Despite taking a leave of absence to stay at home, Xiao Chaoyun persists in studying every day. This report is by our journalists Li Zhenmei and Chen Zhihuan.
An 11-year-old girl from Jimo named Wang Chaoyun has been afflicted with a "strange illness" — this condition causes her to faint up to ten times a day. Upon waking, she suffers from excruciating headaches, and when the pain becomes unbearable, Xiao Chaoyun relieves it by scratching her scalp until it bleeds. Her father, Wang Yonghu, has reached out to us for help in finding a doctor who can cure his daughter's ailment.
The frequent fainting spells began after a high fever last year.
On December 12th, we met the young girl suffering from this strange illness in Huang'an Village, Wangzhen Town, Jimo City. The 11-year-old Wang Chaoyun was sitting on the kang (a traditional Chinese bed) reading a book. She looked thin but well-behaved and greeted the reporters actively, even offering them chairs to sit on.
Wang Yonghu said that in June 2010, Wang Chaoyun had a severe cold with a fever reaching 42 degrees Celsius. After recovering from the cold, she started experiencing fainting spells. Initially, her parents didn't pay much attention, but as time went on, the frequency of her fainting increased dramatically, sometimes up to 30 times a day. Each episode would last about one or two minutes, though the longest lasted 40 minutes. During these episodes, her eyelids would twitch uncontrollably, and upon waking, she was usually calm, but occasionally became extremely irritable, even hitting her head or throwing things.
There is a video clip of Xiao Chaoyun fainting on Wang Yonghu's mobile phone. In the video, while happily chatting with her parents, Xiao Chaoyun suddenly closes her eyes and slowly collapses to the ground, then "sleeps." Two minutes later, she slowly opens her eyes again, unaware of what just happened.
Xiao Chaoyun says she doesn't know why she suddenly loses consciousness, but upon waking, she experiences intense headaches. On the morning of December 11th, after waking from a faint, Chaoyun experienced such severe headache that she couldn't bear it, so she used her fingers to pinch her head forcefully, eventually scratching a piece of her scalp until it bled.
Even on leave from school, she continues to study independently.
Since June 2010, when his daughter fell ill, Wang Yonghu has taken her to seek medical advice everywhere, including hospitals in Jimo, Qingdao, and Weifang, but experts have different opinions and cannot confirm a diagnosis: some suspect epilepsy; others suggest insufficient blood supply to the brain or oxygen deficiency; some think psychological stress might be causing the problem; and still others consider it could be a rare condition called "narcolepsy."
Since the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, Xiao Chaoyun's condition has worsened, with fainting spells occurring more frequently—up to 30 times a day. To avoid affecting other students' classes and ensure her own safety, Xiao Chaoyun was forced to take a leave of absence, which is hard for her to accept since she loves learning.
In Chaoyun's home, the walls of the living room are covered with her awards and drawings. Counting them, there are twelve on just the west wall alone. "I really like sitting in the classroom attending lessons, but now I can't. I often faint in class, distracting my classmates," Chaoyun said.
Although Chaoyun has left the classroom, she continues to study diligently at home. On weekends, a classmate comes to tutor her. Xiao Chaoyun secretly told the reporter that she gets very absorbed in her books, and after prolonged reading, her head starts hurting severely. "It hurts so much, it's unbearable," Xiao Chaoyun said, showing an expression of great discomfort on her face. Despite this, she insists on studying so as not to fall behind in her studies. When she gets tired from reading, she quietly stares at the small fish she keeps.
Determined to find the cause, no matter the cost.
After seeking medical help everywhere without success, Wang Yonghu is extremely anxious.
"This child is truly precious. I'm really afraid that one day she'll just sleep and never wake up..." With tears in his eyes, Wang Yonghu said he has congenital asthma and only got married at the age of 32. His wife also has poor health, with congenital cleft lip and palate, severe astigmatism, and poor vision, making her almost incapable of doing farm work. Two years after their marriage, they had Chaoyun, pinning all their hopes on her.
Chaoyun inherited her father's asthma since childhood, which made her physically weak and prone to catching colds. The family spent a lot of money treating her asthma. "Now the whole family relies on me doing odd jobs to earn money, and we also have an 80-year-old mother at home. I worked hard to save money for treating her asthma, but now she has developed this strange illness..." Wiping away his tears, Wang Yonghu said that since last year when his daughter developed this strange illness, he considered selling their house to find a good doctor for treatment.
"No matter how hard life gets, it doesn't matter. Even if we have to sell everything we own, it's worth it as long as we can find the cause of her illness, cure her, and let her go back to school." Wang Yonghu said that his greatest wish is to cure his daughter's disease.