BEIJING (SCMP): The Chinese social media was left heartbroken by the poignant story of a four-year-old boy in China who kept calling out for his mother by her bedside until cancer claimed her last breath.
Five million Douyin users watched touching video clips of Yang Yucheng, 4, tenderly calling out “mum” and whispering “I love you” as he sat by her bed in their home in southwestern China’s Yunnan province.
His mother, Cun Caituan, was diagnosed with terminal gallbladder cancer in August last year.
About 70 per cent of gallbladder cancer patients receive an advanced diagnosis at the time of detection, with only a dismal five-year survival rate of five per cent, as revealed in a 2020 hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery summit organised by the Jiangsu Anti-Cancer Association.
On Oct 17, her husband, Yang Fan, announced her passing at the age of 30 on his Douyin account, which has 200,000 followers.
A video taken by the father five days before her death shows the little boy lying beside her, innocently asking why she was not talking to him.
Cun, who had lost 20kg in just one month and was visibly frail, lifted her hand to gently touch her boy’s face and told him “to go to sleep”.
The father remarked that his son gradually matured as he watched his mother’s life slip away.
“He seemed to understand everything and nothing all at once,” he reflected.
He noted that his son used to cry for his mother’s hugs constantly but learned to care for her by feeding her water and giving her massages once her health declined.
The husband shared that he met Cun on a blind date in 2017 and married her two years later. Their son was born in 2020.
Her parents initially opposed the marriage because Yang came from a modest rural background.
However, Yang never wavered in his commitment to Cun. As the owner of a small mobile phone repair shop, he borrowed money and took her to medical specialists in larger cities.
He also opened a Douyin account to seek donations and generate income through live-streaming sales.
His parents were equally devoted to her care, selling whatever they could to raise funds.
He told Guangzhou Daily that he had spent 700,000 yuan (US$99,000) on her treatment.
“She must have been heartbroken to leave her child behind at such a young age,” one commenter reflected on Douyin.
“She faced misfortune in her illness but was fortunate to have such a loving family. Rest in peace,” another remarked. - South China Morning Post
