Chinese and international media are issuing conflicting reports regarding the prognosis of Yue Yue, the two-year-old girl in China who was run over twice and left to die while no fewer than 18 bystanders passed her without coming to her aid.
The Shanghai Daily's report that the toddler had succumbed to her injuries turned out to be untrue, and other outlets note that she is "fighting for her life" and "showing signs of stability."
The Associated Press explains that last Thursday's incident has left many in the country -- and throughout the world -- outraged:
A closed-circuit television video obtained by state media shows the toddler wandering along a narrow market street in the city of Foshan when she is struck by a van. As several people walk or cycle by, the child lies in a pool of blood and is then hit by another van. All told local media count 18 people passing by before a trash collector finally picks up the child and gives her to a woman identified as her mother.
Dr. Wen Qiang, a doctor at the hospital treating the girl, said her condition is "very grave," according to a BBC translation in the above video. "When she arrived here, she couldn't breathe on her own."
The Associated Press notes that Chinese state media said the toddler, whose full name is Wang Yue, is in a coma and in critical condition.
"The patient largely fits the criteria of brain death," Wang Weiming, the head of neurosurgery at the hospital in Guangzhou, told a local newspaper, according to The Telegraph. "But her limbs are relatively sensible to a pain reflex, so she cannot be determined as brain-dead."
China Daily, an English-language newspaper, reported on Tuesday that a local paper said she was "showing signs of stability":
After two and a half days of treatment, good news came Monday morning that Yue Yue has regained the ability to take weak breaths with the help of respirator. The rest of her condition, including blood pressure and heart beat, shows signs of stability. However, the child's life is still in danger and she hasn't recovered the ability to breathe upsupported, reported Guangzhou Daily.
The latest update from The Telegraph, however, is that Yue Yue, who's on life support, underwent emergency surgery on Wednesday morning.
But the little girl's family has not given up hope.
"Yue Yue won't disappoint everyone," Qu FeiFei, the girl's mother, told CNN. "I know my girl. She's strong."