"No. 77. Father and Son in October of last year, a country boy of eight was brought to the Out-Patient Department by his father, a farmer, 58 years old. This was an only son in a family with four daughters, and the father was much concerned because he had been told by another hospital, and also by old-fashioned Chinese doctors, that there was no hope for the child. Having learned of the big hospital in the capital city of the province, he quickly brought him here, having collected $31.80 towards the cost of admission. Learning that it would take $50 for admission, he borrowed $25.00 from a nephew living here and hoped that the remaining few dollars would keep him alive while he waited for the patient. Since the diagnosis was nephrosis, many tests and various treatments were necessary, and the time in hospital was very long, 112 days. A financial arrangement was therefore made, so that the father need not go home to sell part of his small bit of land, as he planned to do. The father gave weekly blood transfusions to his son and was co-operative in every way. A Social Worker saw that the father was looking very bedraggled and found out that the nephew with whom he lived was not able to give him enough food to keep up his strength. With the co-operation of the Dietitian and money collected by a Sunday School class, we arranged for him to have a meal a day, and he at once began to gain weight. During his stay in the hospital, daily lessons in character reading were given to the patient by a Social Worker, and, at the Christmas program, he was able to repeat a Scripture lesson taught by the doctor. When he left the hospital, a few days ago, to go back to the country, both the patient the his father were changed in many ways and were grateful for knowledge of many kinds." "The father had his times of fears, having been told by neighbors 'There is no such thing as a place where they will treat your son free and give you a meal a day.' However, he learned that this was done in the name of the Father of us all and gradually came to understand." A Chinese man and his son are talking to a social worker.
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