Expatiate Asks Terminally Ill Girlfriend to Marry Him

Expatiate Asks Terminally Ill Girlfriend to Marry Him
Feb 11, 2014 By eChinacities.com

Editors note: This translated article tells the heartwarming tale of two people who were meant to be. Xiao Meng and Steve first became friends, then Xiao Meng was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Steve stood by her and they soon fell in love. On January 12 Steve proposed. Images and the story of how this expatriate asks his terminally ill girlfriend to marry him circulated quickly on Chinese social media platform. If you don’t get a lump in the back of your throat when reading this, we don't know what will.

Steve is from America and Xiao Meng is from Wuxi, China, and despite their different backgrounds, they found each other and fell in love. 37 year old Xiao Meng was recently diagnosed with a very serious terminal illness. Her doctor told her there was a good chance she would not live through the next winter. On January 12, Steve, fully aware of Xiao Meng’s illness, asked for her hand in marriage. He got down on one knee and proposed in shaky Chinese, saying that his greatest wish was for Xiao Meng to grow old with him.

The romantic scene in Wuxi and the story of Steve and Xiao Meng spread through Weibo. Many Netizens wrote in that they were extremely moved by the proposal.

Proposal, down on one knee
Source: Wenxuecity

Weibo Reacts to Wuxi’s Most Romantic Proposal

On January 12 around 09:00, Internet user Ma Han posted a picture of a very romantic proposal on Weibo. The photo showed a woman, with a beaming smile clasping a bouquet of flowers with both hands. She was accompanied by a blue-eyed black-haired foreign man who looked at her with an adoring expression. The photograph was very beautiful and the story accompanying the photograph was even more moving.

According to Netizen’s descriptions, the woman in the photograph was 37 year old Xiao Meng who worked in Wuxi, in the media industry. A year ago she was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Her American boyfriend, Steve, stood by her and as proof of his dedication to their love he proposed.

After the story was posted it caught the attention of many online users. The original poster, “Ma Han,” was also clearly moved by the beautiful story, “In this world, this woman is small and weak, what else could she depend on other than love?”

Love at First Sight

Yesterday, a reporter from the Modern Express was able to get in touch with Xiao Meng. Because of her illness, she was very weak, but despite her poor health, her sweetness and smiling disposition left a profound impact. Xiao Meng said that she was born in Sichuan and came to Wuxi after finishing her graduate degree to find love. When in Wuxi, she quickly married but it was not a good match and she and her husband soon divorced.   

Last year, on Singles’ Day (November 11), a friend of Xiao Meng’s introduced her to Steve, an America who worked in Wuxi. Steve had also previously been married; he lost his wife and daughter in a car accident. Steve came to China to escape the pain of losing his loved ones and to start a new life.

“The first time I saw Steve he was very tall and thin. He seemed very cultured and smart,” said Xiao Meng. But having just come out of her first marriage, and seeing that Steve was a foreigner, Xiao Meng decided just to become good friends with him.

Soon after meeting Steve, Xiao Meng received news that filled her with despair and changed her life forever. On November 2 of last year, Xiao Meng was diagnosed with a terminal disease, a congenital heart disease with pulmonary hypertension.

“At that time, the doctor told said that this was an incurable disease and that there was a large chance that I would not live through winter,” said Xiao Meng.   

When she told Steve this, he embraced her deeply. In the following days, whenever Steve had time he would come and see her. Xiao Meng never expected that, many months after, while being treated in Beijing, Steve would tell her that he wanted to become her boyfriend. He told her that he wanted to care for her all of her life.

“I dreamed about it, but never expected it. I was terminally ill and a man still wanted to be with me,” said Xiao Meng.

In the beginning, she worried that she would waste Steve’s time and declined his offer many times. Despite her rejections, he stubbornly persisted. After many confused months, Xiao Meng bravely decided to accept his love.

The Proposal: The Happiest Woman

This was not the first time Steve proposed to her. Christmas last year, he asked Xiao Meng to be his wife but thinking of her illness she tactfully declined his offer. “At this time, I purposefully persuaded him that the way he proposed to me was not the correct way. I told him that because he used English to propose marriage I could not accept” Xiao Meng told reporters. 

In order to force Steve to take a step back, she deliberately told him that she needed him to propose in Chinese instead of English. She also said that she wanted him to propose in her office in front of a crowd of people. With those two obstacles, Xiao Meng believed that Steve would not be able to carry out his plan to propose to her. However, she did not expect that the stubborn American man would begin to earnestly study Chinese in order to fulfill her request.

At 08:00 on the morning of January 12, Steve walked into Xiao Meng’s office holding a bouquet of fresh flowers and Xiao Meng was escorted to him by her co-workers. At last, she faced her boyfriend.

“I am terminally ill, will you still marry me? I have this illness and may die very soon, I will not be able to grow old with you, will you still marry me? When I am weak from the illness, will you take care of me? If I pass away, will you take care of my child?” she asked him.

To each of her questions he firmly responded, “I will.” He then knelt down on one knee and put a ring on her finger. At that point, she truly became the world’s happiest woman.

Steve has told reporters that Xiao Meng’s health is still unstable and she is currently unable to travel by plane. He first wants to try to treat her illness in China and once she becomes more stable, take her to America to get treatment. He hopes that once her illness is cured she will be able to grow old with him.

