Bad luck kids
"This kid's not doing well." Mou Cong said so.
Before being diagnosed with neuroblastoma at the age of three, Mu Yi was a lively, chubby child. Like all boys, he has a crush on Ultraman and carries Ultraman toys everywhere he goes.
The family lives in rural Sichuan, his father Mou Cong started a small business in his hometown after retiring from the army, and his mother Zhang Li, who works part-time, also returned to her hometown from Hangzhou to become a full-time mother of two children.
The husband and wife were originally from the same town, and after being introduced by relatives, they married at the right age, had a daughter and a son after marriage, and lived a step-by-step life as expected by the elders. Although the young couple occasionally quarreled, the family's life was stable.
The youngest son, Mu Yi, suddenly had a high fever repeatedly, and the couple took their son to the county hospital for the first time, and the doctor drew a tube of blood, saying that it was an ordinary viral cold. The second time I went, I took a CT, and after the results came out, the doctor was a bit stubborn: "You better go to Shanghai." "Why?"
Doctors say that because the surgery in Shanghai is the best — Mu Yi's stomach shows an unknown shadow.
(Mou Yi receiving treatment)
The illness could not be delayed, and The Mou Cong family immediately packed up and set off.
Mu Cong came to Shanghai for the first time, there are too many hospitals in Shanghai, with a mobile phone search, there are more than a dozen small red dots around, unlike his hometown, which is the largest children's hospital. After choosing the hospital, the general outpatient clinic was not hung, the special outpatient clinic was numbered 799 yuan, and Mou Cong hung two, one surgical and one hematology.
Mu Yi, who was crying deafeningly, was held back until a long, thick needle was inserted from the back of the spine to extract the bone marrow fluid.
The bone piercing results came out, and the expert doctor said "positive, the child has no hope." Mu Cong was not dead-hearted, and the doctor only said that if he continued to cure it, he would be empty of money and wealth.
Leaving the clinic, Zhang Li saw for the first time that her husband was like a person who had lost his main heart, sitting on the ground and crying, "Tarzan pressed the top." And Mu Yi, who had finished wearing bones, curled up on the bed for several days and nights, and as soon as Mu Cong approached, he said, "It hurts!" Don't touch me!
(Mou Yi in a hospital bed)
What is neuroblastoma? Why do good children get this disease? Mu Cong knew nothing, and after despairing, he decided to find out all this.
Half a year after the diagnosis, Mu Cong introduced the mother on Kuaishou: "This disease is more terrifying than leukemia, because it grows on the nerves, usually like a normal child, but once there is a problem, it may face danger at any time." ”
In medicine, this disease has not been conquered so far, and is known as the "king of childhood cancer", which occurs more often in infants and young children, and has the characteristics of easy recurrence and high mortality.
Hard battles
The war began, "they said this disease is invincible, and I will show them that it can be overcome." Mou Cong said.
(Mou Yi corrects the Ultraman action of His father's pendulum)
After being sentenced to death by the big city, The Mou Cong family was depressed for a few months, but soon regrouped and went to many places to seek medical treatment, "At that time, the difficulty was not that there was no money, but that there was no place to treat. ”
After arriving in Jinan, a family that was constantly migrating for medical treatment stopped and rented a house next to the Shandong Provincial Cancer Hospital.
Here, they met Wang Jingfu, chief physician of the Department of Pediatric Oncology.
Dr. Wang often said to the parents who came to see the doctor for the first time: "If I don't give up, your parents say that they want to give up, and it is best not to come to me for treatment." Mu Cong burst into tears.
After living in Jinan for more than a year, Mou Cong noticed that the number of divine mother patients in Dr. Wang's department had multiplied exponentially, "but among so many children, we are also the most difficult to treat..."
