A brother uses his savings to help his parents pay for his sister’s cancer treatment. Initially, he saved money for three years to buy a gift for Father’s Day. Instead of buying a common present, the 10-year-old boy decided to use the money he saved o help pay for the leukemia treatment of his 5-year-old sister.
In this article, you’ll read:
- Brother Uses Savings to Help Pay For Sister’s Treatment
- The Reason Why the Brother Used His Savings for His Sister
- 5 Ways to Strengthen Your Family’s Support System
Brother Uses Savings to Help Pay For Sister’s Treatment
A 10-year-old boy gave three years’ worth of savings to his family for Father’s Day. He used his money, 713 yuan (US$107), to help pay for the leukaemia treatment of his 5-year-old sister.
10-year-old Zhang Chenguang is from Henan province. He started saving money three years ago to surprise his parents. On this year’s Father’s Day celebration, he made it extra special by donating his entire savings to help his sister.
A month ago, doctors revealed the cancer diagnosis of Zhang Chenguang’s sister. The 5-year-old girl suffered from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. Concerning this, the family needed to raise 400,000 yuan (US$60,000) for the cost of the treatment.
The Reason Why the Brother Used His Savings for His Sister
Both of the boy’s parents are currently unemployed. Fortunately, they received help from a local charity after they reached out for financial help.
As a response, their local Red Cross requested public donations for the family. They also coordinated with local organisations for additional assistance. Aside from that, they worked with a nearby school and other committees to run charity drives.
Thanks to these efforts, the family managed to save for the young girl’s initial leukaemia treatment. The act of helping that the 10-year-old boy witnessed inspired him to help his family as well.
His Family’s Reaction to His Good Deed
Zhang Chenguang found out that the donations of strangers helped pay for his sister’s initial treatment. Because of this, he decided to give his piggy bank to his father as a Father’s Day gift.
The sobbing 10-year-old boy said: “I saw my father’s hair had started to turn grey, and I wanted to ease his burden.“
According to a regional broadcaster, the father turned emotional and embraced his son. Meanwhile, his sister also burst into tears during a video call when this happened.
“I found it was tough to donate all my savings,” said Zhang Chenguang. “But I still did it because I had planned to give my savings to my sister, even if she was not sick.”
The father said that the 5-year-old girl’s condition got better after receiving treatment; she is currently in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Many people appreciated the 10-year-old boy’s goodwill; it spread across Chinese social media. 713 yuan may just be a drop in the bucket to pay for the little girl’s treat. However, people cared more about the boy’s selfless intention to help his family.
One Weibo user said: “I hope his sister can survive the battle against cancer and go home to reunite with the family soon.”
China issued a report about childhood leukaemia statistics 2020 late last year; they surveyed 436 hospitals in the country. The report indicated that the incidence of leukaemia for children younger than 14 stood at 34 cases per million people.
Meanwhile, the five-year survival rate for children who developed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in China was about 90%.
5 Ways to Strengthen Your Family’s Support System
In times of happiness and distress, we often turn to our family and friends for support. In turn, we lend a hand whenever they need us for help. By doing this, we strengthen our bond with our loved ones.
These trying times like unexpected cancer treatments usually test our relationships with our loved ones. To avoid this, we need to build a stronger support system. Below, we listed five ways to achieve this goal.
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Share Appreciation
Do not be afraid and hesitant to show your family that you care for them. Let them know and be aware that you appreciate even the little things they do. Expressing appreciation is one good way to strengthen family relationships.
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Always Spare Some Time For Your Loved Ones
There are a lot of ways to spend time with your family; it could be meal times, recreation time, and supporting each other. Remember that it is essential to make family time quality time, not just quantity time.
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Open Space for Communication
There were times when communicating with family members can be difficult. However, remember that supportive families promote emotionally safe and direct communication between one another. Your family must know how much you love and support them.
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Develop Strong Problem-Solving Skills
One of the parents’ responsibilities is to teach their children and show them productive ways how to handle problems. Children learn from their parents how to communicate with the world. It also includes how they could handle challenges in their lives.
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Individual Accountability
Everyone in the family needs to be held responsible for their words and actions. Being able to depend on each other is a crucial component of creating a happy family. However, things get compromised when someone fails to fulfil their commitments.
Moreover, it’s crucial to assist family members who are in need. Giving them support during difficult times will strengthen your family’s bond.
This article has been republished with the permission of theAsianparent Singapore.