China boy, 12, inspires millions after defying muscle-wasting disease prognosis of living past 3

A 12-year-old boy in eastern China with a rare disease has graduated from primary school in June, defying doctors who had predicted he would not live beyond the age of three.

Zou Weiluo, from Shanghai, was diagnosed at seven months with spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA, a condition that progressively weakens the muscles used for movement, swallowing and breathing.

Years of devoted care from his family helped him outlive the prognosis, and he could now move his fingers and flex his elbows slightly, according to The Paper.

When the first SMA treatment became available in China, each dose cost up to 700,000 yuan (US$103,000). After it was added to the national medical insurance scheme in 2021, the price fell to 33,000 yuan, allowing Zou to receive his first injection.

To distract himself, he asked a doctor to give him a maths problem before the procedure. The pain prevented him from finishing it, but his courage earned him the nickname “little warrior”.