Feng Ying shows off a traditional Chinese painting sent to her as a wedding gift from an artist. [Photo by Xiang Mingchao/China Daily]

The unlikely Olympian

Sichuan in stitches

The two "met" online via WeChat during the Qixi Festival, or Chinese Valentine's Day, on Aug 13, when she was receiving treatment in a hospital.

They met face-to-face the next day and already felt like good old friends.

When talking about their love story, Feng smiles and says God is fair, but at the moment when both the brain tumor and love befell her, she felt at a loss. But now, she feels more appreciated and brave enough to face fate with the support of her husband.

Feng used to sell clothes and still has the habit of dressing nicely.

Feng often uses the word "luck" and she has the glow of a woman in love even as her illness gets worse, blurring her vision and eroding her memory.

But laughter and happiness are evident in Feng's hospital ward, and she stays optimistic about defeating the brain tumor.

But she wasn't always sure that her love was right.

"At the beginning, I refused. I did not want to affect Yang's life, but his persistence moved me," Feng says while showing off her marriage certificate.

Yang says: "There was a lot of obstruction at that time. My parents did not agree, and many friends of mine also advised me to break up.

"But I clearly knew I wanted to marry her."

Huo Yan, Feng's doctor, says Feng needs much more advanced treatment in a big city.

The People's Liberation Army Navy General Hospital in Beijing offered to waive the cost of the surgery two days after the couple's wedding was reported by media.

Feng and Yang arrived in Beijing on Saturday for further checkups at large hospitals, looking for the best options and possible treatment.

A Chinese-American surnamed Wang also contacted the local media, suggesting that they apply for funding from the American Brain Tumor Association in the United States. The two are in the process of filling out the application forms and searching for more information online.

"We are so happy to have another possibility and hope to grasp at it," Yang says.