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Nine-year-old Yueyue has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a rare disease that once required nearly a million yuan in annual medication just to keep him alive. Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) affects approximately 1 in 6,000 to 10,000 newborns, with about 1 in 50 people being carriers. Though classified as a rare disease, it is one of the most common among rare diseases.  But when the drug was finally included in China’s national insurance program, the cost of his treatment dropped dramatically, giving his family hope.

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Yueyue’s mother often says he never fails to surprise her. One day, while out playing, a little girl ran up and asked, “Why are you in a wheelchair?” Yueyue replied with a smile, “I have an illness that makes it hard for me to stand, but if you’d like, you can push my wheelchair, and we can play together.” Moments later, the two were laughing and playing as if nothing stood between them.

 

Yueyue, wise beyond his years, already has a dream for the future: “When I grow up, I want to invent an even cheaper cure so more kids can be saved.”

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