An One-Year-Old boy with Retinoblastoma
09/27/2011
Yong Xiang is a one-year-old boy who was born on May 11th, 2010. He lived in the
Ping Shan Village (Luo Wen district, Yangao county, Datong City, Shangxi
Province). He was diagnosed with retinoblastoma and received surgical treatment.
He still needs to have medical follow up and receive chemotherapy.
Family members:
Father: Xueliang Xiang, 35 years-old, has only graduated from middle school. He
is a farmer with hearing impairment. He cannot work outside of home and has an
annual income from farming of 2,000 RMB.
Mother: Li Li, 30 years-old, illiterate. She belongs to the Wa Ethnicity (a
minority group in China). She has chronic hepatitis and takes care of children
at home, with no income.
Yong’s story (per Dad):
MMy name is Xueliang Xiang and I live with my family in the Ping Shan Village in
Shangxi Province. My son Yong was born in May of 2010. His arrival brought lots
of joy to our family. On June 20 of 2011, his right eye started to look very red
and his right pupil seemed dilated, so we took him to the Yang Gao People’s
Hospital and the Da Tong 3rd Hospital to find out the cause. We were told that
he had glaucoma. Finally, after a CT was taken at the Zhang Jia Kou 4th
Hospital, he was diagnosed with retinoblastoma. He was specified to have stage E
retinoblastoma eventually at the Tong Ren Hospital after a more thorough
ophthalmologic exam. The doctors told us that the tumor must be removed by
surgery. Yong had his right eye removed with a prosthetic replacement on July
6th of this year. He needed a total of 6 months of chemotherapy, the first of
which is now finished. After completion of chemotherapy he will need at least 5
years of follow up.
We still cannot believe this has actually happened. Why is it so unfair? We’ve
worked hard our whole life, treating others well and farming at home. Our
limited farming ground gave barely enough to support us. During my son’s
treatment, we were unable to continue farming. We lost our only income and went
into complete bankruptcy. We had to pay a total of around 50,000 RMB, 10,000 of
whichwere high-interest loans and 20,000 were borrowed from friends and family.
Now that we need even more money for the chemotherapy, paying the new bills, or
paying back the loans with our farming income have both become impossible. We
are desperate. I wish I had the disease instead of my son. I pray for him not to
suffer. Please help him survive. I would be always grateful to you.
Family income:
Because of an adverse effect of medical treatment during my childhood, I have
hearing impairment that prevents me from working long-term jobs other than
farming at home. This area has suffered from drought in the past 6-7 years. We
pretty much fed on rice every day. On the few days that it rained, we had very
little harvest. My whole family lives on my farming income. Now that my son is
sick, the treatment fees are beyond what I could earn in a life-time. All his
previous treatments were paid with loans. Now people refuse to lend to us.
Living conditions:
Our family lives in a wooden house built in 1953. It’s been more than 50 years
and mold is growing on the ceiling. Part of the rooftop has cracked and water
leaks in every time it rains. Now to facilitate Yong’s treatment, we are
temporarily staying at my sister’s house.
I genuinely hope that my son can receive help from good-hearted donors and grow
up healthy, just like other children his age.
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