The little girl had never known about computers. She was also unaware of the concept of something called a blog. But it was this very thing she knew nothing about that saved Chen’s life. From being unable to afford any treatment, this poor girl was now receiving care at one of the best hospitals in Beijing.
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Little girl Chen Dongxiang |
In June of last year, 12-year-old Chen Dongxiang, living in a remote village in Hunan Province, China, was diagnosed with a blood disease.
Treatment costs exceeded her family’s ability to pay. They were left helpless, watching as the legs of their 12-year-old slowly deteriorated. All hope seemed to be vanishing. But the story did not end there. It was all thanks to the timely intervention of a blogger named Li Guozhong.
Li is an amateur photojournalist from Hunan Province. During a trip to the village where Chen lived, he learned about her case. He was also the first person to share Chen’s story on his blog on May 24.
Chen’s mother suffers from a mental illness. Her father is blind in one eye. With an annual income of 800 yuan (about 100 USD) for the 11 family members, there was no way to afford treatment for Chen.
Chen’s left tibia had rotted and become infected. The decay was rapidly spreading to the rest of her body. She had lost her left leg and could even lose her life. Li desperately wanted to save the poor girl. However, one person alone could not accomplish much. He thought of a way to post her picture on his blog.
His blog read: “Please extend your hands to save this girl. Her left leg has been bent. Bones are protruding from her knee and ankle. Yellow fluid is continuously leaking. Flies are mercilessly tormenting her… I can hardly hold back my tears.”
Li’s article, accompanied by several pictures of the poor girl Chen, quickly spread across the internet community. A journalist from the Daqi website published the article about her on his site. Shortly after, Chen received a treatment sponsorship at the People’s Hospital – the No. 1 hospital in Hunan, China.
The local government in Chen’s area also visited and provided her with medication and a social assistance allowance. They arranged for her to receive treatment at a hospital in Hunan.
However, due to the lack of progress in her condition, Chen’s parents still hoped to take her to a larger hospital in a major city.
As of three weeks ago, Li’s blog had attracted 58,000 visitors and raised 34,964.5 yuan from kind-hearted donors. A hospital in Beijing also volunteered to treat her without charging any fees.
The happiest person, apart from Chen and her family, was probably Li. He shared, “I never expected my blog could evoke such a strong emotional response“.
It is estimated that by the end of 2005, China had around 100 million internet users. The number of blogs in China has been continuously increasing and has now reached 1.3 million.
