Editor's note: Following is the story of Zhang Heng, a 32-year-old
doctor with Peking Union Medical College Hospital who has been at
the forefront of the battle against severe acute respiratory
syndrome (SARS).
"I
have to survive because life is so beautiful." These words of one
of my patients who suffers from SARS continue to ring in my
ears.
This patient's entire family has been infected with the disease -
her mother and brother have already died and her father is in a
serious condition. I was stunned by her courage and understood for
the first time in my life the weight of the burden on my shoulders.
I have to help others survive.
Although I am a doctor with the cardiovascular surgery department,
I have been engaged in the frontline war against SARS for nearly
two weeks due to a lack of staff at our hospital.
More than 300 medical workers from nearly all hospital departments
have formed a fighting group. And after initial training we were
dispatched to the frontline.
When I treated my first SARS patient on April 25, my only worry was
that my skill in treating respiratory diseases might not be good
enough.
Owing to proper treatment and medical experience accumulated over
past weeks, our hospital has seen very few cross-infections from
patients to medical workers. We have a strict sterilization
principle and always wear four or five layers of protective
clothes, which leave us sweating.
Many friends of mine keep asking why I am not frightened by the
disease. I think it takes no special courage to treat SARS
patients. It is my duty to save other people's lives and I was
trained to do this.
When you see a family wrenched apart by the deadly disease and
seriously ill patients worrying about their dying relatives, the
only thing you want to do is to try and help them.
I
treat SARS patients as normal patients, never making them feel they
are dangerous. I believe this mental support is important to those
suffering from loneliness and despair.
After a day's work, when lying in bed at the hospital, the most
beautiful sound I want to hear is my two-year-old son's voice.
(China Daily May 12, 2003)
