Shenzhen Project Care Foundation received a total of 208,000 yuan (US$30,617) from the community as of 6 p.m. Tuesday to help a primary student diagnosed with a rare disease, Shenzhen Evening News reported yesterday.
The girl, who goes by Shixuan, is a student from Luohu Primary School.
Xu Yali, the girl’s mother, recalled the day when her daughter called her to come back home Sept. 7 on her way to work.
Xu rushed home after the call and found that Shixuan had collapsed on the floor. Xu then called 120 for help, to get Shixuan to a hospital.
In the ambulance, Shixuan told her mother that she felt a pain in her chest as she was about to drink yogurt. Very soon, the pain spread to her whole body.
Shixuan said that she could not stand on her own and fell to the ground. She crawled over to reach the phone and called her mother.
After a consultation, doctors confirmed that the reason for Shixuan’s difficulty to remain standing is that the tumors in her body pressed on her nerves.
Given that the angioma had pressed on Shixuan’s leg nerves, she lost the capability to move.
According to doctors, Shixuan is diagnosed with a rare disease called Cobb syndrome.
Shixuan’s situation is complicated, making surgery a high-risk endeavor. A poor operation might result in amputation or paraplegia, said the report.
Shixuan’s story was covered by the News on Monday, resulting in monetary donations from those who had read the story.
Xu is a single mother and a math teacher at an education institution.
A foreign teacher named Andrew, who once worked at Nanhu Primary School in Luohu District, asked the school to help send his donation to Shixuan’s family.
The foundation will give the donations to cover Shixuan’s medical fees. She and her mother are in Beijing now, waiting for treatment.
Doctors in Beijing said that Shixuan has nine tumors, and they will have to operate at least five times on Shixuan to prevent further deterioration of her condition.
The treatment will last over one year.
Shixuan’s classmates and teachers also created a video to cheer her up.