Quake survivor ballets her way to school

By Chen Jia (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-20 07:38

Li Yue tied her long black hair into a ponytail and put on her pink-frame glasses Thursday morning just like she used to before leaving for school till May 12.

"I miss school life so much (but I think) the new school in Beijing will make me feel at home," she said. She finished a seven-month training at China Rehabilitation Research Center before attending classes in Beijing No 4 High School from yesterday.

Li was a promising ballet student in Qushan Primary School in Beichuan, Sichuan province. But she lost her left leg to the May 12 earthquake, which threatened to bring her dancing career to a premature end.

Li was the only student in her class to survive the quake. And she still feels the pain of losing her classmates in the school building collapse.

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Even her rescue was something of a miracle. Rescue workers had almost given up hope of finding any more victims under debris when Li used her electronic watch to send light signals to alert them. That was a full 40 hours after the quake struck.

She had to stay buried under piles of debris for another 30 hours before rescuers could reach her. But then came the sad part: her leg had to be amputated to save her life.

Perhaps the agony and pain she suffered made her more resolute, for she has refused to let her ballet career end abruptly. She has pursued her dreams with more passion after the quake, and even impressed viewers with an amazing ballet on wheelchair at the opening ceremony of Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

"But now it's time to concentrate on studies and rehabilitation training," she said. "I want to live a normal life away from too many interviews with the media."

"Too many social activities have affected her rehabilitation training," Wang Anqing, a doctor at China Rehabilitation Research Center, said on Wednesday. "She needs more training to correct her hip joint."

Arrangements have been made for two more quake survivors from Sichuan to be admitted to the school.

Guo Tingting, a student in Juyuan Middle School in Dujiangyan, is one of them. She sang songs to encourage her classmate not to give up hope even under tons of rubble.

Guo was rescued 11 hours after the quake struck. "I'll maintain my confidence to face the possible difficulties in the new school," she said.

Liao Bo, too, lost his left leg to the quake after lying buried under debris for more than 20 hours. The 17-year-old student of Beichuan Middle School played basketball with Guo on his new school's court yesterday to exhibit the benefits of rehabilitation training.

"We've made special preparations to help Guo and Liao enjoy their new life and study as well," said He Shiming, a manager of Beijing No 4 High School.