A 10-year-old Uighur girl from Xinjiang with myelomeningocele and incontinence, named Xiao Guli, has started going to school!

At ten years old, Xiao Guli is now a primary school student, something she could only dream of before due to her myelomeningocele causing incontinence and deformed lower limbs. It was only after undergoing the Xiao procedure by Professor Xiao Chuan-Guo that she could finally realize her dream.

Buwei Haili and Guli Aihaiti, a Uighur girl from Afti County in Xinjiang, was found to have a round mass about 2cm in diameter at the base of her spine at birth. This mass grew to about 8cm by the time she was four months old. Her mother took her to the local hospital, where she was diagnosed with myelomeningocele and underwent surgery to repair it. However, her condition did not improve, leading to incontinence, difficulty urinating, involuntary urine leakage during coughing or physical activity, and constipation.

Suffering from congenital myelomeningocele, incontinence, and severe deformities in her legs, Xiao Guli had never been to school despite being ten years old. She harbored a simple wish to walk to school with her peers, carrying her own backpack. Her mother, deeply saddened and determined, resolved to do whatever it took to cure her daughter’s condition.

Xiao Guli’s story quickly gained attention, and many kind-hearted people offered their support, including the Angel Mother Charity Foundation. The Beijing Angel Mothers, a volunteer group comprised of compassionate, well-educated mothers with various skills, includes about 30 core volunteers from around the world, including the United States, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xi’an, and other places.

With their assistance, Guli’s mother, carrying a borrowed sum of 3,000 yuan, traveled thousands of miles to seek treatment from Professor Xiao Chuan-Guo at the Xiao Chuan-Guo Hospital in Shenzhen, known for its expertise in treating myelomeningocele. The hospital admitted Xiao Guli and diagnosed her with neurogenic bladder, tethered cord syndrome, right heel neurogenic ulcer, bilateral tarsal feet, and post-surgical myelomeningocele. A tailored treatment plan was devised for her, culminating in the Xiao procedure (artificial somatic-autonomic reflex pathway surgery), tethered spinal cord release, and spinal canal expansion decompression surgery on July 23, 2014, under general anesthesia. Professor Xiao promised to minimize the costs as much as possible. Xiao Chuan-Guo Hospital, committed to the principle that “all patients are equal, regardless of their condition; to save lives and do good deeds,” ensured that this young girl could walk and stand normally, fulfilling her dream.