A 29-Year-Old Chinese Writer Who Vomited 15 Times a Day and Lost 20kg in a Month Dies from a Rare Disease

Battling a Rare Disease for 3 Years
No Known Cure Yet

A famous Chinese romance novelist passed away at the young age of 29 after battling a rare disease for three years. On the 10th, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that writer Xia Sugar, known for depicting the complex and subtle emotions between men and women, died after a long fight with illness. His most famous works are "I Won’t Love You" and "The Lenz’s Law."

The disease Xia Sugar suffered from is called 'syringomyelia.' Syringomyelia is a condition in which a cavity (space) filled with cerebrospinal fluid or fluid similar to extracellular fluid forms inside the spinal cord and gradually expands, damaging the spinal nerves. When the symptoms first appeared, Xia Sugar thought it was a common cold accompanied by a high fever. However, the symptoms did not improve, and two years later, he was diagnosed with syringomyelia.

Famous Chinese romance writer Xia Xu.
Photo by SCMP

Patients with syringomyelia may experience symptoms such as pain, abnormal sensations, and sensory loss. If the autonomic nervous system is also affected, abnormalities in body temperature, excessive sweating, bowel and bladder dysfunction, and sexual dysfunction may occur. Furthermore, if syringomyelia affects the medulla oblongata, symptoms such as tongue paralysis and atrophy, difficulty swallowing, speech disorders, facial sensory paralysis, and facial paralysis can develop. The bigger problem is that there is currently no known cure.

During his battle with syringomyelia, Xia Sugar was unable to properly consume food and lost as much as 20 kg in just one month. While suffering from the disease, he decided to document the pain and symptoms of syringomyelia on Weibo. He wrote, "I vomited at least 15 times a day," and "I have a strong fear of food, but I had to eat."

Because he did not know the exact diagnosis for two years and could not receive proper treatment, by the time Xia Sugar was accurately diagnosed, the disease had already worsened significantly. Moreover, his weakened body could not endure surgery, so he had no choice but to prolong his life with conservative treatment. Regarding his condition, Xia Sugar warned, "There have been about 30 reported cases of this disease worldwide," and advised, "Stay away from unhygienic delivery food and incompetent doctors." However, Xia Sugar’s condition deteriorated further, and eventually, even leaving records became increasingly difficult.

When news of his illness spread, fans left numerous encouraging messages such as "Wishing you good health" and "Waiting for your return." However, Xia Sugar’s Weibo posts stopped after October of last year. Then, in February, Xia’s mother announced that he had passed away in January.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.