Family with young patient diagnosed with scoliosis shakes off poverty in Anhui (16)

Cai Qiyan helps her mother pick vegetables in Gaowan Village of Jinzhai County, east China's Anhui Province, June 20, 2020. Cai Qiyan enjoys the view of flowing clouds from one of the mountain-top tea plantations. But the fun has also been a luxury for the 15-year-old, who was diagnosed with congenital scoliosis. From an early age, Qiyan had found it extremely difficult to keep her spine upright. In the depth of the Dabie Mountains, Qiyan had to spend two hours on her way to school and back home since it "took much longer time walking with a bent body." Despite her good academic performance, Qiyan became ever more self-conscious as she grew up. In 2012, the family had decided to seek medical treatment in Beijing. In the eight years to come, Qiyan had undergone eight surgeries. With the help of surgical implants, Qiyan had eventually straightened her back after painful recoveries. However, multiple surgeries had thrown Qiyan's family into dire poverty. In 2016, Qiyan's family was registered by the government as an impoverished household. Thanks to local poverty-relief policies, the family shook off poverty in 2019. Qiyan's parents now run a tea plantation which bring them an annual revenue of 30,000 yuan (about 4,240 U.S. dollars). Qiyan says she feels particularly thankful for the medical staff and those who cared about her health. Now as a sixth-grader at a local boarding school, the girl says her biggest dream is to become a doctor herself. (Xinhua/Liu Junxi)