Zhu Ling (poisoning Victim) - Diagnosed Via Internet

Diagnosed Via Internet

Frustrated with local physicians' inability to help Zhu Ling, friends Cai Quanqing and Bei Zhicheng posted an "SOS" letter on a number of Internet usenet groups describing their friend's symptoms and asking for help with a diagnosis. Responses began pouring in within a matter of hours, and news reports hailed the event as a milestone in Internet culture, especially in China. Of the more than 1,500 responses which Zhu Ling's friends received, roughly one-third proposed that she was suffering from thallium poisoning, the common antidote for which is known as Prussian blue.

Subsequent tests confirmed that Zhu Ling had extraordinarily high levels of the metal in her body. Doctors were able to administer the antidote in time to save her life, but she sustained serious permanent neurological damage. While she has recovered the ability to breathe on her own, she still cannot speak and remains largely paralyzed and blind, with severely reduced mental function. In addition, she has contracted Hepatitis C from a tainted blood transfusion. Once again, her family and friends are using the Internet to seek help for her, but this time they ask for donations to help pay for her care and rehabilitation on a website dedicated to the cause.