http://www.bjreview.com FEBRUARY 13, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 21
Copyedited by Madhusudan Chaubey
Comments to [email protected]sclerosis (ALS), a neurological disorder also
known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Overcoming limitations
The hospital, a designated facility for treat-
ing infectious diseases, is one of the most
important battlefronts for novel coronavirus
infection.
Initially, in the face of the epidemic out-
break, the largest challenge for Zhang and
his hospital was how to allocate the limited
resources to deal with an increased number
of patients. The intensive care unit wards
did not have enough beds, so more depart-
ments had to be used to accommodate
more patients. The doctors and nurses of
each department were ready to do so.
Since the medical staff had to work four
to five hours without a break, Zhang wor-
ried that physical exhaustion could increase
their risk of being infected. Normally, nurses
change shifts every two hours.
“My colleagues have made their utmost
efforts to save the patients’ lives. Compared
to them, my tasks are much easier,” he said,
although he managed to get only two or
three hours’ sleep every day, during which
he still needed to answer phones.
Zhang did not tell his colleagues except
Wang Xianguang, another member of the
hospital leadership, that he has ALS, which
makes walking difficult for him. He did not
want to affect others’ work, especially in this
critical phase.
“Tasks such as admitting and transfer-
ring patients are not part of his work, but he
still comes to the wards and checks details,”
Zhang Li, a doctor at the hospital, told Xinhua
News Agency. “He can always offer solutions
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ating his decisive style and carefulness.
On January 24, 150 medical workers from
the Army Medical University in Chongqing
were dispatched to the hospital as reinforce-
ment, followed by a medical team of 136
from Shanghai taking charge of some wards.
Their timely help relieved the pressure on
the staff at the hospital, which also allowed
Zhang Dingyu to make his health condition
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to know the real reason their chief could not
walk normally. They had been told that he
had a knee problem.Challenges in life
Telling the truth makes Zhang Dingyu feel
better. “I also want to tell people that if they
take responsibility and push their boundaries,
they can make things happen too,” he said.
The intense work has worsened his
health. He has felt his muscles atrophying.
“I need colleagues to help me put on a
protective suit as it is difficult for me to lift
my legs,” he told CCTV. But he still told Wang
not to stop him from working in the hospital.
“He said time is precious to him and he
wants to do more meaningful things within
the limited time,” Wang said.
Zhang Dingyu has been on the front-
line of medical emergencies, including the
Wenchuan earthquake in the southwestern
province of Sichuan in 2008, and overseasmedical relief missions to Algeria and Pakistan.
He enjoys working with his colleagues and
hopes to continue as long as he can.
But he also knows that ALS is like a sword
hanging over him and will give him at most
10 years.
Despite the brutal reality, he still holds
a positive attitude. Diseases are caused by
mutations, such as genetic mutations, which
cannot be controlled by human interven-
tion, so there is no use complaining or being
fearful. He said the last years of his life will
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needs to make full use of the present time
to work and realize his ideas.
On January 13, Zhang’s wife also devel-
oped symptoms of 2019-nCoV infection,
which made him cry. She is a doctor work-
ing in another hospital in Wuhan. Believing
she was in capable hands, Zhang chose to
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disease.
“Maybe I’m a good doctor but not a great
husband,” Zhang said. When seeing patients
suffering from the disease, he would worry
about his wife, fearing of losing her.
Then the good news came that she had
recovered. And with the efforts of the medi-
cal personnel at the Jinyintan Hospital, over
70 patients have recovered and been dis-
charged. QStaff from the Army Medical
University are briefed in the
Jinyintan Hospital on January
26 before the university’s
medical detachment takes
over two wards of the hospitalXIN
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