A very touching act of kindness by students of Sichuan province, China, has won the hearts of millions. Rather than spend their final day of junior secondary school enjoying traditional festivities, a batch of students opted to honor their terminally-ill classmate, 15-year-old Ren Junjie, by walking him to the hospital for a special graduation photo.
On May 17, more than 50 pupils and their instructors from a school in Yilong county covered over two kilometres to the Yilong People’s Hospital. They had a mission to bring Ren who was unable to report to school due to illness along with them in their graduation photo. The South China Morning Post revealed that a lot of people refer to it these days as ‘the most special graduation photo in the world’.
Ren’s Fight Against Cancer
Ren had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph system, one year previously. He had dropped out of school to go for treatment in another city but was recently returned to one in his hometown. Though only weeks from China’s extremely competitive senior secondary school entrance exams, his classmates readily volunteered to go along when their teacher suggested the hospital visit.
A Moment to Remember
Several students carefully dressed Ren in his school uniform and rolled his hospital bed outside to take the photo. They stood in a circle around him, smiling warmly and offering their support.
In addition to the photo, Ren received loving gifts such as a basketball autographed by all of his classmates, personalized letters, and messages full of hope and love.
“I wish you could get better and return to us soon,” one student penned.
“I praise your bravery in fighting the sickness. Take care and play computer games with us,” was another message.
The touching photos and gifts were later posted by Ren’s family on social media, thanking the students and teachers for their kindness and compassion. They also wished the students good luck in their examinations.
Unfortunately, Ren died at 4 a.m. the next morning, just a month shy of his 16th birthday.