A Charity Basketball Game - A Birthday Gift for a Leukemia Boy
Reading Tip
On the afternoon of January 21, a special basketball game was held on the playground of No.58 Middle School in Luoyang. This basketball game was a birthday gift from 2000 Luoyang residents to a 17-year-old boy suffering from leukemia.
Chief Reporter Ren Shuangling, Correspondent Niu Jie, Xie Lei (with photos)
A Basketball Game - The Birthday Wish of a Leukemia Boy
In April 2004, 11-year-old Liu Zengyan was diagnosed with acute severe aplastic anemia. In August 2008, Liu Zengyan was finally diagnosed with leukemia. In September 2009, his father underwent a match test for him, and by December, Liu Zengyan had developed rejection, and the doctor said he needed a second bone marrow transplant.
January 21 was Liu Zengyan's birthday. His 45-year-old mother Zhang Dingxia asked her son what his wish was. Liu Zengyan said he wanted to play a good basketball game under the sun on the school playground. However, due to his low resistance, Liu Zengyan could only communicate with the outside world through a computer in a sterile cabin. How could he possibly play basketball on the playground?
Video Transmission of the Match - Many People Helped Him Achieve His Wish
To help Liu Zengyan achieve his wish, many people in Luoyang came up with a common idea. They gathered Liu Zengyan's former classmates and basketball-loving citizens of Luoyang to participate in the basketball game. The game would be transmitted via video to Liu Zengyan so that he could feel the atmosphere of the scene. According to Principal Kong of No.58 Middle School in Luoyang, more than 100 people registered, including elders in their sixties and seventies. Eventually, the school selected 30 people to participate in the game.
In the afternoon of January 21, 2000 people on the playground of No.58 Middle School in Luoyang were warmed by the sunshine of love.
At 3 p.m., the playground was filled with people who came to celebrate Liu Zengyan's birthday. They included Liu Zengyan's friends, classmates, teachers, school leaders, and even Luoyang citizens who didn't know him.
Singing "Happy Birthday" - Two Thousand People Wished Him Well
Before the game started, a birthday celebration ceremony was held for Liu Zengyan. Two thousand familiar and unfamiliar people sang "Happy Birthday to You...".
The Luoyang online basketball team gave Liu Zengyan a basketball personally signed by NBA player Zydrunas Ilgauskas and a jersey of star LeBron James. The team members said: "We hope this birthday gift conveys a sports spirit - perseverance. Liu Zengyan, keep going!"
A painter from Luoyang gave Liu Zengyan a painting, and Liu Zengyan's middle school classmates handed over 1000 lucky stars they folded to Zhang Dingxia, wishing Liu Zengyan a quick recovery.
There were 6 teams in the game, consisting of Liu Zengyan's classmates, teachers, citizens, and professional basketball players. They all shared a common name - Liu Zengyan. There was no win or loss in this game. The voices of "Liu Zengyan, keep going! Liu Zengyan, keep going!" echoed continuously, and many spectators shed tears.
Zhang Zichen, a close friend from Liu Zengyan's junior high school, wore Liu Zengyan's old clothes and said, "I will wear his clothes to participate in the game and help him fulfill his wish!" Mr. Wang, a 74-year-old man, specifically came to watch the game. With tears in his eyes, he said, "It was too touching. I also registered, but I was too old to be selected!"
The people present that day donated more than 16,000 yuan to Liu Zengyan.
Zhang Dingxia said, "I am deeply moved. I don't know many of these people, yet they have given me and my son so much warmth. We will turn this love into strength and move forward!"