The picture shows that medical personnel of Beijing Children
Hospital make a basket of red carnation to express their best
wishes to all mothers on the eve of Mothers' Day which falls on May
11, 2003. The medical workers are working day and night for the
fight against
SARS.
If
you ask who are the top heroes when SARS was rampant in Hong Kong,
nearly all Hong Kong residents would tell you: "health care
workers, of course."
Although the health care workers could do little for their own
mothers with the coming of Mothers' Day that falls on Sunday, their
mothers would feel proud that they have sons and daughters who
valued SARS patients' lives more than their own.
Catherine Lee is a doctor at Tseung Kwan Hospital. She has not
returned home for two months since she joined a team of doctors and
nurses for treatment of SARS patients.
Graduating from a medical sciences university three years ago, the
27-year-old doctor is the only daughter of A'liang, a worker who
had spent all her savings to pay for Catherine's study at the
university.
A
work shift for Catherine is usually from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 a. m.
next morning. Apart from normal treatment of SARS patients, she
also helps nurses conduct intubation. Intubation has been one of
the most possible dangers of infection to health care workers and
quite a number of doctors and nurses in Hong Kong contracted SARS
during the intubation process.
Apart from overtime working, Catherine has to face the fact that
her colleagues fell ill one after another. Like nearly all other
health care workers at her hospital, she went to psychological
doctors of the hospital for consultation.
As
all the other frontline health care workers in Hong Kong, she also
needs support and consolation from her mother A'liang, her
colleagues and others from the society while they are working in
the "major battlefield."
Catherine exchanges greetings with her mother once a day and A'
liang will not fall asleep every day until her daughter reports "I
am fine" to her.
A'liang told Xinhua that "she is a doctor, she must fulfill her
duty, there is no problem."
However, A'liang almost burst into tears while describing how her
daughter works, murmuring that Catherine has a fiance and has not
married.
She also has the worries of all other mothers of health care
workers. If Catherine contracts SARS, her health might be damaged
and her marriage and her future might be affected, she thought.
David Hui, a doctor in charge of SARS patients at Prince of Wales
Hospital, has become one of the most popular doctors in Hong Kong
these days.
Prince of Wales Hospital is famous in Hong Kong for receiving Hong
Kong's index SARS patient and for winning the title of "2003 Asian
Heroes" given by the Asian edition of Time magazine in April.
Over 70 health care workers of the hospital contracted SARS when
they did not known much of the deadly disease.
Hui chose to major in medicine and therapeutics after he saw how
his grandma suffered from asthma.
He
said he has been working 12-15 hours a day since his hospital began
to receive SARS patients in mid-March.
Experiencing all the dangerous situations and overtime work, Hui
just said, "We've just managed to do our duties. The policeman and
firemen would surely fight against criminal acts and fire when they
are on call."
While interviewing with Hong Kong health workers, you will not hear
them say big or empty words, but their remarks will often move you
to tears, as they have been sacrificing their own health and even
lives for treating SARS patients.
Talking to health care workers, you will not be told how dangerous
their work is. However, they will often mention their mothers even
in a brief interview.
Hui said that to avoid bringing virus home, he has not seen his
70-year-old mother for nearly two months. In the past, he often had
tea with his parents. Being anxious about Hui's health, his old
mother calls him via pager once every other day, in a way not to
disturb his busy work.
He
said he felt sorry that he could not take care of his old parents
as other sons because he should take care of SARS patients, many of
them being as old as his mother.
Hong Kong residents will remember May 7 as a special day, when
hundreds of high-ranking officials, health care workers and people
from various walks of life held a high-profile funeral for Lau Wing
Kai, a nurse at Tuen Mun Hospital and the first health care worker
killed in the fight against SARS.
Over 200 fresh-flower wreaths were placed inside and outside the
funeral hall to mourn the death of the 38-year-old nurse. Chairman
of the Hospital Authority Leong Che Hung said Hong Kong lost a hero
who devoted his life while on duty and his selfless devotion has
set a model for all health care workers in Hong Kong.
Lau contracted SARS while tending SARS patients and died on April
26. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government held an
extraordinary funeral for the hero. Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa
attended the funeral.
Lau, an ordinary nurse, often had a smile on his face even during
his illness, showing his never-give-up attitude which greatly
encouraged all staff in Tuen Mun Hospital.
Hong Kong residents have been moved by and felt the deepest sorrow
for the death of the healthy, strong and smart young nurse, the
father of a six-month-old boy.
The Hong Kong community has also praised his wife, a nurse in
another hospital, who encouraged all health care workers to
continue their fight against SARS while she was in great grief.
To
support Lau's wife in raising the baby, Hong Kong trade unions and
other charity funds have offered 200,000 HK dollars (25, US$641)
for the family. "Medial staff are fighting against SARS for us,
it's our turn to help their families," said quite a number of Hong
Kong residents.
During the last month, participants of almost all important
meetings or symposiums in Hong Kong expressed their respect in
varied ways for their beloved doctors and nurses who have been
sacrificing their health and even lives to cure SARS patients. So
far, 1,035 SARS patients in Hong Kong have been discharged from
public hospitals.
A
total of 370 Hong Kong health care workers contracted SARS while on
duty. The good news on Saturday is that it is the third day when no
more health care workers are reported to have SARS since mid-March.
That's the best news for all mothers of health care workers in Hong
Kong and all Hong Kong residents.
(Xinhua News Agency and eastday.com May 11, 2003)