Dance of delight as boy in horror attack goes home
Print Edition
A SIX-YEAR-OLD whose eyes were gouged out in a horrific attack in August left hospital in the southern city of Shenzhen yesterday.
He has recovered well from implant surgery, doctors said, and, after psychological treatment, seems to have overcome painful memories of the incident.
Guo Bin, nicknamed Bin Bin, is healthy and outgoing and has painted a picture to thank everyone who have helped him, according to his doctors.
At a farewell party he performed a dance and said he felt so happy he could finally go back to his home in north China’s Shanxi Province. He said he didn’t feel scared anymore.
His mother Wang Wenli said Bin Bin could now dress himself, brush his teeth and climb stairs without anyone helping him, China News Service reported.
“He has adapted well and is smart,” his mother said before thanking medical staff.
The family flew to Taiyuan, Shanxi’s capital, later in the day. Local authorities there will help find a suitable school for the boy.
Bin Bin received free surgery on September 10 at the Shenzhen hospital founded by Hong Kong-based eye expert Dennis Lam.
“The surgery for his implants and eyeshell has been successful,” Lam told a press conference.
Bin Bin’s artificial eyes are attached to tissue and muscle giving them the ability to move normally.
“Little Bin Bin’s eyes do not have visual abilities, though if you look at him, he does not look any different from any other child,” Lam said, adding that it would greatly help the child’s confidence.
A prosthetic eyeball was implanted into his right eye socket as there was enough soft tissue left to hold it in place, while the left one was fashioned using his own fatty tissue.
“He is too young and he didn’t know what was happening at that time and he couldn’t feel much pain,” his father Guo Zhiping said. “He thought he just couldn’t see for a short time. He didn’t realize that he won’t see for the rest of his life.”
There are plans for the boy to try out sensory navigation equipment during next year’s summer holidays. This would allow him to “see” shapes, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.
The Shenzhen hospital said it may arrange for the boy to visit the US or Japan to be trained in using the equipment. Placed on the forehead and the tongue, it will help Bin Bin navigate as it captures images and sends electric signals to his brain.
Lam previously expressed hopes the boy might eventually partially regain his sight using “bionic eyes” linked directly to the brain, but he said the technology was at least five to 10 years away.
The Shenzhen Project Care Foundation, managed by the Shenzhen publicity department, set up a donation account on September 12 to pay for Bin Bin’s treatment and education.
The boy was found lying in a pool of blood, with both his eyes missing, in a field near his home in Fengxi County in Shanxi on August 24 after going missing while playing outside.
Police offered a 100,000 yuan (US$16,470) reward for information leading to the capture of his attacker.
Six days after the attack, Zhang Huiying, 41, the boy’s aunt, took her own life when she jumped down a well.
On September 3, Zhang was identified by police as a suspect based on their investigations and the results of a DNA test.
After the attack Bin Bin was unaware he had been blinded, the Beijing Youth Daily said.
“He asks why the sky is always dark... and why the dawn still hasn’t come,” the newspaper quoted an uncle as saying.
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