Disabled China boy, 12, abandoned as baby, faces another tragic loss after death of adoptive father, garners public sympathy and help in time of need
- Boy saved by woman when he was an infant, later adopted by her neighbour
- Child had come to care deeply for adoptive father and grandfather
The challenging life of a 12-year-old boy — who was born with a foot disability and abandoned by his biological parents — is trending on mainland social media after his adopted father died in October, with many people expressing worry about his fate.
Tan Zonglu was discovered as an infant by a young girl next to a rubbish pile in Sichuan province in southwest China in 2011. Next to him was a baby bottle and a note revealing his birth date as January 31, 2011.
The girl who found Tan brought the baby to her mother, surnamed Luo, who never left Tan’s life even though she could not afford to raise him with three daughters at home.
Luo told Star News that Tan was freezing cold when they first found him, and she had to undress him so she could clean the baby and warm him up, which is when she discovered his feet had developed abnormally.
“He might not have survived the night if he had not been found,” said Luo.
Luo could not afford to raise the infant, so she asked her neighbour, Tan Yuegui, who did not have a family of his own if he would adopt the boy, which he did.