Mu Yi's condition came to a dangerous place, and when diagnosed, it was a high-risk stage iv. Testing, hospitalization, chemotherapy, transplantation, tumor removal surgery, a set of treatment procedures down, Mu Cong and Zhang Li did not dare to relax for a moment, "just like when I was in the army before, I couldn't sleep at night with the feeling of holding a gun." ”
(Mu Yi still has a scar left by surgery on the top of his head)
When the rainstorm caught the snow, Mu Cong wrapped his clothes around the child and went to the doctor wearing only a short sleeve.
The child vomited and diarrhea due to chemotherapy, gastrointestinal ulceration, excrement and vomit often have blood clots, and the face became blue and black.
Once a fungal infection, a 5mg drug priced at 10,000 yuan, Mou Cong's family bought eight. Every time he encountered bad news for the follow-up consultation, Mu Cong fell to the ground like someone had his hamstrings removed, rubbed his legs for a while, and then stood up, "You have to go forward." ”
When Mou Yi is in better spirits, he will perform all the iconic Ultraman moves in front of Mou Cong with only slight differences in appearance.
Mu Cong listened stunned, playing the role of a monster that was knocked down, falling down one time at a time, and standing up again and again. Whenever Mu Yi felt pain, he comforted: "Baby, you must be like Ultraman and cannot be defeated, you must stand up." ”
(Mou Yi in the bed in an Ultraman pose)
After the tumor resection operation, Mu Yi lived in the sterile ward for three months, and Mou Cong's meal could only be delivered to the door and picked up by the nurse. Mou Cong could only see his son through the video, a child who was getting weaker and thinner, lying on the bed.
Mu Cong was very sad, "The child didn't enjoy anything, not even a hamburger, a potato chip can't eat, and when he eats it, he vomits out." The most common thing he said was, 'Daddy, I only eat one slice'... He wanted to try everything. ”
Wish list
Mou Cong began to write down Mou Yi's requirements one by one, "watch a movie once", "want a Hulk toy", "take a plane", "want to take a wedding photo for my parents, treasure one myself", "experience a swim", "want to give my sister a Barbie doll, and accompany her after leaving now with myself"... And Mu Yi's heart and mind "I want to see the real Ultraman". 50 wishes in total.
(Family portrait of Mou Cong's family)
"The children are like this, give me a request, why don't I give him a finish?" In Mou Cong's mind, these demands represent a father's commitment to his son. "Go coax him, go cheer him up, say give you a toy, baby, let's stick to it again, okay?"
Two months after the first surgery, the bad news came again— the indicators of cancer cells showed that Mu Yi had relapsed again. In just two months, the cancer cells metastasized to the most intractable brain, and the film showed four new foci.
"Six or seven hundred thousand yuan has been spent on treatment, and it is said that it will be repeated." All the families of mother of God know that repeating the same mistakes will be more difficult and longer than the first road, Mou Cong said: "The first cure rate may be 30%, and the second time only reaches 10% to 15%." ”
(Chemotherapy makes Mu Yi often vomit up and down diarrhea, which is very painful)
Mou Cong decided to go to the crowdfunding website to raise the cost of treatment, and on the crowdfunding page, he also posted the "50 wish list for children".
The crowdfunding attracted the attention of a local media person, and after it was reported, an official staff member of Ultraman called Mou Cong. At that time, the child had a high fever of 39 degrees for more than ten days, vomiting blood and nosebleeds, "the child seemed to be gone at any time." ”
When Mu Yi survived this fierce danger, one day, Mu Cong said to Mu Yi, "In the afternoon, Ultraman will come to see you." Mu Yi's first reaction was: "You must have lied to me." ”
In the afternoon, Ultraman, played by a real person, really came to the rental house of Mou Cong's family. At first, Mu Yi looked surprised, and took a step back, holding Mu Cong's hand and not daring to go forward.
But soon, a small bald head jumped into a crowd of Ultramans and also made a monster fighting posture. Mu Yi's face turned red, his eyes lit up, and he went forward to hug Ultraman.
(Mu Yi fulfilled his biggest wish to see the real Ultraman)
The process of fulfilling this dream was sent to the net. Mou Yi's face appeared on the hot search list, and the entry was "Cyro Ultraman visits a 5-year-old boy with cancer".
