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Glass girl becomes class girl, overcoming physical handicap
September 25, 2010, Saturday
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ON the afternoon of September 3 at the campus of Shanghai Jianqiao College, Lu Haiying went back to her dormitory from the classroom in her wheelchair, with her mother's help. It was the first day of her college life.
Lu is called a "glass girl." She suffers from a disease known as osteogenesis imperfecta congentia, commonly called "glass bones." Patients of this disease are prone to bone fractures because their bones are so brittle. They have to take great care in their daily lives.
Although her disease is not cured, Lu is not letting adversity get in the way of her ambition to earn a college degree.
"When we went to the college to register her, we were nervous," admitted Ye Longyin, the secretary of the Community Party branch of the Minhang Investment Construction Company, which has taken Lu up as a cause.
"We were worried about the attitude of college officials. If they saw Lu's condition, would they reject her?"
Their anxiety proved unfounded. On their way to the Student Services Office, they ran into Jiang Weiyi, the Party secretary of the college.
Curriculum
After hearing of Lu's plight, Jiang promised that everything possible would be done to get her a place in the curriculum.
"I didn't expect that there would be so many kind people," Jiang told Lu. "You certainly have chosen the right college."
"I really appreciate that Jianqiao College received me so warmly and was so considerate," said Lu, adding that "studying in the college has been my biggest dream for a long time, and now it has finally been fulfilled."
Registration day was packed with people, making it difficult for Lu to be wheeled around. So teachers at the college jumped in to help her.
Leaders of the college held a special meeting to discuss Lu's situation. They suggested Lu change her intended major from culture diffusion -- a course that would have required extensive work off-campus -- to accounting, which would involve more campus-based work.
Lu's dormitory room is on the ground floor with handicap-access bathroom. It's normally a four-person dormitory room, but it's been designated for just Lu and her mother at the same fee a single person would pay.
The bed was originally perched above a desk, but college officials exchanged that for a conventional bed Lu could easily access. Besides that, Lu and her mother also get two free seats on the bus normally reserved for college employees.
A few days after she was installed in her new quarters, workers from the Minhang No.2 Middle School, where she had studied, visited Jianqiao College to see how she was doing.
They had taken up a collection that netted the 15,000 yuan (US$2,240) she would need for the first year of tuition. The headmaster of Minhang No.2 Middle School, Yu Anmin, also met with Lu's new teachers to explain her situation in detail.
"Actually, they don't need to worry about her," said one of Lu's new teachers. "She's a very strong girl."
Even though Lu has been exempted from having to attend study sessions that begin at 7:30 in the morning, she shows up anyway. In fact, she can often be seen studying in the session room just after seven o'clock.
The logistical company attached to the college is planning to offer a job to Lu's mother so the family won't be without a source of regular income.
Lu is called a "glass girl." She suffers from a disease known as osteogenesis imperfecta congentia, commonly called "glass bones." Patients of this disease are prone to bone fractures because their bones are so brittle. They have to take great care in their daily lives.
Although her disease is not cured, Lu is not letting adversity get in the way of her ambition to earn a college degree.
"When we went to the college to register her, we were nervous," admitted Ye Longyin, the secretary of the Community Party branch of the Minhang Investment Construction Company, which has taken Lu up as a cause.
"We were worried about the attitude of college officials. If they saw Lu's condition, would they reject her?"
Their anxiety proved unfounded. On their way to the Student Services Office, they ran into Jiang Weiyi, the Party secretary of the college.
Curriculum
After hearing of Lu's plight, Jiang promised that everything possible would be done to get her a place in the curriculum.
"I didn't expect that there would be so many kind people," Jiang told Lu. "You certainly have chosen the right college."
"I really appreciate that Jianqiao College received me so warmly and was so considerate," said Lu, adding that "studying in the college has been my biggest dream for a long time, and now it has finally been fulfilled."
Registration day was packed with people, making it difficult for Lu to be wheeled around. So teachers at the college jumped in to help her.
Leaders of the college held a special meeting to discuss Lu's situation. They suggested Lu change her intended major from culture diffusion -- a course that would have required extensive work off-campus -- to accounting, which would involve more campus-based work.
Lu's dormitory room is on the ground floor with handicap-access bathroom. It's normally a four-person dormitory room, but it's been designated for just Lu and her mother at the same fee a single person would pay.
The bed was originally perched above a desk, but college officials exchanged that for a conventional bed Lu could easily access. Besides that, Lu and her mother also get two free seats on the bus normally reserved for college employees.
A few days after she was installed in her new quarters, workers from the Minhang No.2 Middle School, where she had studied, visited Jianqiao College to see how she was doing.
They had taken up a collection that netted the 15,000 yuan (US$2,240) she would need for the first year of tuition. The headmaster of Minhang No.2 Middle School, Yu Anmin, also met with Lu's new teachers to explain her situation in detail.
"Actually, they don't need to worry about her," said one of Lu's new teachers. "She's a very strong girl."
Even though Lu has been exempted from having to attend study sessions that begin at 7:30 in the morning, she shows up anyway. In fact, she can often be seen studying in the session room just after seven o'clock.
The logistical company attached to the college is planning to offer a job to Lu's mother so the family won't be without a source of regular income.
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