Lying in his clean hospital bed, Liu Xiaoliang, although suffering
the potentially-lethal severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS),
was in high spirits.
"I
know I will recover as I feel better every day, which can be
attributed to the meticulous treatment and care of the medical
staff," said Liu, a resident of Guangxi, capital of southwest
China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Feeling unwell on April 1, Liu went to a neighborhood clinic
seeking treatment, but still felt ill the following day. He was
then sent to the hospital attached to Guangxi Medical Sciences
University and was diagnosed as a SARS virus carrier after a
comprehensive medical check-up and full consultation with
doctors.
He
was immediately hospitalized and received emergency treatment.
Thanks to this timely reaction, Liu has been informed that he can
leave hospital after just a few days.
"The treatment is effective and the medical staff are considerate.
I am very moved and very content with the hospital's performance,"
Liu told Xinhua.
Most SARS patients of the Chinese mainland have either recovered or
are in recovery under the care of medical staff and society as a
whole.
According to the latest report issued by the Ministry of Health, by
April 15, the total number of SARS cases on the mainland had
reached 1,445, of which 1,099 people had recovered and been
discharged from hospital. The recovery rate exceeds 76.1
percent.
The cause of SARS has not yet been identified, but Chinese
sufferers have not felt isolated as the Chinese government has
given full material and moral support to every patient.
Guo Jiyong, vice-director of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Health
said all SARS patients who could not afford medical fees would
receive free treatment in Beijing.
Ye
Huanzhen, a senior citizen in Guangzhou, capital of hard-hitsouth
China's Guangdong Province, was very frustrated and depressed when
she was hospitalized this Spring Festival with the disease, but she
recovered and left hospital recently thanks to the meticulous
treatment from the medical staff and her husband.
The Chinese mainland's hospitals still allow family members to
visit SARS patients, equipping them with quarantine dress and
surgical masks, preparing disinfecting liquid for washing hands and
bathing.
"To see SARS patients recovering is the best reward for our daily
painstaking work," said Wang Jianqin, director of the medical
affairs department of Guangzhou No.1 People's Hospital.
The selfless spirit of the medical staff has been widely commended
by officials of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Zhang Nuofu, a doctor in Guangzhou No.1 People's Hospital was
infected the deadly SARS virus when he gave emergency treatment toa
critically-ill patients who suffered SARS and lung cancer.
"I
have no regrets," said the Zhang, who has since recovered, adding
that as a doctor, it was his duty to go out to save the lives of
SARS patients.
Luo Meiying, recovered from SARS, said doctors and nurses were very
kind. She believed that most SARS patients could recover withthe
level of care they received.
(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2003)