Ma Yuedong, 11, said: "I may have difficulty getting about, but now that I have access to books to read, a whole new world has opened up"
A teenage boy whose severe disability forced him to leave mainstream school is now getting the education he always dreamed of - thanks to his little sister.
Ma Yuedong, 13, had to leave school when he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at the age of seven and his parents couldn't find an alternative option.
But the determined youngster, whose parents are both illiterate, never gave up his dream of learning to read and write pefectly.
And now, his wife is coming true as his 11-year-old sister, Ma Jingling, has jumped to his aid and stepped in as his permanent teacher.
She's even using a blackboard brought home by their father.
The board is nailed to a wall at home, which has become the children's makeshift classroom, and his sister holds lessons when she comes home from school.
Yuedong said: "I may have difficulty getting about, but now that I have access to books to read, a whole new world has opened up.
"I hope to become good enough as a student to one day start my studies again."
Both parents, who are agricultural workers in Zhecheng, near Shangqiu, China, said it had been heartbreaking seeing their son keen to learn and unable to help.
Yuedong’s dad, Ma Benyu, 39, said: "Both my wife, Li Nai, and I never had an education as we both have eye problems and never went to school as children.
"It really depressed us when we were unable to help her son, but our daughter is doing a wonderful job in teaching him."
Muscular dystrophy is caused by an inherited genetic mutation that means muscle does not develop healthily, and is most commonly found in young boys.
