Matter of life and death: cash-strapped Chinese mother fears she can save only one son or daughter from bone cancer
A single mother from southern China fears she can only save one of her two children with bone cancer because she does not have the cash to cover both their medical expenses, a newspaper reported.
Lin Ronghong’s daughter, 17, and son aged 11, are both seriously ill with the illness, the Guangzhou Daily reported.
He knew both mum and dad are poor so he told me quietly before leaving last year to save his sister first
Lin has spent more than 300,000 yuan (HK$ 358,000) on her daughter’s treatment through her savings, school donations and loans from relatives, but her son has also become sick and she is running out of money, according to the article.
Lin’s daughter Zhang Lin, who was training to become a kindergarten teacher, had to pause her studies after she was diagnosed with bone cancer, the report said.
She is facing the imminent amputation of her right leg after her right shin was replaced last August, the report said.
Her 11-year-old brother Zhang Yue was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer last July.
He is undergoing chemotherapy, but remains in a critical condition, according to the report.
Lin was quoted as saying of her daughter: “It’s worst for her at nights. She can’t sleep mostly because of the pain, but she sucks up the pain by biting her pillow and blanket rather than making a sound, fearing this will sadden me. Doctors say the amputation can’t wait any longer.”
Lin divorced her husband in 2013 and lives in a rented apartment in the Baiyun district of Guangzhou.
Her son moved in with his father about the time he was diagnosed, the report said.
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“He knew both mum and dad are poor so he told me quietly before leaving last year to save his sister first,” his mother was quoted as saying. “He told me to save him, too, if I managed to borrow the money”.
The report said the family needed at least 300,000 yuan to cover the medical expenses of both siblings.
The media in China regularly reports on cases of poorer people unable to cover the cost of medical treatment.
A farmer from eastern Anhui province amputated his own feet with shards of glass after they became frostbitten and infected two years ago because he could not afford to pay for surgery.
