Inspiring! Student with LAMA2-related muscular dystrophy admitted by top university
Xing Yifan, an 18-year-old who suffers from LAMA2-related muscular dystrophy and weighs only 18 kilograms, was admitted by the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, known as Beihang University in Beijing after scoring 645 out of a possible 750 points in this year’s national college entrance examination, or gaokao.
Xing Yifan and his parents. (Photo/Beihang University)
Xing Yifan arrives at Beihang University. (Photo/Beihang University)
It takes most high school graduates a great deal of effort to achieve such high scores, and for Xing, the challenge was even greater. Born in Jilin city, northeast China’s Jilin province, Xing was diagnosed with the disease when he was only six months old. On top of that, the symptoms of the disease worsened as he grew up, and were characterized by muscle weakness, spine malformation, respiratory insufficiency and dystrophy.
Xing has never been able to walk independently, and can only sit against a support. In the classroom, he had to lie down to rest every 30 minutes, listening to the teachers without being able to look at them for the rest of the class. Moreover, he cannot move his head due to muscle weakness. But the young man has never been defeated by these difficulties, which only made him more resilient until he finally found new confidence in life. Xing says that he was inspired by the story of British physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking and also wanted to make a difference by gaining more knowledge.
(Photo/China Daily)
Xing’s efforts paid off when he got the highest score in his school for the senior high school entrance examinations in 2018. To prepare for gaokao, Xing studied even harder at high school, rarely going to bed before midnight and completing at least 10 exam papers a day. One day, he suffered a fracture to his right shoulder and had to stay at home to recover. He returned after three months, and to his teachers’ surprise, he had improved instead of falling behind his classmates.
(Photo/Jiangcheng Daily)
Even when Xing achieved the high score at gaokao, his parents were still unsure whether the university could admit their son due to his illness. When they explained Xing’s situation and academic performance to teachers at the admission office of Beihang University, they received a positive answer. “We were touched by the school’s goodwill, and burst into tears because we were so excited,” said Xing’s father.
Xing's dormitory at Beihang University (Photo/Beihang University)
Xing in his dormitory at Beihang University (Photo/Beihang University)
Due to Xing’s physical condition, his mother will take care of him full-time when he starts university life in Beijing. Beihang University has arranged a room for Xing and his mother on the first floor of the dormitory building, providing a convenient living environment for both of them.
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