Survivor recovers after nine day ordeal

A woman trapped in a tunnel in a construction site was later pulled out by colleagues and then had to wait alone for nine days as they went to get help. She was finally brought to safety on Wednesday and doctors say her life is no longer in danger.

The woman is called Cui Changhui. The 38-year-old had to wait injured and alone in the mountains for 216 hours after the earthquake. She survived due to her willpower.

Cui is a cook for a local construction team in Shifang township. She was in a mountain with the workers when the quake struck. She was buried under the rubble. And after her colleagues pulled her out, she was injured and unable to move.

Cao Jiancheng, Associate Prof. of Orthopaedics, West China Hospital, said, "Cui Changhui was brought to our hospital at three o'clock in the afternoon of May 21th. She was very weak. Doctors from the orthopaedics department immediately began treating her...and found she had 16 fractures."

At the time of the quake, the construction team was at the foot of a rugged mountain. There were many aftershocks... and several mountains stood between them and the nearest village. The workers decided they would leave her there while they went to get help. They could only leave her with one pear. And so for the next nine days,

Cui Changhui waited alone until her colleagues guided helicopter rescuers to her.

Cao Jiancheng said, "She's now very well, physically and mentally. She's in a stable condition."

Cui Changhui said, "Thank you for showing so much concern for me. When I was waiting...I ate a pear, grass, and even worms...and drank my own urine...so that I could live. I kept thinking of rescuers coming to save me."

Cui Changhui's willpower has moved many rescuers and medical staff.

Doctors say they will treat her fractures once her overall condition improves even more. They say she is well on her way to a full recovery.