A GAS explosion last month resulted in Li Yanfang, a 56-year-old sanitation worker in the city, suffering from severe, life-threatening burns, which covered almost 90 percent of her body.

Li’s family can no longer afford the costly medical expenses and have had to ask for help from society, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

The accident took place on the evening of Sept. 19 when Li was cooking dinner in her tiny rental apartment in Shangsha Village. To save money, Li was using a small gas stove that might not have met safety standards, the report said. The explosion and fire caused burns all over Li’s body.

Li comes from Shandong Pro-vince and has been living alone in Shenzhen for a few years. Li works as a cleaner with a salary of only a little over 2,000 yuan (US$304) per month.

So far, Li and her family have already spent 340,000 yuan since she was hospitalized for surgeries and treatment. Li’s son, Chen Jianming, said he works in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and seldom contacts his mother.

Chen said he received a phone call from his cousin, who also lives in Shenzhen, the night of the accident. “My cousin called me when in the hospital and I could hear doctors saying that the chance to save her life was little,” said Chen.

According to Li’s medical records, she passed out due to losing too much blood and over 90 percent of her body had been severely burned. Li’s eyes and respiratory tract were injured by the smoke.

Li was later moved into the ICU. Chen was told that his mother would need another seven or eight surgeries, which would cost nearly 1 million yuan.

“The medical expense is shockingly high and we just had the first two surgeries,” said Chen. He attempted to borrow money from their relatives, but that couldn’t help much.

Chen’s father died of cancer over a decade ago, leaving a large debt. However, Li never told her children about the debt and had been working to pay off the debt herself. She was planning to go to Shandong on Sept. 27 to pay back the last of the debt.

Li’s daughter said her mom could still talk and that she had tried to persuade them to give up her treatment. “I have to lie to her that it doesn’t cost much money to treat her.”

People who want to help the family can donate to the following accounts.

Alipay account:

13708054705

Bank account: Bank of Communications 6222 6295 3000 1226 084 (Zhang Qian)