hearted individuals helping her. Selfishness and selflessness, cruelty and kindness, struggle everywhere, including at Lankao Hospital.
Although the current state of national healthcare reform remains unsatisfactory and access to medical care remains unresolved, it's heartening to know that while major illnesses remain untreated, cleft lip surgeries are now free in many places. Several children at Sister Yuan's have received free treatment at hospitals in Zhengzhou. Although the social impact may not be significant, the meaning is immense—it shows that not all medical institutions are driven by profit; they still have a conscience. Not all doctors wield knives to exploit, some use them to save lives. Recently, I've heard that heart disease can also be treated for free, which brings me great relief. I sincerely hope that national healthcare reform progresses faster, so that hospitals aren't as luxurious as hotels, and medical fees aren't so high. I hope that across the land, illness can be treated, and my little girl can die in a hospital rather than wait to die at home. Most importantly, I hope that knowledge of eugenics spreads like sunlight to all villages and remote areas, as well as to those planning to marry. Of course, what I hope for most is that medical insurance covers children and infants first, the group most in need of protection.
Deep within the northern mountain, there indeed lives an old witch. Due to years of neglecting oral hygiene, her breath is foul. Her servants, unable to endure her stench, either fall ill or flee within days. Left to live alone, she resides in a deep cave within the mountains, rarely venturing out. However, nearby stands a landmark.