“No matter what difficulties lie ahead in the future, I want to spend my time with this woman,” said Steve.

Source: wenxuecity.com

Warning:The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.

Keywords: terminal illness; wedding proposals; love in Wuxi Expatriate Asks Terminally Ill Girlfriend to Marry Him

17 Comments

All comments are subject to moderation by eChinacities.com staff. Because we wish to encourage healthy and productive dialogue we ask that all comments remain polite, free of profanity or name calling, and relevant to the original post and subsequent discussion. Comments will not be deleted because of the viewpoints they express, only if the mode of expression itself is inappropriate.

The-Final-Say

Was there any resolution to this story?

Mar 22, 2015 21:42 Report Abuse

bill8899

I hope they can be together for a long ever-after.

Feb 19, 2014 20:26 Report Abuse

samisbah

pure love

Feb 18, 2014 03:56 Report Abuse

The-Final-Say

I love this story. Bravo to Echinacities.com for posting such a wonderful story showing the honest compassion of foreigners and Chinese counterparts. It is inspiring and nice, a pleasant change from all of the negativity I have been reading in the last almost 2 years. I wish that both of these two have as much time to enjoy as possible. People can overcome large odds and survive, let his love for her be the cure.

Feb 13, 2014 19:25 Report Abuse

debra

OMG! Nice one dude. Who's proposing to me too?

Feb 12, 2014 11:37 Report Abuse

sharkies

A nice story. Good luck to them.

Feb 11, 2014 22:00 Report Abuse

Robk

This is an awesome story. I am not sure why she demanded he propose in front of a crowd of people (that sounded a little off). Was it because she wanted to have witnesses? Or something else? Either way, it sounds like a happy ending to two lives that have been hit hard with unfortunate events. I hope the happiness continues for as long as possible.

Feb 11, 2014 14:37 Report Abuse

eurotrash

The article says she tried to dissuade Steve from proposing by making the process as difficult and painful for him as possible.

Feb 11, 2014 16:29 Report Abuse

Robk

That doesn't sound too painful and difficult. Say a few lines in Chinese and do it in front of others. "difficult as possible" - I could think up a lot more difficult obstacles for him. Such as... you have to buy a car... own a house... you getting my point? That's why I questioned it.

Feb 11, 2014 19:30 Report Abuse

eurotrash

Maybe not a difficult obstacle for you, but difficult for some including Steve. Why would Xiao Meng ask for a car or a house? Would you even be interested in a girl who would require such things for marriage? Just enjoy the article for what it is. We don't know Steve or Xiao Meng more than what's written in the article. We can only speculate on what's not in the article.

Feb 12, 2014 15:49 Report Abuse

BenjamminBW

i kinda see where you are coming from Robk, it does trigger of a few, grrrrrrrrrs inside, i have my thoughts......but, i dont care, great story, well done steve, keep strong, i genuinly believe and i think medicine has just about proved it, hapiness and support makes the difference to illness. take her travelling.

Mar 11, 2014 15:23 Report Abuse

Englteachted

This story brings a big smile to my face. Congrats to the happy couple. My hope and dream is that she moves to the USA and with access to better medicine, lives a happy and longer life. Steve , I hope this message gets to you. I have had friends diagnosed with incurable diseases and they suffered greatly because of the poor state of Chinese medicine. But when I did research on Webmd and Wikipedia I found that these diseases are treatable in America. Depending on the illness there was little to no suffering. Many of the methods used in China are antiquated. It is worth looking into. (I am not saying this is true in every case) Good luck to you both.

Feb 11, 2014 06:24 Report Abuse

coineineagh

yes, hospitals here have a "too complicated = no cure exists" approach.

Feb 11, 2014 10:06 Report Abuse

Robk

Hospitals in China are the worst places. I hate going to them more than dirty rural bathrooms. The doctors and nurses are so cold (uncaring) and incompetent (at least from my encounters). Seriously, just use Google and then head to the pharmacy, you have a better chance. Most hospitals just offer you IV drips with sugar water or penicillin. That's their instant cure for everything.

Feb 11, 2014 14:35 Report Abuse

BenjamminBW

well described. cruddy places. in Wuhan TongJiYiYuan, everyone reves about it, its famous throughout China, its the best....it's s#*&*. I went there and spent nearly 200o kuai and on medicine and no one looked properly and found what another hospital found on my first visit (zhongeryan, i forgot how to say it in english..oh, grommets thats it).

Mar 11, 2014 15:26 Report Abuse

JacobJohn

I am touched and intimately happy for her, that she found the man decided to love her and show her the love. I am happy for him that he has such a great heart willing to love even more, although he's lost his family so tragically. I am happy for both of them that they met. World, especially in China, now looks better, brighter and gives room to hope for even more. How amazingly is that people become so marvelous when, through the experience of death, they understand that love is the most important wealth and the only reason we exist on this earth. This much I hope for them, that their love add even more joy to their life, and in such miraculous way, she will be cured. Oh my God, how much I wish this for them. I feel happy for them and for myself that I have learnt about their love. May God bless them!

Feb 11, 2014 01:42 Report Abuse

coineineagh

I hope they make it. True love knows no barriers.

Feb 11, 2014 01:11 Report Abuse