A Chinese girl with cerebral palsy showed a never-say-die attitude, and social media users were moved and inspired by her story.
According to the South China Morning Post, "Six-year-old Zhang Junru, who is nicknamed Doudou, could not contain her joy when her mother, Yang Feng, told her the news. But the moment was tinged with sadness."
"I thought they didn't want me," Doudou said with a mix of joy and relief in the video, which shows her practising walking on her way to a therapy centre in the municipality of Chongqing in southwestern China.
"Why wouldn't they want you? Doudou is excellent," Yang quickly replied to her daughter in the clip.
The news outlet further said that Doudou's mother posted the video on her Douyin account, China's version of TikTok, on Tuesday, said she felt "heartbroken" when she heard Doudou's response to the news.
"The idea that children like Doudou cannot easily go to school was so rooted in our minds," she said.
Doudou, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of two and has still not learned to walk, was born prematurely, according to SCMP.
Following that, her parents and her health condition engaged in a protracted battle, with the family maintaining a never-give-up attitude.
The SCMP reported that they rented an apartment near the therapy centre in Chongqing and took Doudou there six days a week. To help pay the therapy fees, her father, Zhang Lin, took jobs as a migrant construction worker.But the hard work paid off. After a year of treatment, Doudou was able to stand up by herself, and could walk on her own by the time she turned five.
According to the news source, a video of her returning home from the therapy clinic in December of last year received 3.5 million views on the social media site Bilibili.
