It is hard to imagine how a person is to spend the whole life when only the head and hands are able to move.
Xu Ruiyang, an 18-year-old student from Kunming, has suffered (遭受) from spina muscular atrophy (脊柱肌肉萎缩)1she was 2 years old. At that time, the doctor said that most children with spinal muscular atrophy will only live a few years.
The family did not give up, or even just2. To help Xu Ruiyang live with dignity (尊严), her parents 3her living and learning skills strictly. Opening a book or raising hands, some very easy actions for common people,4, are big challenges for Xu. She had to use her head or5to work together with hands to finish these actions.
When she started learning to write, she couldn't even6a pen. But she never gave up. Once she lost the pen, she picked it up and7writing. Xu finally could write 500 Chinese characters before becoming a primary school student, after8 thousands of times.
Over the past few years, Xu has overcome (克服) many problems, including the 9 caused by the disease. Her parents worried about her health and 10her to drop out of school, but Xu's answer was no. "11I read a book and do my homework, the pain is gone," said Xu.
When asked by reporters on how to deal with difficulties, Xu calmly said, “Patience. When you can't change anything, crying is useless, so just be12."
In Xu's opinion, her sunny and self-confident13comes from the love of her parents.
"If we are not able to make her live longer, we can make her life wider," said Xu's father. They travelled across China and more than 20 14 over the world, including Italy, Thailand and Singapore. During these trips, she developed an interest in learning a 15language. "I think it's cool to learn about other countries' culture and express your feelings to others," said Xu.
Last June, she finished China's Gaokao and received an offer from Sichuan International Study University.
