A Poor Family's Young Daughter Suddenly Contracts Leukemia, Depleting All Savings. If Medication Stops, She Will Die Within Three Months.
Seven-year-old Yujuan comes from a poor family in a small town in Yangjiang. She fights for her life on the hospital bed while her parents are filled with anguish. A bone marrow transplant costing at least 300,000 yuan is an astronomical figure for them. To save her, Yujuan’s father even resorted to begging on the streets by kneeling down, but it was still not enough.
Yesterday, at the pediatric ward of the Zhongshan Third Hospital, I met little Yujuan. Wearing a mask, she looked at me with some calmness. Yujuan’s mother, Ms. Liang, said neither she nor her husband or their relatives have had leukemia, so they don’t understand why their daughter contracted this serious illness. They’ve already spent 50,000 to 60,000 yuan on treatment, depleting all their savings. Bone marrow transplantation will require at least another 300,000 yuan—an astronomical amount for her and her husband.
According to reports (by journalist Lin Honghao and photographer Qiao Junwei), seven-year-old Yujuan sat on the hospital bed, her large eyes slightly tense as she gazed at the reporter. In front of her daughter, Yujuan’s mother tried to smile, but she was inwardly tormented. Since November last year when Yujuan was diagnosed with leukemia, they have exhausted all the savings of this small family seeking medical care. Just the other day, to save his daughter, Yujuan’s father quietly put aside his dignity and begged on the street, but it was still insufficient. On the verge of despair, Yujuan’s parents hope to receive more help from kind-hearted people to save their daughter!
Doctor Chen said that Yujuan’s father begged on the streets for two or three days, but it was like adding a drop of water to a bucket. To save his daughter, he returned to the countryside to raise money. Little Yujuan lying on the hospital bed evokes pity; she doesn't yet know the torment in her parents' hearts. Photo by Qiao Junwei.
Doctor Tang stated that patients with leukemia who abandon treatment usually die within about three months. Doctor Tang also mentioned that based on her observations over the past few years, there has been an increase in children with leukemia, especially in towns and rural areas. Pollution from chemical plants and electroplating factories contaminates water sources, increasing the risk of disease. Children and teenagers have lower resistance than adults and are more likely to contract severe illnesses.
This is another story of a child from a poor family tragically contracting a serious illness. Last November, in Yangdong Town, Yangjiang City, Guangdong Province, just after starting first grade, little Yujuan suddenly felt pain in all her joints. After taking medicine for rheumatic joint pain without improvement and the condition worsening, her parents quickly took her to Yangjiang People's Hospital for examination, where they discovered that Yujuan had leukemia. Following the doctor’s advice, her parents brought her to the Third Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou for treatment.
Doctor Tang said: “Yujuan missed the best opportunity for treatment. Her condition has worsened further. The better treatment option would be a bone marrow transplant, but it is expensive. The conservative method involves continuing chemotherapy, which is more harmful to the body and has a relatively lower cure rate.”
Doctor Chen from the same department shared a small anecdote: Although Yujuan’s parents come from a small town in Yangjiang and are financially poor, they have never delayed paying medical fees during previous treatments. Yujuan has an older sister and a younger brother, but her parents have never expressed any intention of abandoning her treatment. Some impoverished families in rural areas often choose to give up in such situations.
“Several days ago, after work, I went to take the subway. At the subway entrance, there was a beggar kneeling on the ground with a sign that read 'Save my daughter with leukemia.' When I approached, I realized it was Yujuan’s father. He started crying when he saw me. I gave him 200 yuan and left. The next day at work, when I saw him in the ward, he didn’t dare to look at me directly. He didn’t want his daughter to know about his begging, fearing it would worry her.”
Doctor Tang introduced that when Yujuan first came to the Third Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University for treatment, her condition was relatively good compared to other cases of leukemia. At that time, if she had continued treatment, there was a seventy to eighty percent chance of being cured, and the medical cost would have been around 100,000 yuan. However, after only one course of treatment, seeing some improvement, her financially strapped parents took her back to the countryside. But after staying in the countryside for two weeks, her condition relapsed, and her parents had no choice but to bring her back to Guangzhou for treatment. This is the third time she has been hospitalized at the Third Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.
To save their daughter, her father resorted to begging on the streets. Related articles include stories of young volunteers helping elderly people, a girl sacrificing herself to save a drowning friend, and farmers inventing health devices for their sick relatives.