How kindness and swift action of strangers saved life of sick Chinese girl
Social media appeal led to the quick delivery of drugs bought in Hong Kong to leukaemia patient’s bedside in southwest China
A mother has thanked people for answering an appeal on social media and saving her seriously ill daughter’s life by rushing a drug bought in Hong Kong to her hospital bed in southwestern China, a newspaper reported.
The daughter Song Shurui, 17, has leukaemia and had a bone-marrow transplant in December, Chengdu Commercial Daily reported.
However, Song got a severe lung infection after the surgery, giving her a fever and putting her life in danger.
Her mother Dai Qinjia was quoted as saying doctors at the hospital in Chengdu gave her daughter little chance of recovery and moved her to intensive care.
Dai maintained a vigil at her bedside in the following weeks, refusing to believe there was no hope, the article said.
Doctors said the drug Cidofovir, not sold on the Chinese mainland, could relieve Song’s acute symptoms, according to the article.
Her mother appealed for information on social media last month and a man who had obtained the drug in Hong Kong to treat his daughter with leukaemia got in touch.
“When Dai called me for the drug’s information at about 2am, she cried all the time and repeatedly said ‘please help save my daughter’,” the man was quoted as saying.
He bought the drug later that day and arranged for it to be shipped immediately to Shenzhen airport.
He then asked another person, who was not named in the article, to fly the same day to Chengdu to deliver the medication. Song received the drugs 14 hours after they were bought.
The medication quickly took effect and Song’s temperature gradually returned to normal over the following days.
She was moved out of intensive care on Monday, three weeks after getting the drugs.
Her mother told the newspaper: “I really wanted to bow to everyone who helped me buy the drug. Without any of them, my daughter might already have passed away and I cannot imagine how could I live my life without my daughter.”
Song is still in hospital and is hoping to become an air stewardess if she makes a full recovery, the article said.
