Xiao Ping's belly was swollen like a round ball, and she had to receive intravenous drips every day. This photo was taken by reporter Tian Xiao Yang of our newspaper.
According to the news from our newspaper (reporter Kuangmian Nie and intern reporter Jincheng Ou), "She wants to go outside to see the blue sky and white clouds, she wants to sing, she wants to dance..." Recently, a post titled "The Second Artillery General Hospital, 6-year-old girl... Everyone help her" has gained attention on Weibo (http://t.sina.com.cn). Within two days, it has been forwarded more than 6000 times. The little girl described in the post is named Shi YaPing, who comes from a poor family. Due to her bloated stomach resembling a basketball, she sought medical treatment at the Second Artillery General Hospital. Netizens learned that her impoverished family is struggling to raise the money for surgery.
The 6-year-old girl has an abdomen swollen like a ball.
Yesterday morning, our reporter met Shi YaPing at the cardiothoracic vascular surgery ward of the Second Artillery General Hospital. Xiao Ping has a pair of bright big eyes and a round face. When we entered the room, she was lying on the bed preparing for an IV drip. Because her limbs were too thin, it took two nurses over 20 minutes to find a relatively prominent vein on her right foot. Xiao Ping cried out in pain as she was pricked, and tears kept falling. Seeing this, her mother Long Chunxiu wiped away her tears secretly.
Compared to her emaciated limbs, Xiao Ping's belly was alarmingly large. Her abdomen was swollen like a basketball, with her navel protruding outward and the blue veins on her stomach stretched visibly. Lying on the bed, Xiao Ping wanted to sit up to drink water, but the protruding abdomen made it difficult for her to exert force. Long Chunxiu quickly pushed her up from behind. Long Chunxiu said that her abnormal body shape caused many inconveniences in her daughter's life, "She loves being beautiful, so when she goes out, she always tightly holds the hem of her clothes, fearing others will see her belly."
Ms. Sui and three other netizens brought toys and books to visit Xiao Ping in the ward. Ms. Sui said that her daughter is about the same age as Xiao Ping, but Xiao Ping can only lie in the hospital bed, using oversized clothes to cover her belly, "I want her to know that many people care about her, hoping she can recover soon."
After suffering from the illness for 3 years, they came to Beijing for medical treatment.
Both Long Chunxiu and her husband Shi Zhengyi live in Dayan Village, Hulu Town, Baojing County, Hunan Province. Shi Zhengyi, around 40 years old, helps others grow watermelons in Zhejiang, while Long Chunxiu stays home to farm. Xiao Ping is their second child, and the family's monthly income does not exceed 1000 yuan, "Our older son needs money for schooling in the county town." Long Chunxiu said that three years ago, she accidentally felt a hard lump on the left side of her daughter's abdomen, "The child didn't cry in pain, so we didn't pay much attention."
However, Xiao Ping's belly gradually swelled up and became painful, sometimes even preventing her from sleeping. Only then did the couple start looking for treatment methods everywhere, "We consulted village doctors and hospitals in the town, tried both herbal medicine and Western medicine, but there was no improvement, and we couldn't even determine the cause." Mr. and Mrs. Shi fell into despair as the more than 10,000 yuan spent on treatment drained all the savings of this poor family, "All the doctors said there was no hope." Shi Zhengyi said that Xiao Ping's abdominal diameter reached 79 centimeters, and from the front, her abdomen almost occupied three-fourths of her upper body.
The plea for help caught the attention of netizens.
Seeing the growing debts at home and Xiao Ping's worsening condition, on September 6, Shi Zhengyi posted his first plea for help on the Tianya Forum. The post received a lot of attention and was widely shared by netizens. A netizen named "New" said that the previous evening, he reposted this post on Weibo, and within four hours, it was forwarded more than 3000 times. For this reason, he specifically created a QQ group called "Pinging Love Relay," "and nearly a hundred people have joined already."
Shi Zhengyi said that in recent days, he has received many donation calls. By the time our reporter went to press last night, the amount donated by netizens to Shi Zhengyi's account had reached 16,200 yuan.
Netizens' love relay donations
On September 8, with 15,000 yuan collected from various sources, Xiao Ping and her mother boarded a northbound train and checked into the Second Artillery General Hospital on September 11.
It is understood that Xiao Ping was preliminarily diagnosed with "extrahepatic portal hypertension," also known as "Budd-Chiari syndrome," which is a relatively rare disease possibly related to narrow abdominal blood vessels and abdominal fluid accumulation. Upon admission, Xiao Ping's condition was severe, and the hospital mainly relied on blood transfusions and medication for treatment. Currently, part of the fluid in her abdomen has been absorbed, and her abdominal circumference has decreased to over 60 centimeters.
Next Tuesday, Xiao Ping will undergo her first surgery. Long Chunxiu said that yesterday, a foundation had already covered most of their expenses, plus the donations from netizens, the surgery fees have been largely raised, "It's all thanks to so many kind-hearted people that my child can have the surgery so quickly." Long Chunxiu took out a kraft paper envelope, and on the back of the envelope, each donation was meticulously recorded: On October 12, a kind uncle donated 400 yuan; On October 14, a loving mother donated 1000 yuan...