A 3-year-old boy in Hengyang City, Hunan Province, China, was found to be suffering from Neuroblastoma, commonly known as the “King of Childhood Cancers”, due to repeated fever and vomiting, and he did not like to walk. The course of chemotherapy, followed by 25 courses of radiotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, plus anti-infection and anti-rejection treatment, cost a conservative estimate of 200,000 RMB (approximately NT$900,000), which made the parents very distressed.
The boy lives in the countryside with his parents and 5-year-old sister. His father makes a living by working as a plumber. Unexpectedly, his son was diagnosed with neuroblastoma last April. In order to save the child, the parents rented a small house in the provincial capital , with the only 80,000 RMB savings in these years, he started a long treatment with his son and cut off his income. “Seeing my son’s innocent smiling face, I really can’t bear to give up. He is still so young.”
The treatment plan given by the doctor was to remove the tumor following chemotherapy, but the boy had a strong reaction in the first course of treatment, including nausea and vomiting, fever, and even black skin all over the body, swollen legs, and hair loss. Difficulty even walking, accompanied by various infections, made parents quite worried, “I don’t know how long this suffering will last.”
The doctor pointed out that the boy needs to undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as soon as possible, otherwise his life will be in danger. Since the cost is at least 200,000 RMB, even if the transplant is successful, the subsequent rejection and rehabilitation costs will be astronomical. But when parents see their son’s smiling face, I still decided not to give up, so I picked up my mobile phone to make calls and borrow money from relatives and friends. At the same time, the public welfare platform also assists in raising funds. I hope that caring people in the society will lend a helping hand to help them tide over the difficulties, and now they have reached the threshold.
