Just a quick post to say that Yan Daiyu, apart from being in the care of her own family, is now having the Green Leaves Foundation seek treatment and funding options for her. For more information on the Green Leaves Foundation, go to the NGOs page and scroll down .
Posts Tagged ‘leukemia’
20090323: news about Yan Daiyu
Monday, March 23rd, 2009News from Yan Daiyu:
This morning we met with Yan Daiyu, her father, Yan Shifu, and her stepmother at Hua Xi 2nd Hospital in Chengdu.
After an initial consultation with the doctor, during which Daiyu was quite scared and did not dare to say a word, we made our way through the crowded hallways of the hospital to get her blood test.
The director of the department, Mr. Gao Ju, explained that it was very likely that Daiyu has a form of Leukemia called APL (Acute promyelocytic leukemia) or M3. To make sure this is the right diagnosis the hospital will have to make a bone marrow puncture/ asparation on Monday morning. We checked Daiyu into the hospital where she started treatment for her flu, since her immune system has to be as strong as possible for the chemotherapy.
After the bone marrow puncture the doctor will be able to tell us more about the following treatment and how her chances are.
If she really has APL she will have to take medicine (ATRA Treatment) for a couple of weeks and then start a course of hemotherapy that will last about one to one-and-a-half months.
The chances of long-term survival are over 50 % in China.
We stayed with the family for most of the day and had our first success with getting attention from the media.
Chengdu TV came to the hospital to interview Yan Daiyu, her father, Yuanyuan and me.
Since Yan Daiyus parents separated a long time ago she lives with her father and stepmom, which might make finding a person for a possible bone marrow transfusion harder. Luckily Chengdu TV said they would try to find the mother, who is living with two of Yan Daiyu’s siblings.
So far SQR has paid the hospital and the family around 3500 RMB which will cover the first days in the hospital, living expenses and the bone marrow puncture.
The positive news of the day is that the total cost will probably not be as high as the countryside hospital said.
Right now it seems like the total cost will be around 70.000 RMB, though it is not possible to get any definite answers at the moment, since we have to wait for the final diagnosis on Monday till we will be able to know the exact treatment Yan Daiyu will need. Sadly, experience shows that initial estimates of funds required tend to be lower than the actual funds required, but SQR will keep updating the information on Yan Daiyu’s case. The family is still living in their self build shed and the doctor said if the treatment goes well the chances of survival are also influenced by her living conditions. It’s a case of taking one step at a time.
The other positive news today is that we left Yan Daiyu smiling, giving a hearty kiss on the cheek after a day of drawing, singing and playing together.
20090320: Yan Daiyu – leukemia diagnosis. 70,000 rmb needed, or more.
Friday, March 20th, 2009
Through the principal of a Kindergarten in Guangji (close to LuoShui) that Sichuan Quake Relief is rebuilding, SQR met a little girl today who has been diagnosed with Leukemia ten days ago. Her name is Yan Daiyu and she is seven years old. Her parents brought her to Renmin Hospital in Mianzhu were she was diagnosed with leukemia. After a couple of days the Yan Daiyu had to leave the hospital, since her parents could not even afford to pay the 20.000 RMB the hospital asked for the first diagnosis and treatment.
The house the parents, grandparents and Yan Daiyu used to live in was completely destroyed during the quake, now the whole family lives in a small shed they built themselves. Both parents have lost their job and cannot afford to rebuild the house or pay for their daughter’s treatment. The father said he didn’t care about rebuilding the house he just wants his daughter to get treatment and would do anything to make that possible.
When we met the family they hadn’t properly eaten in three days and were desperate for help. Neither media nor government has been able or interested to help so far. We left the family with 3000 RMB so they could buy food, but aren’t able to fund the treatment or rebuilding. We are getting will meet with doctors from HuaXi hospital tomorrow to talk about Yan Daiyu’s situation, cost etc.
To stand an actual chance Yan Daiyu would have to start treatment in HuaXi Hospital in Chengdu as soon as possible. The total cost of this would be around 500.000 RMB.
If anybody has questions or knows any company, individual or NGO that would be interested in funding the treatment please contact us as soon as possible. Also, please forward this information and spread the news about Yan Daiyu.
[IMPORTANT NOTE: the title of this story was edited on Monday 23rd March 2009 to reflect the changing estimates of the level of funding required. As the next blog entry illustrates, it is difficult to estimate costs, and experience has shown that initial estimates can be on the low side. SQR will keep updated with the latest estimates of funding required.]
