The doctors said Luo Cuifen was apparently only days old when the needles were pushed into her head and torso, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. They said a needle shoved into the top of her skull could only have been lodged there while the bones in her head were still soft.

"They wanted her dead," Qu Rei, a spokesman at Richland International Hospital, where Luo was to have the needles removed, told the Times. "The fact she is still alive is a medical miracle."

The first six needles slated for removal are considered the most dangerous, including those in her bladder, intestines and uterus.

Luo and her relatives said they suspect the needles were implanted by her grandfather, who wanted a grandson rather than a granddaughter.

"I knew my grandfather looked down on me because I was a girl but I had no idea he hated me that much until I found out about the needles," Luo said to the Times.