Editor's Note:
According to the latest cancer statistics, there are 3.93 million new cases of malignant tumors in the mainland every year, and behind each cancer patient, there is a unique life.
Tencent Medical Codex plans the "Light of Life" column to record the true story under cancer, share the scientific knowledge of cancer prevention and control, and convey the power of the "Light of Life".
Because of the epidemic, many things have been forced to stop.
But cancer never waits for people, some tumors can grow 1 centimeter a week; some cancers only need 3 months from the occurrence to the advanced stage.
Less than 3 months later, Tong Tong was gone, and she had just celebrated her 2nd birthday.
Tong Tong (pseudonym) is just 1 year and 9 months old, living in an ordinary family of four in Guangzhou, her parents are working in the city, her brother is 3 years older than her, and there will be good food for her.
I thought that Tong Tong would grow up happily, but fate is uncertain, the unknown of life, and I never know where to answer.
There is a "small grain of rice" behind the ear, and it cannot be found in 5 hospitals for more than 10 days, and before the big incident, it is often from the humble small signs.
Just found that something was wrong, it was when her mother bathed Tong Tong, and found that Tong Tong's ear had a big pimple of "small grains of rice".
Does it hurt to ask Tong Tong? She tilted her little head and said it didn't hurt.
At that time, I didn't think it was a big deal, so I went to the hospital of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine in the district for examination, and the doctor said that it was mumps, gave an injection, and prescribed some anti-inflammatory drugs.
Tong Tong is very obedient, and he is obedient when he takes injections and medicines. But after 1 week, the "millet grain" not only did not disappear, but grew up.
Image source: Stand Cool Helo
The family felt serious and quickly took Tong Tong to the hospital in the city. Tong Tong was admitted to Guangzhou Children's Hospital, and after a series of tests such as blood draw, CT, color Doppler ultrasound, etc., the preliminary diagnosis was: ear mass, facial nerve paralysis, soft histitis considered and local liquefaction, lymphitis of the right neck.
After a few days of treatment, Tong Tong's condition still did not improve, and the hospital suspected that it was a tumor, and it was recommended to transfer to a cancer specialist hospital.
When he arrived at the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, he was recommended to be transferred. Next, I went to the Southern Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou Children's Hospital, and The Pearl River Branch of Guangzhou Children's Hospital. In just 10 days, 5 hospitals, hematology, internal medicine, oncology, all the departments that can be examined have been checked, but they can go around in such a big circle, and finally return to the children's hospital and treat according to the initial diagnosis.
When she first entered the children's hospital, Tong Tong was 20 pounds, her spirit was very good, she liked Peppa Pig, and she would play Peppa Pig's family games with the children in the same ward.
More than 10 days later, when she returned to the children's hospital, Tong Tong was only 18 pounds, and her spirit was not as good as before, and more often she was sleeping, and she would often ask: Mom, when can I go home?
Seeing that the treatment has not progressed, Tong Tong's state is getting worse and worse, and after communicating with the hospital, the family decided to take Tong Tong home first, and then contact other hospitals for treatment.
Intercepted at home by the "new crown pneumonia", you can only watch the small knots grow into "small eggs".
When the whole family contacted the hospital and contacted the doctor, the new crown pneumonia broke out.
Wuhan lockdown, Guangdong Province launched a major public health emergency level one response.
Immediately after that, hospitals large and small in Guangzhou began to accept outpatient clinics, and hospitals across the country were also suspended due to the epidemic.
The family launched all the relationships, all kinds of registration software on the Internet were asked again, and there was no hospital that could be found.
"It felt like heaven had closed all the doors, and when the child was discharged, no medicine was prescribed, and she had to wait at home." If it is an adult, she may be able to last for a few days, but she is so small, what is not yet well developed, how can she hold up? It simply can't hold out. Uncle Tong Tong said.
Tong Tong's body was getting worse and worse, and the small bumps behind her ears had grown into small eggs, and she had to be fed several times even to eat... But Tong Tong was very strong, and for such a long time, he had only cried once.
Uncle Tong Tong said that this Spring Festival is the most difficult Spring Festival for them, no one in the whole family has the heart to celebrate the festival, they all revolve around Tong Tong, Tong Tong's grandmother is more than 60 years old, every day must go to see her, do not look uneasy.
The most a family does every day is to find a hospital, to find a doctor, even if you know that there is little hope.
Finally hung up the number of the big hospital, who knew that what was waiting for was a "go home".
With the help of friends, I finally hung up the number of Sun Yat-sen Hospital affiliated to Sun Yat-sen University. The whole family thought there was hope, and the child's condition was finally going to turn around.
Unexpectedly, what awaited was despair.
Get the diagnosis results, the diagnosis results show: the right ear and face, the right parotid gland area, the right side of the back of the neck and the right side of the huge soft tissue mass, considered as a malignant tumor lesion or malignant embryonic tumor, the doctor said: The early delay is too long, and the cancer cells have spread to the lungs. "The child is too young to do chemotherapy, can't be cured, go home!"
Tong Tong's mother will always remember that when the doctor said that sentence, she felt the despair of the black cloud in her heart, and her brain was blank in an instant, and she couldn't stand up.
The family couldn't accept it. Uncle said: The child is so young, she has been in this world for less than two years, how can God bear to take her away! And Tong Tong is really too strong, when the blood is drawn, the child is thin and is not good to find blood vessels, the doctor tried several times, you can see that Tong Tong is very painful, but she did not cry, not a tear, just chanted: "No fight, no fight..."
With a glimmer of hope, the family called west China Hospital, Peking University Cancer Hospital, Qilu Hospital and other well-known hospitals in the country, and got a similar reply: the child is too young to do chemotherapy, and chemotherapy will destroy the entire body function.
Tongtong's grandmother also cried, but she always believed that the situation would improve, she said that she often dreamed, in the dream, the granddaughter told her more than once: Grandma, I will be fine, I will be fine.
But dreams are just dreams after all.
The bag behind Tong Tong's ear grew and grew larger and larger every day, and finally swollen to the size of an adult's fist, and at this time the right eye could no longer be seen. Originally more than 20 pounds of children, in the end there was no meat on the body.
Uncle said: If you use four words to describe Tong Tong's last days, it is "waiting for death."
Because there is no medicine, infusion can not be liquid, at the beginning can also eat some noodles, drink some porridge, to March 15th, Tong Tong ate less and less, even water can not drink, and finally can only use straws to give her drip water to drink.
On Tong Tong's second birthday, although the child could not eat, the family still bought her a small cake, and the whole family surrounded her and sang her birthday songs.
Tong Tong left forever.
From the time she fell ill to her death, it was about 3 months.
postscript
After Tong Tong left, the family burned her clothes, test sheets, etc., no one dared to mention it publicly, only 5-year-old brother will often look for his sister, adults can only explain: sister went to play, sister to go to the angel.
When interviewed, my uncle said that the photos of Tong Tong on his mobile phone were really reluctant to delete, and he cried as he spoke.
Uncle wants to tell Tong Tong: Tong Tong, Uncle misses you! All of us miss you, you must be a happy little angel when you go to heaven!
*The content of this article is a popularization of health knowledge and cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment recommendation, nor is it a substitute for face-to-face consultation by a practicing physician, for reference only.
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