The life of a young girl impaled by a steel bar through her abdomen was saved thanks to the joint efforts of kindhearted people in Harbin. The girl’s mother cried out in tears on Aug 26, “Xiaoshuo is calling mom, she is awake!”

Unexpected accident – 1-meter-long steel bar penetrates a girl’s abdomen

On the evening of August 25, Xiaoshuo was playing alone on the second floor at home while her mother, Mrs Wang, was cleaning a room on the first floor.

At 6:00 pm, the six-year-old girl was penetrated by a nearly 1-meter-long steel bar as she fell down the stairs heading for her mother.

The acute pain made Xiaoshuo cry immediately.

Upon hearing the cry, Mrs Wang rushed to her daughter only to find Xiaoshuo lying in a pool of blood with a steel bar penetrating her abdomen and protruding from her back.

Afraid to move Xiaoshuo, the stunned mother called for an ambulance right away.

Later, Mrs Wang told the reporter that the steel bar was brought home by Xiaoshuo's grandma with a pile of sundries placed near the stairs on the first floor.

Unable to explain how the incident happened, the girl was promptly sent to People's Hospital of Heihe.

Warmhearted taxi drivers lead the way to the hospital

Due to limited medical facilities, People's Hospital of Heihe suggested transferring Xiaoshuo to the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University.

Informed of the news, workers at the tollgate of the Harbin-Daqing Expressway cleared a spare tollgate in advance. Warmhearted taxi drivers in Harbin parked at the exit of the expressway to guide the ambulance toward the hospital. Firefighters of the Nangang Fire Brigade and medical workers of the hospital made necessary preparations in advance to rescue the little girl.

At around 1:14 am on August 26, during heavy rains, taxi drivers that had been waiting at the tollgate for nearly six hours finally saw a 120 ambulance. Without any hesitation, all the drivers got into their cars and led the ambulance to the hospital.

The rescue fleet arrived at the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University at 1:38 am on August 26. Several taxi drivers lifted the stretcher and sent Xiaoshuo to the PICU on the ninth floor of the No 4 building. Medical workers of all departments were ready to hold a consultation immediately.

Escorted by warm-hearted people in Harbin, the wounded girl arrives at the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University at 1:38 am on August 26.[Photo/my399.com]

Brave girl

Xiaoshuo was very strong. She endured the pain without crying and even comforted her parents on the way.

Seeing their daughter in pain was difficult.

The parents held the protruding steel bar with a pillow and kept it from moving to avoid damaging visceral organs on the way.

Firefighters of the Nangang Fire Brigade cautiously cut the steel bar in the girl’s abdomen in the ward. [Photomy399.com]

Firefighters prepare to cut the steel bar

Firefighters of the Nangang Fire Brigade carried rescue appliances to the hospital an hour earlier to assist the doctors in treatment.

The diagnosis indicated that crucial visceral organs of Xiaoshuo were normal, but surgery had to begin immediately due to risk of serious wound infection from the steel bar.

Firefighters who arrived at the hospital earlier were expected to cut off the protruding steel bar before surgery. They had to be careful not to heat or vibrate the bar otherwise it would harm visceral organs.

Medical workers provided general anesthesia for Xiaoshuo at about 4:55 am. After careful consideration, Zhang Jiande, the instructor of the Nangang Fire Brigade, decided to cut the steel bar with de-energized shears to prevent excessive heat and shaking.

At about 5:20 am, two firefighters held the two ends of the bar stably, allowing Zhang to cut it off. Then, medical workers sent Xiaoshuo to the operating room right away.

The little girl is sent to the operating room immediately after the 1-meter-long steel bar is cut off. [Photo/my399.com]

The little girl is saved

At 8:40 am, the steel bar was taken out completely after over 3 hours of surgery. Both her family and journalists waiting outside of the operating room were relieved.

An Qun, associate chief physician of pediatric surgery, said that Xiaoshuo was very lucky because the steel bar only penetrated the small intestine with four holes left and didn’t hurt her vital organs.

“Xiaoshuo had stable vital signs after operation, but shall stay in ICU for observation for a period of time. If there is no anomaly, a rehabilitation program will be worked out to ensure Xiaoshuo recovers soon,” the doctor added.

Mrs Wang finally saw her daughter during visiting hours at 2:00 pm on Aug 26.

Seeing her little girl lying on the bed and calling for her mom with a smile on face, Mrs Wang cried and expressed her gratitude to those providing help. "Thank you, thank you very much—the warm-hearted people in Harbin! You gave my daughter a second life and gave us warmth on a rainy night!"