Since then, Mou Yi has appeared in many short video videos of Internet celebrities, and many Mou Yi's memes have the word "come on" written on them. The small rental house is also full of Ultraman toys sent by caring people from all over the country.
Mou Yi became more fond of Ultraman, and the more he believed the saying that he would grow up to become Ultraman with superpowers. But Mou Cong would not tell him that after the performance, the Ultraman actors took off their holsters, revealing their sweat-soaked skin, each holding their breath.
In Mu Cong's mind, compared to Ultraman, the 5-year-old Mou Yi has more super energy. Again and again, he insisted on patience, "issued countless critical illness notices, and each time survived." I believe in him, can't people also create miracles? ”
(Before the operation, the doctor drew the area of the operation on Mu Yi's head))
Around the Spring Festival in 2021, Mou Cong's family came to Beijing Yuquan Hospital for the second brain tumor resection operation.
The doctor cautiously said that the risk of four lesions and craniotomy is very large, and there is a great possibility that the child will be paralyzed or become a vegetative person after doing it. It was Mou Cong who signed the consent form for the operation. Zhang Li had collapsed and accused him, how dare you?
During the operation, Mu Cong was nervous and thought many times, if he really can't do it, let the doctor push the child out, I don't want to do it.
Fortunately, the operation was successful.
(Mom is responsible for the main source of income, and the task of childcare falls to Dad.)
Mou Cong said: "His confidence and desire to survive are his own superpowers. ”
comrade in arms
Over the past two years of treatment, Mou Cong has witnessed many families in the same ward give up and leave, and also sent many people on their last journey.
In the ward, a little girl from the same village who was close to Mu Yi passed away. At the funeral, because the girl's family believed in Buddhism, Mu Yi finally completed the ceremony with the urn. After Mu Yi returned, she brushed the video of the girl when she was alive again, and she couldn't eat a bite of food for several days.
"Children are really simple, they are born with joy and joy, they don't understand anything, they don't get anything when they go through this, and they have to be so miserable before they leave..." Mu Cong said.
(Mou Cong's family went to the Temple of Heaven)
Before she died, girls often played with Mu Yi. When two children are together, they can always fill the room with joy because of simple happiness. After the girl left, Mu Yi often looked around and asked, "Daddy, where has my sister gone?" ”
Mou Cong said: "My sister's illness has been cured and she has returned to her hometown." At the end, either add the sentence "We want to refuel" or quickly diverge from the topic. Every time he mentioned death, Mu Cong's tears couldn't be stopped. Mu Cong can understand a truth more and more: in this world, except for life and death, nothing else is a matter.
Today, the illness has taken up almost half of Mu Yi's life. He knows that when he eats a lot of food, he will have diarrhea; he knows that when he goes to the hospital, it is useless to struggle and cry; and he knows that if he vomits blood or is uncomfortable, he must tell his mother at the first time.
In his wish list, there are some things that seem simple but difficult to satisfy: "eat a hamburger", "want to taste chocolate", and "want to go to kindergarten for a day of school". For kindergarten, Mu Yi only has a very simple understanding: there are many children, the teacher will give candy, and the sister is very happy every time she comes home.
(Mou Cong's family goes to the Bird's Nest)
During these times, Mou Cong also changed from a man who "thinks that taking a baby is a woman's thing" to a full-time father who cannot relax for a moment.
When Mu Yi first fell ill, Mu Cong was crushed, and most of the things in the family were carried by Zhang Li, and her instructions were meticulous to Mu Cong's disinfection and hand washing every time, "like an obsessive-compulsive disorder." ”
But when the child relapsed for the first time and was accompanied by the intensive care unit for three months, Zhang Li no longer dared to face the child's report.
