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Silver lining amid coronavirus pandemic: sick girl, four, at home for Christmas and New Year for the first time
- Four-year-old Yu-yan has a rare condition and has spent most of her life in hospital after suffering brain damage following post-op cardiac arrest
- Her parents are grateful they can spend time with her – she was sent home in early 2020 as a precaution amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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Coronavirus has kept many loved ones apart this holiday season, but it has brought four-year-old Yu-yan closer to her family. Diagnosed with a rare condition at just two months old, she has spent most of her life in a public hospital ward in Hong Kong. This was the first time she was able to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve at home.
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Yu-yan has biliary atresia, a blockage in the ducts that carry bile from the liver to the gall bladder which prevents the body eliminating it effectively. This can cause liver damage, and may be life-threatening if not treated.
To protect their privacy, her family have not revealed their name. But they have shared the hope and love that have helped the girl survive her difficult journey, on Facebook. Yu-yan Recovery has almost 25,000 followers.
“We have celebrated many festivals in the hospital in the past two years,” Yu-yan’s father told the Post. “We feel really grateful this year that we can spend the holiday together at home.”
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When the pandemic hit Hong Kong in early 2020, Yu-yan was released from the hospital as a precaution against Covid-19. Yu-yan’s father says her condition is stable, so there is no urgent need for a liver transplant, one of two usually effective treatments for biliary atresia.
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