Cai Qiyan enjoys the view of drifting clouds from one of the mountain-top tea plantations near her home in Jinzhai County, east China’s Anhui Province. But such fun used to be a luxury because the 15-year-old was suffering from congenital scoliosis.

From an early age, Qiyan found it extremely difficult to keep her spine upright as her spinal curvature had developed when she was very young. In the depth of the Dabie Mountains, Qiyan had to spend two hours on her way to school and back home since it "took much longer time walking with a bent body." Despite her good academic performance, Qiyan became ever more self-conscious as she grew up.

In 2012, the family decided to seek medical treatment in Beijing. In the eight years to come, Qiyan underwent eight surgeries. With the help of surgical implants, Qiyan had eventually straightened her back after painful recoveries.

However, multiple surgeries had thrown Qiyan's family into dire poverty. In 2016, Qiyan's family was registered by the government as an impoverished household.

Thanks to local poverty-relief policies, the family shook off poverty in 2019. Qiyan's parents now run a tea plantation which brings them an annual revenue of 30,000 yuan (about 4,240 U.S. dollars).

Qiyan says she feels particularly thankful for the medical staff and those who cared about her health. Now a sixth-grader at a local boarding school, the girl says her biggest dream is to become a doctor.