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Wednesday 11 February 2009

Wan Lao Yang



Last night I watched this documentary, several years old, about a little girl in China called Wan Lao Yang. It was called The Girl Who Lives in the Dark. She had a terrible genetic skin condition that basically made it impossible for her to handle UV rays. Awful, disfiguring tumors spread over her entire face.

As this graphic documentary unfolded, following her to hospital in Shanghai for surgery to remove the life threatening tumors that all but covered her face, I sat there praying she would be okay. She was hopeful, the doctors were not. Even when most of her face was removed, she dreamed of a being normal, of more in life. She went back to her small village with the one aim of going back to school and then getting married.

Wan Lao
Yang died soon after the operation. She was nine. I sat there and cried. It was so sad the once again someone with so much potential was no more.

And once more it struck me how stupid and senseless all the petty, trivial shit we go on with about who hates who, or what someone looks like or how they think or whatever the fuck it is we are bitching about this week is totally irrelevant - meaningless. We are damn lucky to have a chance at life. Some people never get it. We – and I mean all of us – take that for granted. Do you need a reality check? Watch this doco and you’ll realize that we haven’t begun to realize how lucky we are. If we had one hundredth of the spirit and the guts of Wan Lao Yang, we would know that. We have everything and yet we whine about all the nothing things in life.

It’s just plain sad.

About Wan Lao Yang - click here -
http://www.sbs.com.au/blogarticle/109065/The-Girl-Who-Lives-In-The-Dark/blog/Documentaries-SBS

www.amarindajones.com
Go Ahead : Live with abandon. Be outrageous at any age. What are you saving your

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Amanda, I watched the program tonight in London and it really touched me as well. My heart went out to her. The program didnt conclude with an update,so I went online to find out she had died. I shed a tear. I have two family members of my are terminally ill. I am going to live my life to the full and try not to judge anyone.
Richard

Unknown said...

I absolutely agree with you Richard. We waste time on such superficial things

Anonymous said...

I watched the documentary and it also touched me, i had to go on the internet to see if she had survived and it was upsetting to find out that she had died, such a shame, she was so positive and such a sweet girl. my heart goes out to their family and Wan Lao yang.

Unknown said...

This doco touched me deeply and I wish she had of lived as she deserved to

Unknown said...

Opinions are always good and welcomed...you just happen to be wrong. Thanks for stopping by.