Eastday-Girl who shielded mom in city hospital

A seven-year-old girl is being treated at a Shanghai hospital for a serious brain injury she received while trying to shield her mother from a steel shovel wielded by a mentally ill man in a small village in Anhui Province in April.

Wang Yan's mother died at the scene of the attack, while the girl suffered a broken skull and injury to her brain stem.

She was rushed to a hospital, but Anhui doctors told the family she would not emerge from the coma she was in and that it would be pointless to spend money on her treatment.

After the girl was at the hospital for more than a month, Wang Yan's father and brother sold out everything they had in order to take the girl for treatment in Shanghai.

The family was able to bring only 8,000 yuan (US$1,270) to Shanghai since the family was almost broke from paying for her father's cancer treatment.

Wang was admitted to Shanghai Blue Cross Brain Hospital in early June after her brother contacted the hospital.

Dr Pan Renlong, director of Shanghai Blue Cross's neurosurgery department, told Shanghai Daily yesterday that Wang Yan is capable of surviving the injury, but she may need one to two years of rehabilitation.

"She was in deep coma upon arriving at our hospital," Pan said. After consulting with experts, Pan operated on Wang on Wednesday to drain fluid from brain. "She can open her eyes from time to time now, but the movements are unconscious, which means she is under a shallow coma." Pan said.

The next treatment, Pan said, is to awaken the girl. Doctors hope she can live on her own after long-term treatment.

"I am not sure whether she can recover so well, but I will try my best since I was deeply moved by the little girl's behavior," he said. "How brave is a girl who covers her mother from a crazy adult during that moment."

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Eastday-Girl who shielded mom in city hospital