Gansu Care: A Poor Mother—Xiao Ai

Little Red Scarf is in Lanzhou, Gansu province and provides financial support and encouragement to children suffering from congenital heart disease. In addition, they provide families with post-operative care and help the children sustain a healthy lifestyle.

Xiao Ai before surgery

Xiao Ai's new born baby

She could not do field work when she got pregnant again. Her husband did not have spare time for the temps. They still have 2 children to take care of. This time she found she was not able to cook during last 2 months. She found she was out of breath. She did not give too much attention to her physical change. She had thought she was too old for bearing a baby. In the village, pregnant women seldom do physical examination. They often go to hospital when the baby is about to be born. Delivering date was coming. The family concerned about Xiao Ai. She went to see a doctor in the county hospital. The doctor said she did not have enough amniotic fluid, but the doctor did not find she has congenital heart disease. 

Xiao Ai is 35. She is a mother of 3 children. The family has 5. Her husband is 42. Her eldest son is 11 and in grade 6. Her daughter is 3 and her youngest son is 2 months. The family live in a house with 3 rooms. They just have 1 mu of field. Though they have a little field. Xiao Ai and her husband work very hard on it. Xiao Ai’s family live in a transportation convenient place. They grow some vegetables in different seasons. They sell their vegetables in the market, which generates about 4000-6000RMB per year.

Only vegetables cannot cover the expenses of the family, so her husband does temps in a brick manufactory or in the township. He works about 3 months a year and earns about 9000RMB. They have governmental minimum living allowance which is about 1600RMB per year. All income is about 16000RMB per year. 

When she gave birth to her eldest son 11 years ago, she was weak and had accepted C-section operation. She decided not to have another baby then. The family adopted a girl when her son is 8. She was pregnant accidently and they decided to leave the new life. ​

Xiao Ai and her two older kids in front of the house

Xiao Ai after heart surgery

he accepted C-section again and the baby was diagnosed fetal intrauterine and pulmonary infection. The baby had to be referred to higher level hospital. The baby had been staying in incubator for 20 days. They spent 20,000RMB for mother and baby. 10,000RMB is their savings and another 10,000RMB was borrowed from their relatives.

Everything seemed fine when they went back from the hospital. In the end of October, Xiao Ai found her heart beat faster. She did a heart examination in the county hospital. She was diagnosed congenital heart disease and doctor suggested that she take the operation immediately. She had to take medicines and could not milk the baby. Her husband had to borrow money for her operation. The family had been on heavy debts. If Xiao Ai accept the operation, she cannot do any manual work in the following year. The family borrowed 10,000RMB for the baby’s milk powder so that the baby can be feed when his mother is absent.

Successful surgery will bring Xiao Ai and her family a better and bright future

When I asked what milk powder she was feeding the baby, she could not help weeping. We did not know what to do. I asked her if she was missing her baby, for I have a 5-month baby. She said she missed her baby very much, for he was only 2 months. I asked how long does a bag of milk powder can sustain. She said the baby eats a bag of milk powder in 4 days. One bag is about 25RMB which is the cheapest milk powder. She spent about 200RMb a month. I knew why Xiao Ai felt embarrassed to talk about milk powder. She blamed herself for not being able to buy high quality milk powder to her baby.
 
I began to concern about Xiao Ai. For the family, 200RMB has to be borrowed. No mother will reluctant to feed her baby. Just because the family is in difficult. Child is the hope of future and mother will try her best to sustain. Learning about the situations, we submitted application for the operation for Xiao Ai immediately. If the life can be sustain, everything becomes possible.

Meanwhile, we applied caring plan for Xiao Ai’s family. We hope the caring money can buy a milk goat for the baby, for the goat milk has same nutrition as mother’s milk. We hope her baby will grow up healthfully.

Original article written by Yunyun Jie, translated by Maggie Li, and edited by Yanyan Zhang ​​

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