After the younger son got sick, his mother Lu Xia often wandered alone in the hospital. Lying on the bed every day getting IV drips made Lu Xia's son quiet; he would look up at the bottle hanging on the wall from time to time, wondering when the drip would finish. Happy families are all similar; unhappy families each have their own misfortunes. Lu Xia's husband is disabled, and her son suffers from leukemia. To raise money to save her son, she even asked a journalist to publish information about her selling her kidney on the newspaper, "As long as my son can get better, I am willing to trade my life for his." Lu Xia wept bitterly while speaking. Lu Xia's husband became disabled after falling from the second floor and could not afford treatment. Both of their sons were in school, so Lu Xia became the mainstay of the family. Although the sons' tuition fees were borrowed from various sources, "as long as the two children start working, we can pay off the debt, and I can finally rest." Lu Xia said this beautiful prospect was shattered on November 24, 2010. That day, after receiving a call from her younger son's classmate, Lu Xia immediately rushed to Hefei. "My son suddenly fainted at school and was sent to the Provincial Hospital." Lu Xia said that upon arriving at the hospital, the doctor judged based on the symptoms and years of experience that her son had leukemia. "I simply couldn't believe it, he is only twenty years old, so young. The doctor said if I didn't believe it, I could go for a bone marrow examination." The unwilling-to-believe eventually happened. "My son was diagnosed with leukemia, I cried for nearly a week, but I couldn't let the child know the condition." Lu Xia said she told her child that he just had a cold, but ultimately the son discovered the truth because there were the words 'chemotherapy' on the treatment infusion bottle. She could only comfort her son, telling him it was just mild leukemia. The astronomical medical expenses crushed the entire family. In daily life, Lu Xia gets up at four in the morning to do housework, works on construction sites with masons when it gets light, and continues to work in the fields when she returns home in the evening. At midnight, she drags her exhausted body home. Since her son was diagnosed with leukemia, Lu Xia has been shuttling between the hospital and relatives and friends. "My husband's younger brother lent me 20,000 yuan, and helped me borrow another 20,000 elsewhere. My aunt lent me 20,000, and my sister also lent me 20,000." Lu Xia said her brother-in-law even fought with her sister because she borrowed money for her, saying that their family was already poor, borrowing money was like throwing it into water. The treatment costs were astronomical, no matter how hard they tried, they always seemed unattainable. "I borrowed 50,000 yuan in high-interest loans, that person, seeing my pitiful situation, charged me two percent interest, agreeing to repay it in a year, but where will I get the money to repay? It was my sister who guaranteed it, and when the time comes, my brother-in-law will definitely quarrel with her again." Lu Xia looked full of guilt. Even so, the money gathered was still not enough for her son's chemotherapy. Even though the hospital told them the dangers of being discharged, without money, they had no choice. During this period, he was discharged multiple times. "Can you help me sell my kidney?" On August 9, after staying in the hospital for only two days, Lu Xia took her son home. "One course of chemotherapy is over, we might as well go home first, otherwise, staying in the hospital costs more than one hundred yuan a day." Lu Xia was grateful to have met many good people. "My son couldn't eat the food provided by the hospital, so I went to a nearby restaurant to get him some dishes. The boss there was very kind, understanding my difficulties, gave me 200 yuan, and did not charge me for lunch every day. I just washed dishes for him for a while." However, what to do after going home, she herself was unclear. How much money it would take to cure her son's disease, she herself did not know. "Now, we must control the condition first, then surgery can be done, but during this period, if an infection occurs, it will cost even more money. No one can say clearly how much it will cost." Lu Xia said. With no other options, Lu Xia thought about selling her kidney, but she didn't know how to make contact. "I want to ask the journalist to help me report it, and publish the information about selling my kidney in the newspaper." The kind mother did not know that selling kidneys was illegal, nor did she know how losing a kidney would affect her family's future life. Lu Xia said, "As long as I can save my son, I am willing to exchange my life for his." Intern Wang Wenjing, reporter Wu Fuliang / text and photography (the names of the characters in the article are pseudonyms)