Hongkonger Moon Li, a 53-year-old single mother, has had to endure intense back pain for seven years after she was hit by a box of goods while working as a saleswoman.
In 2016, her doctor recommended major surgery that would have involved a 10-day hospital stay and six months of bed rest, but Li could not go ahead with the operation because she had to take care of her four-year-old son, who was diagnosed with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Li’s husband died of cancer a year before her accident.
“All I could do was take painkillers, go to physiotherapy, and take Chinese medicine on my own … it is expensive, and not quite helpful too, but who would take care of my son if I was in hospital?” Li said.
The back pain, along with the stress of caring for her son, prevented Li from working and resulted in severe insomnia and anxiety.