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October 6, 2011

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Grandma tragedy girl recovering

A LITTLE girl who lived in her dead grandmother's house for more than a week while the woman's body decomposed is recovering from her ordeal, say doctors.

Xiao Tao, a senior doctor at the Xiangya No. 2 Hospital in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, said yesterday that the girl's digestive system was returning to normal after having been without food for several days.

The two-year-old girl was discovered on September 27 in Shuangfeng County of Loudi City, lying in the arms of her dead grandmother Wang Lichun. Xiao Kaiquan, the girl's father, said he had been unable to contact the woman for more than a week.

The girl was found after neighbors noticed the sound of running water coming from a tap in Wang's home.

By the time rescuers arrived, the girl had spent more than a week with her dead grandmother. She had skin infections, festering wounds and was dehydrated.

"It seems my daughter did not have any food to eat for a week," said the father, who is working as a migrant worker in Changsha.

Liu Shiqing, Party chief of Shuangfeng County, visited the girl in the hospital on Tuesday.

He apologized to her parents for the government's failure to take care of elderly people and children who had been left behind by their migrant relatives.

A survey is being conducted in Shuangfeng to collect emergency contact information for elderly residents and details of children who remain at home while their relatives are away at work.

Many local residents have visited the little girl to give her donations and wish her good luck during her recovery.

A man surnamed Yu gave her parents 10,000 yuan (US$1,567), while an anonymous donor gave her a sweater and some toys.

"My own daughter is just a little bit older than her," the donor said.

"The girl's condition is satisfactory now," said her nurse Chen Yuan. "She no longer appears afraid. When we talk to her, she smiles."

Her parents have vowed not to leave their daughter again after she recovers.

"She is our hope," said Xiao Kaiquan. "We will bring her with us in the future, wherever we go."


 

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