A 15-YEAR-OLD girl is in need of help as her family can’t afford to pay the huge medical bills generated by her illness, Shenzhen TV reported Tuesday.

The girl identified as Qiqi lives in Yantian District. She has spent most of her time over the past 15 years in the hospital, and her life revolves around surgeries, medication and medical examinations. Because of this, her family has become hundreds of thousands of yuan in debt.

Qiqi has been in poor health since childhood. When she was only 3 months old, she began to have difficulty breathing. At the time, the doctor said there was a bubble in her lung and she was cured by his treatment.

However, as time passed, Qiqi’s mother noticed that a series of symptoms caused by Qiqi’s lung problems were frequently appearing. Qiqi would have a fever every week, and she couldn’t sleep properly due to a bad cough.

Qiqi was diagnosed with congenital immune deficiency and congenital multiple pulmonary cysts. The diseases have affected Qiqi for 15 years and now her lungs are overwhelmed.

It is estimated that the cost of an operation is as high as 600,000 yuan (US$86,469), without covering the cost of follow-up treatment, which is a heavy burden on Qiqi’s family.

Qiqi was recently discharged from the hospital due to the high medical expenses and can only rely on an oxygen machine that was donated by kind-hearted people to maintain her health.

Meanwhile, Qiqi has to take a 4,000-yuan box of medicine every day and a nutrient solution every hour.

(Zhang Yu)