A WOMAN who was cured of leukemia said she was thankful for all the help she received from the caring Shenzhen residents who donated money for her treatment some 10 years ago.

“I was reborn thanks to the love and care of Shenzheners, which makes me feel emotionally attached to this city,” said Lin Tutu (an alias) during a recent interview with the Shenzhen Evening News.

Lin was diagnosed with leukemia in 2008 when she was 11 years old.

“My body was always inexplicably bruised, and my gums were always bleeding,” Lin said. At first, Lin did not mind the symptoms much, but after they lasted for several months her parents became worried and took her to several hospitals. In May 2008, doctors at Shenzhen No. 2 People’s Hospital confirmed that Lin was suffering from leukemia.

To pay for her treatment, Lin’s parents sold their stall at a wet market in Futian District, used up all their savings, sold their house in their hometown and borrowed money from friends and relatives, only to find that more medical bills were coming.

Following the initial chemotherapy, Lin’s condition deteriorated, and the hospital issued multiple notices of critical illness. “I know what those notices meant,” Lin said. “But my family never thought about giving up.”

In desperation, Lin’s father decided to go to the community work station for help. The father met with Lin Huirong, head of the work station, which later turned out to be a turning point for Lin Tutu’s fate.

First, the work station raised more than 3,000 yuan (US$427) for Lin Tutu through a foundation. Later, Lin Huirong persuaded charity organizations and people around her to make donations to Lin Tutu. Soon enough, tens of thousands of yuan was raised.

“Lin’s father told me that the girl had more than an 80-percent possibility of being cured. I just couldn’t bear to see an 11-year-old girl unable to receive medical treatment because of a money issue and lose her life as a result,” said Lin Huirong.

Lin Huirong also applied to various relief funds for Lin Tutu.

When Lin Huirong’s husband learned of the story, he asked the Shenzhen Evening News for help. A report was subsequently published in the paper, and more people reached out to offer help to the sick girl. The donations raised through the newspaper exceeded 200,000 yuan, which not only met the urgent needs of Lin Tutu’s family, but also provided her with the ensuing treatment.

“I remember members of a charity team visited me at the hospital. When they found that a pair of twins in the ward next door was in desperate need of help, they immediately donated an additional sum of money to the twins,” Lin Tutu said. “I was deeply touched and thought to myself, ‘How can there be so many kind-hearted people in this world?’”

At the end of 2011, Lin defeated the disease. Unfortunately, she had lost contact with many of the people who had extended a loving hand.

Currently, Lin is working as a human resources specialist at a tech company in Shenzhen, but her vivid memory of the period when she was sick never fades.

For Lin, the Shenzheners who appeared in her life in those years not only gave her help in terms of money but also baptized her heart. “For a while, I felt that I spent so much money in vain, and I couldn’t lift my head in front of others,” she said.

After Lin Huirong knew about this, she said to Lin Tutu: “As long as you live a healthy and happy life, you will have the ability to give back to society in the future, which is the reward for those who have helped you.”

“Shenzhen is the most caring and warmest city I have ever seen,” Lin Tutu said. “In the future, I will strive to create a better life for my family and will continue the love of those who have helped me in the past. I want to be a Shenzhener like them.”

(SD News)