March 18, CCTV - Just after six o'clock on the morning of March 11, 12-year-old Yu Jun, a girl from Jiangxi Province, carefully watched the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square under the support of nurses till it was over, realizing her last dream in her lifetime.

12－year-old girl realizes her last dream at Tiananmen Square

The tumors grew rapidly

Yu comes from Nancheng County, Fuzhou City. When Yu was four years old, her mother left home, and since then, she has lived with her younger brother and grandmother. The entire family is supported by her father Yu Xiaolong who works for others.

In March 2009, Yu's grandmother found that Yu was always bent over and could not stand straight. After a physical test at a local hospital, Yu was diagnosed with rhabdoid tumor. Despite an operation in April, Yu's belly bulged again, and the doctor diagnosed it as peritoneum stromal tumor. During an operation in November 2009, a tumor weighing 3.7 kilograms was removed from Yu’s abdominal cavity.

"Even after these tumors are removed, more tumors are growing as quickly as leeks." Yu's father has spent all of his savings in order to treat his daughter, and borrowed more than 30,000 yuan from others. The doctor, however, said Yu will not be cured.

Donating corneas

After the Spring Festival, Yu wasted away even faster, and her sunken cheeks made her eyes look even bigger. Yu's father's thoughts always drifted as he watched his daughter. While they looked at each other, Yu's father made a decision that astonished the entire family and even the entire village: persuade his daughter to donate her corneas. Yu's father said that if his daughter passes away one day, when he misses his daughter, he can go to see the children whose eyes have become big and beautiful because of his daughter's corneas. After he talked it over with Yu many times, she agreed.

On the last day of February, Yu's father, on behalf of Yu, made a donation registration at the Tissue Bank of Jiangxi Province. A staff member from the bank said after Yu's remains are cremated, she, together with another over 20 donators, will be buried in Nanchang.

Realizing a dream in Beijing

After the arrangements for his daughter's death were completed, Yu's father decided to stop her treatment. Because there is only a little money left, Yu's father wanted to take Yu to see the world outside of their countryside. Even if Yu dies along the way, she will be happy. Yu's father remembered that before Yu had her second operation, she pointed at Tiananmen Square in her younger brother's textbook, saying she wants to go and see it. With the help of local media, Nanchang Ruipu Eye Hospital decided to help Yu realize her dream.

In the early morning of March 11, with the help from nurses, Yu stood on Tiananmen Square. When the national anthem was played, Yu's legs trembled because she is emaciated, but she carefully watched the red-starred red flag rise. "Are you happy?" asked Yu's father, and Yu nodded.

"After you donate your corneas, you can still watch the flag-raising ceremony," Yu's comforted his daughter as well as himself. After staying in Beijing for short time, they will return to their hometown. The nurse who accompanies Yu said that she sometimes will touch the decoration on her clothes, because she wants to buy some beautiful clothes for the children in Beijing before she leaves.