LRS Care: Xiao Zhen

March 2012, Xiao Zhen after surgery

Not Just a Throat Problem

​In the beginning of 2012, Xiao Zhen’s cousin caught a cold, so her grandma brought both kids to the clinic to get her some cold medicine, and also to get Xiao Zhen some medicine for her throat. Because it was flu season, the doctor used a stethoscope to check both children. The doctor said the cousin had a common cold and only needed some medicine, but Xiao Zhen’s situation was a bit more complicated. The issue wasn’t with her throat, but that she had a heart murmur. He recommended that they go to the county hospital.

Xiao Zhen with Xiao Jing before a check up

Grandma Faints from Shock

​Grandma was very scared because she had only heard of older people with heart disease and had never heard about children with heart disease. She brought Xiao Zhen to the county hospital the next day. She was diagnosed with congenital heart disease; her grandma fainted from shock. Luckily Grandma always had her medicine on hand, so she was back to a conscious state after taking medicine and resting at the hospital. Xiao Zhen’s grandma said that it’s already sad that Xiao Zhen doesn’t have her parents. It’s even sadder that God won’t even give her a healthy body.

Xiao Zhen and her grandmother before her surgery

Caring for Orphaned Grandchildren

​The saddest thing in the world is a person with white hair watching a person with black hair pass away in front of them. A few years ago, after Grandpa and Grandma experienced the passing of their two sons, they began having heart issues because of excessive emotional trauma. For this reason, they could not handle their feelings of shock. These few years, the four have been relying tightly on one another. (Xiao Zhen and her cousin are orphans.)

In March 2012 Little Red Scarf found out about Xiao Zhen’s situation and immediately provided financial assistance for her congenital heart disease surgery. We have been paying close attention to their situation and caring for them ever since. They have been a beneficiary of our care and help.

This is a picture of Xiao Zhen and her grandma, as well as Xiao Jing. Left: 2014, Right: 2016

2014 Summer Camp

​In 2014, Little Red Scarf invited Xiao Zhen and Xiao Jing to join the summer camp we were hosting. When Grandma got the news, she was extremely happy. She and her husband are busy during the summer and don’t have time to attend to their grandchildren, leaving them bored. Although Grandma really wants the best for her grandchildren, she doesn’t have the ability to give opportunities like Little Red Scarf’s summer camp to her grandchildren. She thanked Little Red Scarf for remembering her and her grandchildren, for providing a free dormitory at the camp, free transportation, and always looking out for them in general.

​For the 2014 summer camp, Xiao Zhen and Xiao Jing left home for the first time to spend a happy week with us. In those two weeks, our staffed experienced the contrasting personalities of the two sisters. Xiao Zhen is super quiet and Xiao Jing is super active. They are polar opposites!

Little sister, Xiao Jing in 2014

Big sister, Xiao Zhen in 2016

2016 Summer Camp

​In 2016, we invited Xiao Zhen and Xiao Jing to our summer camp again. Right after we said we were inviting them to our summer camp, we heard shouts of celebration from the other end, like some long-awaited goal had finally been accomplished. I didn’t even need to ask; I knew it was the energetic, lively Xiao Jing .

Little Sister, Xiao Jing in 2016

Big sister, Xiao Zhen and her partner in 2016

If we were to say the 2014 summer camp was the sisters’ internship, then 2016 was a time when they acted like themselves and had real fun.

Two years had passed, but the sisters’ personalities didn’t change very much. Xiao Zhen remained her quiet self, while Xiao Jing was just as active as before. But Grandma got older and Grandpa needed surgery for his heart and was in a hospital in Lanzhou.

Care Money for Tuition

When the summer camp ended and Grandma came to the office to pick up Xiao Zhen and Xiao Jing, we handed her Xiao Zhen’s financial aid for her education in 2016. Xiao Zhen graduated from 9th grade, but wasn’t able to test into senior high school. Because Grandma and Grandpa are getting old and less active as time passes, they no longer have the ability to support Xiao Zhen to repeat junior high or go to a private high school. Thus, Xiao Zhen will go to Lin Tao for secondary school during the second half of this year.

Handwritten receipt for 1950 RMB ($300 USD)

​Grandma believes that she and her husband have been repairing things and laboring for a lifetime, and that they have no knowledge or special skills. She doesn’t want her two grandchildren to end up like them. They are the family’s hope, and she hopes that they can make a living to eat comfortably.

Xiao Zhen is now a secondary school student. We hope that she can adapt quickly and enjoy the campus life. Most of all, we hope she treasures this time in school and doesn’t let down her grandparents’ love for her.

​Xiao Zhen, school has started. We hope you will get good grades, always push yourself to learn more, and set a solid foundation for your dream.

Original article written by Yujie Yun, translated by Michael Chau, edited by Carolyn D.