GUANGZHOU - In the first five years after he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at nearly the age of 2, Zhang Shaopeng could hardly walk or go to school.

That situation is expected to change. On Thursday, the boy, now 12, underwent a surgical operation on the hip joint of his left leg at a hospital in Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong province.

"I am very happy that the operation was successful," said his mother, Liu Qiongxian.

However, Liu said the family now faces pressure from another source: It can hardly afford the huge cost of giving the boy further treatment.

Since coming to Guangzhou on July 16, the family, which hails from Kaili, a mountainous city in Southwest China's Guizhou province, is at least 50,000 yuan ($7,760) in debt for the previous treatment.

"I don't know how I and my boy will manage to live in Guangzhou in the coming days since I don't have any relatives and friends here," she told China Daily.

The boy's father, who works for a battery factory in Guizhou, has also been able to offer little help, finding that he could not borrow enough money in his hometown to pay for the treatments.

"We need more money for future treatments," Liu said. "But I am thankful that many people, especially the doctors here, have helped give so much hope to my family."

To save money, the boy has given up eating breakfast.

"He even wanted to forgo the operation," Liu said. "He is so bright and does not want me to have a large financial burden."

The Guangzhou-based newspaper New Express has worked with a local charity association and a mobile company to start a program that solicits donations for people who, like Zhang, need long-term medical treatments.

By Thursday, the mother had not received any public donations.

China Daily

(China Daily 08/06/2011 page3)