Net users rally to help heroic student

A high school senior who risked his life to save a classmate from being hit by a truck underwent another surgery on Tuesday morning to have a toe on his left foot amputated.

Gong Yuben, 18, a student at Zaozhuang No 2 Middle School in Shandong province, lost most of his right leg in an accident on Nov 3.

Gong was riding on the back of an electric bicycle driven by classmate Chu Hao when a truck suddenly drove toward them.

Gong pushed Chu out of the way and was struck by the truck.

"I was driving on the right side of the street. Without any warning, the truck suddenly rushed toward us. I tried my best to swing to the right, but the truck was moving too fast. I only felt Daben (Gong Yuben) push me on my back and then I "flew" away. He could have jumped off first," Chu said.

Gong lost most of his right leg and underwent two major operations at the People's Hospital of Taierzhuang District. He was transferred to the Central Hospital of Zaozhuang Mining Bureau on Saturday.

"The boy's physical state is stable. We cut off some necrosis on the wound and the little toe of the left foot this morning. But still there is serious necrosis and turgidity on the left foot. It still needs 10 to 14 days to see whether his left foot can be secured or not," said Gong Yuben's doctor Zhao Yanting, 32, attending doctor of the hospital's orthopedics department.

As the class committee member in charge of sports activities, Gong enjoys playing basketball.

"My son always dreamed of entering a military academy and joining the army. But now this is impossible," said his father Gong Guangyong, a 44-year-old security guard with Taierzhuang District Security Company.

"The driver of the truck cannot afford our medical fees. I was diagnosed with a mild concussion, but I stayed in the hospital for only four days. Daben's family is poor as well. I had to save the money for Daben," Chu said.

Before Gong Yuben was transferred to the current hospital, the medical fee had exceeded 100,000 yuan ($16,000).

Gong Guangyong only earns about 1,000 yuan a month. Gong Yuben's mother doesn't have a job. His family is classified as low-income and receives an allowance from the local government.

Many students of the school have donated money to help Gong.

"Including the money I got from friends and relatives and the public donations, I have received more than 70,000 yuan. The truck doesn't have insurance, so we won't get anything from the insurance company. The driver is poor and only gave us 10,000 yuan," Gong Guangyong said.

Gong Yuben's actions to save his classmate have drawn praise from netizens, who called him "the most beautiful high school student".

"I feel proud of you. I pray for you. You are the pride of the students of our new generation," a micro blogger named lemon-tree-sweet-Cc wrote on micro-blogging website Sina Weibo.

Many netizens also stepped in with generous donations. On Monday, Xue Manzi, a 54-year-old Chinese Internet celebrity, initiated a fund-raising project for Gong through online charity platform Sina Micro-charities, with China Youth Development Foundation as the supporting organization to manage the donation.

Initial estimates suggest at least 300,000 yuan, including the artificial limb and the rehabilitation costs, is needed, Xue wrote after consulting medical experts.

"In the first phase, we want to raise 100,000 yuan. I will donate 10,000 yuan first. If the sum cannot be raised in 10 days, I will pay the money to ensure Gong's treatment," Xue wrote.

It took less than eight hours to collect the 100,000 yuan from 1,017 kindhearted online donors on Monday.