TEA TIME TALK: Japanese bullet removed from Chinese woman's head after 64 years!

In a miracle of sorts, doctors have removed a bullet from the head of a Chinese woman in east China's Jiangsu Province, 64 years after she was shot by invading Japanese soldiers during World War II, the state media reported today.
Jin Guangying, 77, a retired farm worker from Suyang County, has been discharged from hospital after the operation on May 3 and is reportedly in good condition. Jin was wounded in September 1943 when she was delivering food to her father, a guerrilla soldier stationed in a village near her home in Xinyi County (now Xinyi City). Jin, a 13-year-old girl at the time, was one of the few survivors, falling into a coma after she was shot in the head.
"When I woke up, I found I was at home. My mother had taken me back home, applied herbal medicine to my wound and dressed my head in layers of bandages," said Jin. "My mother was told I was very lucky as the bullet went through the arm of a guerrilla soldier before striking my head, but no one imagined it was still lodged there," she was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
Three months later, Jin had recovered. However, six decades of being haunted by relentless headaches began. But the cash-strapped family could not afford to spend money on a thorough examination for Jin, opting to send her to a village clinic for an injection of pain-killers.
Of late, the headache attacks grew more frequent. "The situation was getting worse as the headache attacks became more regular and we were told that my mother might be suffering from a brain tumour," Wang Zhengping, Jin's daughter, said.
Jin's family borrowed money to pay for an X-ray which revealed not a tumour, but a bullet. Doctors with the Renci Hospital of Suyang County removed the rusty green-coloured three-centimetre-long bullet after a four-hour operation.
"It's a miracle. The operation was not that difficult, but it's unbelievable that Mrs Jin was able to survive for such a long time with a bullet in her head," said Zhou Hong, the head of surgery at the hospital. "The bullet entered Jin's head just above her right ear. She is really lucky -- if the bullet had gone any deeper, she might have died 64 years ago," Zhou said.
Experts with the military command based in Nanjing confirmed the bullet could only have been fired by Japan-made 6.5 mm-calibre firearms. The hospital refunded the cost of Jin's treatment after the bullet was confirmed to be a "piece of heritage" from the Japanese invasion, Wang said. Jin's family now plans to consult with lawyers on how to seek compensation from the Japanese government and a public apology. "The bullet has been taken out, however, the pain and hurt felt by my mother will never be eliminated," Wang said.
China and Japan are still at odds over Japanese invasion of the country during World War II and the atrocities committed on Chinese citizens.

(Courtesy: PTI)