No price on a mother's love

A couple from Fuling in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality have so much love for their adoptive daughter Le Le that they even sold their house to pay for her medical treatment, the Chongqing Economic Daily reported recently.

Le Le, who is now approaching three, was abandoned on the roadside when she was just 17 days old in the early summer of 2004. She was found by her adoptive mother Wang who just happened to be passing.

"I immediately felt very sympathetic toward the poor child, Wang recalled.

"Without hesitation, I decided to adopt her, despite the fact that I already had a 14-year-old daughter in junior high school," she said.

Soon after, Le Le had become a member of the family.

However, on December 11, 2006, Wang awoke to Le Le's screams. The baby was running a high fever and was vomiting.

After rushing her daughter to hospital, Wang was told that Le Le was suffering from acute purulent meningitis. The child slipped into a coma, in which she stayed for 53 days.

As the local hospital was not equipped to care for her, Wang and her husband transferred Le Le to the Chongqing Children's Hospital.

The couple took turns to sit with her while she was unconscious. When Le Le finally awoke, she delighted her adoptive father by simply saying, "Papa".

On hearing the word, Wang's mother burst into tears of joy. She then ran around the hospital telling the staff how Le Le had been adopted.

"None of the medics believed Le Le was adopted," nurse Zhang Hua said.

Le Le regained consciousness after undergoing four major operations. But doctors now fear that she might never fully recover from the trauma.

Currently, the toddler is receiving physiotherapy at the children's hospital in an effort to restore the function of her limbs.

Caring for their daughter has been expensive. Wang's family is not wealthy, but the couple did manage to raise nearly 200,000 yuan ($26,000) from the sale of one of their two homes to pay for Le Le's treatment.

Some friends have advised Wang and her husband to give up the treatment.

"She is not your real daughter and you are not rich," one of them said.

But for Wang and her husband, money is not the issue. They have said they will gladly spend every penny they have to provide a happy life for their baby girl, whatever problems she might yet have to face.

"And we will keep her from ever knowing that she was adopted, so she need never feel that she was deserted," Wang said.

Source: China Daily