The girl who lives in the dark

( Lao Yang - The girl who lives in the dark )


Have you watched this documentary? I caught it last night. While painting, and crying over her mishap. You should watch the documentary esp the part where she reached Shanghai and making a call from her room and spoke to her younger sister, telling her that she will return back to the village soon and take care of her.

It talks abt this little girl who suffers from XP (Xeroderma Pigmentosum), a rare and incurable genetic disorder that makes exposure to the sun, or any UV light, extremely dangerous. Sufferers rapidly develop skin crusting, scarring and cancer.

Lao Yang (the little girls name) lives in a remote village in China. Because of their poor knowledge and understanding of the dangerous illness, tho she was donated a UV protection suit, but she did not wore it all times, partly becos the mask brushes against her facial tumor causing her pain. Her condition worsen and became horribly disfigured by the pus ozing tumors growing on her cheeks and almost blinded one of her eye.

Dr David Atherton from Great Ormond Street Hospital traveled to China in a bid to help Lao Yang and concluded that she needs treament urgently. So left the village, accompanied by her father, and to Shanghai for surgery to remove the life-threatening tumours.

Lao Yang's hope was to return back with a more socially acceptable face, and to be back schooling.

In the end, her nose and an eye were removed in order to save her life. And even after her return to the village, bad news came from the doctors that her cancerous cells have spreaded to her body and she may not have much time left...

If only proverty is not the hindrance to treatment, if only education and knowledge is freely imparted. How many conditions will not have been worsen and how many lives could have been saved.....