A Chinese girl has issued a touching appeal on her micro blog to help her American stepfather who is seriously ill in hospital in China, Chinafotopress.com (CFP) reported Wednesday.

US citizen Francis Jones, originally from Boston, suffered at heart attack in November and surgery to correct the problem has been unsuccessful.

Francis, 69, moved to Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in September 2004 and married a local woman Li Zhenzhen. The couple, along with Li's daughter from a previous relationship, Lin Wenjing, were leading a happy life together until tragedy struck last month.

Lin, who is studying at a boarding school, often travels dozens of miles to take care of her stepfather in hospital along with her mother.

But after the first surgery to fix the problem failed, Lin issued a moving appeal on Weibo.

It read: "Francis Jones is an American and my step-father. He loves China and wants to live the rest of his life here. Francis was hit by myocardial infarction in November and the surgery was unsuccessful, please help him."

Lin takes care of Francis at hospital in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Nov 12, 2011. [Photo/CFP]