This is Xiao. She looks different from most young girls and this ‘different’ appearance has made her the center of attention, being constantly bullied. There are a number of people who have dubbed her a ‘gourd doll’.
Why a ‘gourd doll’ you ask? Because Xiao happens to have lumps on her face that look a lot like the shape of a gourd fruit. But this young lady isn’t letting bullies affect her. According to read.meaww.com, Xiao noted, “I used to feel sorry for myself. But I’ve grown up with the support of my family and now I’m much more positive”.
Xiao’s mother even had to go out and talk to her villagers, even beg them, to stop making fun of her daughter. The family has basically become celebrities, unwillingly, in their village. But there is a helpful reason for this bizarre look on Xiao’s face. There is a method to this madness.
Living with these implants on her face isn’t the only challenge that she and her family faced. Treatment was extremely expensive, especially considering Xiao came from a poor family.
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They had to get 100,000 yuan, which is around $15,611, in order for her treatment to have started back in October of last year.
Luckily for the family, they were able to follow the doctor’s recommendations and they were able to raise enough money for Xiao to have her first stage of treatment.
But it’s not over just yet. Xiao’s twin brother, as well as the rest of her family, continue to raise money in order for her to get follow-up surgeries. So far, they got about 50,000 yuan, which is about $7,806.
Xiao is only 23 years old and lives in southwestern China. She was born with a rare skin condition called a congenital melanocytic nevus. It affects one in every 500,000 people.
The only way to truly cure this rare skin condition, which can eventually lead to cancer, is to do this bizarre thing of implanting four giant balloons into her face. This allows new tissue growth which is used to be grafted onto her face when the huge birthmark is removed.
With the balloons stretching in all four corners of Xiao’s face, she is learning how to live her life as peacefully and normally as possible before she is free of this birthmark. This truly follows the saying that beauty is a pain. But this girl is one tough cookie.
Medical experts at Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital in East China are the ones responsible for giving this girl her face. This all started back in March when a facial mole was giving Xiao serious pain. The implants are meant to truly help Xiao and ensure she will be cancer-free.
The Telegraph
