Devoted husband raises money for operation to save wife

"I do not want to give up, and I can not give up," said Zhao Wenlong, a 28-year-old migrant worker in Beijing.

"Abandonment means giving up the whole family, giving up maternal love, which my child should have," Zhao wrote on a web site dedicated to raising money to pay for his wife's medical expenses.

"As long as a glimmer of hope remains, I must try all my effort to save my wife."

His wife, Li Li, 26, was diagnosed with leukemia in April. Her medical expenses are expected to cost at least 600,000 yuan ($86,000).

Zhao is a worker from a small village in Inner Mongolia. In 1999, after completing high school, he took the national collage entrance examination, but did not earn high marks.

"Though I could not go to college for further study as other high school students, I thought my future should be as bright if I worked hard on farmland," Zhao said.

The first job Zhao got after graduation was working as a salesman for a feed-processing mill. At that time, Zhao dreamt of establishing his own mill and working as a manager. However, he soon learned that he would need a large amount of money to realize that dream.

Then he went back home to raise crops on a small parcel of land owned by his father, and another plot contracted from the village. Zhao hoped to get rich farming.

In 2001, he met Li Li and fell in love. The couple was married a year later. They lived together happily, and soon had a son.

Because raising their child would require additional money, Zhao decided to make a great sacrifice: he left home for Beijing, to seek work in the capital city's expanding construction sector.

In Beijing, Zhao got a job that paid 600 yuan a month. In 2005, he rented a home and brought his wife and child to live with him.

The next year, Li found a good job with a well-paid salary in a local media company. Finally, the couple thought, they would have the resources to realize their dreams. They felt their bright future was coming soon.

And then Li was diagnosed with leukemia.

"I was shocked when I heard that, and could not believe how she suffers from such deadly disease," Zhao said.

"My wife is only 26 years old."

Although the estimated cost of treatment seemed astronomical, Zhao never wanted to give up.

He went to all his relatives and friends to collect money. Then he established a web site to collect donations from strangers.

Thanks to her husband's great devotion, Li has received the first stage of medical treatment. In two months, she is scheduled to undergo a bone marrow transplant, if money is available.

"I have collected some 300,000 yuan, and I will make more effort for another 300,000 yuan for my wife's medical treatment," Zhao said.

"Thanks very much to those people who helped us, and I believe my wife will be saved with their support."