Health is wealth, as some will say. We can all easily agree on the fact that our overall health and well-being is one of the most, if not the most important part of our lives. But when we are unfortunate enough to fall sick, getting better isn’t always affordable. Medical expenses are known to be painfully expensive, and yet they are usually what determines life or death for people who are critically ill.
In a story reported by Kwong Wah Daily, a 5-year-old boy begged his father to save him from cancer, as his father doesn’t earn anywhere near enough to pay off the mounting costs of his treatment.
The incident, which occurred in Heilongjiang, China, introduces us to the plight of a family of three: a couple and their sick son, Wang Yan. At only 5 years old, Wang Yan suffers from leukemia and has been treated for the condition for well over 9 months, with no signs of improvement to his condition.
Source: Kwong Wah Daily
As a result, the 9 months of intense treatment have emptied the family’s savings, and they are no longer able to afford to pay off the mounting costs. Resigned to the fact that there was no way they could treat their son with no money, they made the heartbreaking decision to take their son home and await death.
Born in 2014, Wang Yan was a normal, healthy boy until he suffered from an abnormally high fever in 2018. Upon arrival in the hospital, doctors diagnosed him with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, where the bone marrow begins producing incredibly high levels of white blood cells.
Source: VBI Vaccines
Given the severity of his condition. Wang Yan was put on chemotherapy. But after 7 sessions of chemotherapy, his condition did not appear to have improved at all. According to doctors handling the boy’s case, they told his parents that due to his condition, chemotherapy will only help ‘defer death’ and not cure the disease.
Knowing that they couldn’t continue to afford treatments with their meagre earnings, Wang Yan’s parents decided to take the boy home.
But Wang Yan was no ready to give up on himself. Sobbing and clinging on his bed, he said: “Daddy will save me. I don’t want to die. I’m afraid.”
Doctors in the local city hospital told his parents that they could try transferring him to a different hospital for treatment, at a cost of over 1 million yuan (RM590,000). Desperate, Wang Yan’s parents could only turn to Chinese netizens for help.
Source: Kwong Wah Daily
In a miraculous stroke of luck, Chinese netizens managed to raise the entire sum of Wang Yan’s medical expenses in a few hours. Moved by their kindness, Wang Yan’s parents expressed their eternal gratitude to strangers who have decided to help with their plight.
They said: “The society has been kind to us. We will do our very best to make sure Wang Yan gets better.”
We hope that with the money raised, Wang Yan’s condition may be cured and he can live the life that a normal boy should have very soon.
Also read: 15yo Ignores Toothache For Over a Year, Loses 20% of Jaw After It Is Diagnosed As Cancer
