News 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.
