Teen honoured for bravery in disaster
Qing Jingwen had never taken any notice of the Paralympics until about four months ago. But today she will be one of the torch-bearers in the relay in Luoyang , the last leg before the torch returns to Beijing.
She is also applying to become a Paralympics volunteer - though only for one day because of the treatments she has to undergo every day at the Earthquake Injury and Medical Rehabilitation Centre at West China Hospital at Sichuan University in Chengdu .
'Actually I'd never even thought of becoming a volunteer at the Beijing Olympics before. To be honest, I'm really not that interested in or good at sports,' the cheerful 17-year-old said with a shy smile at the rehabilitation centre on Tuesday, before leaving for Luoyang.
'One day, suddenly, I was told that I would be a torch-bearer at the Paralympics,' she said. 'I'm very excited and wanted to try volunteer work in Beijing, too.'
She has been in a wheelchair since losing her right leg and seriously injuring her left one when Dongqi Secondary School in Hanwang town, Mianzhu , collapsed like numerous other 'tofu' schools in the May 12 quake.
