Father plays dress-up to help pay for son's cancer treatment
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E-mail China Daily, January 18, 2016
Wearing a thin red robe and a woman's wig, Dong Dajun braves the freezing temperatures as he tries to attract the attention of pedestrians walking through an underground passage near a Beijing hospital, urging them to buy his flowers.
![Wearing a thin red robe and a woman's wig, Dong Dajun (Right) tries to attract the attention of pedestrians walking through an underground passage near a Beijing hospital on Jan 13, 2015. [Photo/Beijing Times]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20160118/7427ea210acc1806cfa822.jpg "Wearing a thin red robe and a woman's wig, Dong Dajun (Right) tries to attract the attention of pedestrians walking through an underground passage near a Beijing hospital on Jan 13, 2015. [Photo/Beijing Times]") |
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Wearing a thin red robe and a woman's wig, Dong Dajun (Right) tries to attract the attention of pedestrians walking through an underground passage near a Beijing hospital on Jan 13, 2015. [Photo/Beijing Times] |
An accountant from Linyi, Shandong province, Dong is struggling to earn a few yuan more 600 kilometers away from home as his critically ill 5-year-old son is being treated for lymphoma in an intensive care unit at Beijing Children's Hospital.
"No one responded me and bought flowers in the beginning, when I dressed normally," he said. "Then I was reminded that whenever I dressed in my wife's clothes, my son would laugh happily. Besides, more people may notice me when I dress in women's clothes."
In the week since Dong began selling flowers, he has earned about 200 yuan ($30). "It is not big sum of money," he said. "But at least I can buy some toys for my son to bring him some happiness."
The boy, nicknamed Hui Hui, doesn't know he has cancer. He thinks he just has a serious flu infection, Dong said.
Doctors at a hospital in Linyi suspected cancer when Dong and wife, Zhao Xiaoxue, first sought treatment for their son in September. They urged the couple to take him to Beijing.
"The cancer is found in many parts of his body, such his chest and kidneys," Dong said. "The doctor said it is impossible to remove all the tumors in his body, and chemotherapy is the better solution."
In Beijing, they visited several hospitals, and eventually chose the children's hospital for the surgery to remove tumors from Hui Hui's neck, he said. The boy has finished two rounds of chemotherapy and is undergoing a third round now. Eight more are needed, he said.
"Although he is getting almost back to normal after treatment, the doctor told me his life is still at risk and fragile," Dong said.
And the boy's medical costs keep climbing. The first chemotherapy cost 140,000 yuan, for which Hui Hu's rural basic medical insurance reimbursed more than 40,000 yuan, he said.
Before coming to Beijing, Dong's colleagues, relatives and friends collected about 70,000 yuan to help the family, and the local government added more than 1,000 yuan just a few days ago, Dong said. He also borrowed about 140,000 yuan.
To save money, he and his wife rent a room in a two-bedroom flat near the hospital at a cost of 2,700 yuan a month. They take turns caring for their son in the hospital during the day and at the apartment in the evening.
Dong's sacrifice has gained some attention on social media. Some netizens praised his actions, while others urged further improvements in medical insurance.
"I think he is a great father, as he doesn't fear losing face by dressing like a woman in the public to save his son," a netizen by the name of Qiankunchi wrote on a micro blog.
"I hope our medical insurance system can be improved so a family will not be broken by a serious disease," wrote another netizen by the name of Season.
Dong said he has not sold flowers in the past two days because he has got a cold and worries about infecting his son. "It is very cold in the underpass, but I cannot wear too much clothes under the tight robe," he said.
Dong wants to find a job in Beijing to help pay the medical bills. His salary in Linyi was about 2,600 yuan a month, he said.
"I hope I can find a part-time job, such as working in the evening, so I can also look after my son," he said. "I want to do everything I can to save my son."
Dong's wife said she feels both love and pain for her husband whenever he's out selling flowers in the cold at the underpass.
"We are sorry for our son and our only hope is he can get better," Zhao said.
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