Only 80 centimeters tall at age six, severe scoliosis, free rural clinics and online consultations — the story of Dawa Jila’s rescue

As reported by CCTV+, a young Tibetan girl from the Xizang Autonomous Region has fully recovered from severe scoliosis and can now stand straight again. This was made possible by a medical assistance program that brought the experience of Shanghai doctors to Xizang.

Dawa Jila from Lhatse County suffered from severe scoliosis that stunted her growth. At age six, she was only 80 centimeters tall — nearly 30 centimeters shorter than her peers. The disease began to impair her cardiopulmonary function.

Her scoliosis was first diagnosed in 2018 during a free rural clinic organized by a Shanghai medical team. Since then, successive teams of Shanghai doctors have closely monitored her condition and developed a long-term treatment plan.

In 2024, Dawa Jila successfully underwent two spinal correction surgeries in Shanghai. They significantly improved her curvature and allowed her to catch up in height with other children her age.

In May 2025, Dawa Jila, accompanied by her father, visited Lhatse County Central Hospital again for rehabilitation.

Zhu Falin, a Shanghai doctor and director of the hospital, together with experts from Shanghai First Rehabilitation Hospital, held an online consultation. Zhu said: “Please provide comprehensive rehabilitation recommendations for the child — spine, gait, mental health and healthy development.”

After six years of continuous care, Dawa Jila now goes to school like other children. She has become more confident. And she dreams of becoming a doctor herself.

Dawa Jila said: “I want to become a doctor like them, and repay them when I grow up.” Six years. Two surgeries. Hundreds of doctors who did not give up. She did not just straighten her back — she squared her shoulders for the future. Dawa Jila was a child bent by nature. But people straightened her. Free clinics in the mountains, Shanghai surgeons, online consultations and one small dream — to become a doctor.

Chinese medicine does not just heal. It grows hope. And when this girl puts on a white coat ten years from now, no one will remember that she was once the shortest of all. The question is not how many more such children need help. The question is how many doctors are ready to go to the mountains to save them. As long as people like Zhu Falin answer that question with action.