She always remembers that time, at night, Mu Yi repeatedly had headaches and diarrhea, and when it was most uncomfortable, she pulled dozens of times a day, and the child quickly lost weight into a skin and bone, "You see that the child is uncomfortable, but you can't bear it for him, it is a kind of anxiety and madness, really crazy like uncomfortable." ”
In the patient group, Zhang Li and other mothers called themselves "crazy mothers", "like a neuropathy", "we hover back and forth between the edge of normal and abnormal, the child is normal, the child is normal, the child is not normal, he is not normal." ”
Zhang Li believes she is in a state of severe depression, often accompanied by manic anxiety. Zhang Li is also "sick", she knows: "I will collapse in this way, and my moderation is to put as much pressure on him as possible (Mou Cong)." ”
(Before going out in the morning, Zhang Li was cleaning Mu Yi's shoes)
After that, Mu Cong became Zhang Li's comrade-in-arms who "can carry things better than in the past". Zhang Li almost stopped running away from the hospital, and Mou Cong also began to share the responsibilities of cooking, buying vegetables, washing, and accompanying the baby.
At first, Mu Cong felt overwhelmed, and complained that "it seems that the children are all my own", deliberately amplifying the movement when cooking, "I want them to worry, get up early to eat." The number of repetitions increased, and he stopped, suddenly understanding Zhang Li's difficulty.
"It's really hard for a woman to know after experiencing it myself." In the past, I thought that women would not only take a child and do some housework, but now every day is a busy chore, and it is difficult to have some time for themselves at night, but it is also very rare. Because tomorrow morning I have to get up early again. ”
Zhang Li once felt that if it were not for the serious illness of the child, she might have divorced Mu Cong, who was "a bit macho". When young couples are talking, "warm man" Mu Yi will always protect his mother, a sentence "Daddy you don't get angry with your mother anymore", Mu Cong will weaken the position. When Zhang Li was uncomfortable, Mu Yi would want to immediately reach out and rub it.
(The couple is in a cold war after arguing, and Mu Yi holds her mother's hand)
Today's Mu Cong's cooking skills have been greatly improved, changing the way of stir-frying in large oil in the past, making more boiled dishes, steaming small bowls of dishes, and the family accompanied Mu Yi to eat lightly. After falling ill, Mu Yi said to Mou Cong, who had been smoking for many years, "Dad smoking is not good for his health", and after saying it three times, Mu Cong never smoked a cigarette again.
Mu Cong sighed: "My son has the greatest influence on me. He was often a little confused, "Obviously he is still a child, how can he be a father?" As a father, he only gave himself 60 to 70 points, "Being a father is really not good." ”
(While playing at the Temple of Heaven, Mu Yi washed his hands and wet his clothes, revealing an unhappy expression)
Both husband and wife stopped working to accompany the children full-time. This decision is often questioned and exhorted by others.
Since the child fell ill, the Mou Cong family has spent nearly a million for treatment, most of which are borrowed and raised, plus the minimum guarantee now earns about 2,000 yuan a month, barely able to pay their rent and daily expenses.
But Neither Mu Cong nor Zhang Li listened, only they knew what an unrealistic proposal it was to take care of the child while working, "Once the child has a problem, it is like fighting a war." In their minds, "We don't have any money, but money is just numbers for us." The first thing we have to do is to accompany him. "Consensus has always existed.
In Mu Cong's heart, "We are all in the same boat, we will not abandon anyone or abandon anyone, even in the most difficult, helpless and lonely times, only the four of us will always be one heart." ”
(A family rushed from Shandong to Beijing for follow-up consultation)
That wish list has come true to many. In addition to meeting the real Ultraman, Mu Yi no longer lacks gifts that he wants to eat and play, and the experience within the physical permission has been experienced, even Uncle Huang Bo, who wants to see, has also recorded a video to wish him a speedy recovery, and fans have taken skiing videos at the ski resort to Mu Yi who "wants to skate a snow".
"To be honest, I didn't expect that much would happen." Mu Cong was surprised by the power of the Internet, and at the same time relieved, "In fact, every time I complete a wish, I will not have any pride." It's just that everything you say to Dad, Dad did his best to do it. ”
In Mu Cong's heart, he had only one wish.
He hoped that Mou Yi would become a lucky child from now on.