Mother of hero finds fresh hope with baby

Ying Xianmei struggles to find the right words to describe her feelings when she finally became a mother again.

It took several embryo transplants for the 42-year-old to give birth to a baby girl after she lost her only son — a 20-year-old firefighter who died on the job over four years ago.

Soon after her daughter’s birth, Ying said she and her husband called her father-inlaw to share the good tidings.

“We all wept with joy,” she said.

The family has been riding an emotional rollercoaster this past half decade.

On May 1, 2014, Ying’s son Liu Jie lost his life while fighting a fire on the 13th floor of a residential building in Shanghai’s Xuhui district. Liu and a 27-year-old fellow firefighter, Qian Lingyun, were blown out of a window by a gas explosion and fell to their deaths.

A video taken by an onlooker recorded the tragic moment when the two firefighters fell, all the while holding hands.

The two young firefighters were posthumously honored as heroes by the Ministry of Public Security. The Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League also awarded them the Shanghai Youth Medal.

“For others, they are heroes, but it was too much for me to even think about or look at the photos, news or videos related to the accident,” Ying said.

After their son’s death, Ying and her husband tried to have another child.

However, nearly 40 at the time, Ying had ovarian dysfunction and was unable to conceive naturally.

It’s nice to be a mom again. I will tell her about her hero brother when she grows up.” Ying Xianmei

With help from the Shanghai Fire Corps, the couple received fertility treatment at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital affiliated with Fudan University.

“We totally understand the family’s choice, for children represent the future of a family,” said Li Lu, the doctor treating Ying. “The chance to have another child is the best consolation for Ying’s family.”

After the first embryo transplant, Ying achieved clinical pregnancy, but was then diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy two weeks later, losing her left fallopian tube in the process. “I almost gave up, but my friends and family encouraged me to persist,” Ying said.

A miracle occurred in September after another four embryo transplant attempts.

“I was excited when the doctor told me the fetal heart was observed beating during the ultrasound examination at seven weeks of pregnancy,” she said.

A personalized treatment was designed for Ying to make sure she and the fetus were both healthy, said Cheng Haidong, director of the department of gynecology and obstetrics at the hospital. There were medical complications but Ying said, “I can endure physical pain, as long as the child is safe and healthy.”

On June 26, her healthy baby girl entered the world, weighing 2.91 kilograms.

“It’s nice to be a mom again,” she said. “I will tell her about her hero brother when she grows up, and now I wish her a healthy and happy life.”