Country for PR: China
Contributor: PR Newswire Asia (China)
Tuesday, April 07 2020 - 13:49
AsiaNet
CGTN: Remembering the medical professionals we've lost to coronavirus
BEIJING, April 7, 2020 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

The unknown, relentless novel coronavirus has so far deprived thousands of 
people of their beloved family members in China. Parting ways doesn't mean 
parting forever. CGTN explores in detail the lives of those who have died from 
the coronavirus since the outbreak began.

Video - https://cdn5.prnasia.com/202004/CGTN/video.mp4

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoRj_StxMms

To learn more about these doctors and other victims of the novel coronavirus in 
China, visit CGTN's interactive memorial page( 
https://www.cgtn.com/coronavirus-interactive-in-memoriam.html?utm_source=bluef&utm_medium=CgtnWebsiteCampaign&utm_campaign=memorial).


Liu Yang never thought this meeting with her father, even though it was from 
afar, would be their last. Her father Liu Zhiming, a prominent neurologist, 
died on February 18 after being infected by the novel coronavirus.

Liu was director of Wuhan Wuchang Hospital, which was designated by the Wuhan 
municipal government on January 21 as one of the hospitals to treat patients 
infected with the novel coronavirus or suspected of having the virus. "He 
called me, asking me to prepare some clothes for him. He said he was too busy 
to go home. At the time, I felt that he was short of breath," said his wife Cai 
Liping, an ICU head nurse at Wuhan Third Hospital.

A workaholic, he was on shift for three days straight in converting a part of 
the hospital into isolation wards that began receiving infected patients on 
January 23. That was the day when Wuhan was put on lockdown, and also the day 
Liu was diagnosed with COVID-19.

He was hospitalized the next day and soon attached to a ventilator, talking 
only on the phone with Cai, who was on a hectic schedule in treating severe 
COVID-19 cases. In his last days, he rejected intubation, according to Hong Yi, 
secretary of Wuchang Hospital's discipline committee. "He was worried that his 
team would be infected."

On the day he passed away, there were 431 COVID-19 patients in his hospital. 
He's the first known hospital director to have died from the coronavirus. 

Aside from senior medical professionals on the frontline of the battle against 
COVID-19, there are young doctors at the beginning of their careers such as Xia 
Sisi, a gastroenterologist at Wuhan's Union Jiangbei Hospital. She died from 
the infection in late February. Colleagues said she could have been infected in 
January, when she tended to an elderly patient who had presented symptoms of 
the novel coronavirus.

Five days later, she had a fever of 38.9 degrees Celsius and felt a tightness 
in her chest. She was hospitalized on that day. When she felt she could be 
discharged and go back to the frontline after her symptoms subsided a few days 
later, her situation deteriorated. Her husband Wu Shilei, a surgeon at Wuhan 
Pu'ai Hospital, rushed to the emergency room in the early hours on February 7. 
Her heart had stopped. Doctors intubated and resuscitated Xia after putting her 
on ECMO support, then transferred her to a hospital specializing in intensive 
care. But she remained in a coma and passed away on February 23. 

Back home, Wu couldn't come to terms with her death. "We had promised to fight 
on the frontline together when she recovered." He didn't know what to tell 
their two-year-old son. "Jiabao believes his mother is still working at the 
hospital." 

So far, at least 46 medical professionals in China have died in relation to the 
coronavirus outbreak. Some had decades of experience while others were just 
beginning their mission to help others. Li Wenliang, the ophthalmologist who 
shared a patient report in December that alerted his medical school classmates 
to the coronavirus, died at 34 years old. Song Yunhua, a doctor at a community 
health center, was hit by a motorcycle after working long hours to screen 
patients for the virus. She was 46.

Many of these doctors were likely exposed to the coronavirus from late 2019 to 
January, when the new virus was just coming to light. Medical professionals had 
encountered patients that might have had COVID-19 before it had been identified 
as a distinct coronavirus strain, so they had worn protective equipment and 
followed procedures that were appropriate for dealing with low-level infectious 
diseases. Little did they know that they had come into contact with a serious 
yet mysterious virus that would evolve into a global pandemic months later.

These doctors maintained the utmost professionalism and concern for their 
colleagues and patients in the darkest moments. Their spirit is seeded in those 
who aspire to follow in their footsteps, such as Liu Yang, who is now a 
first-year medical student at the very school that her father Liu Zhiming 
graduated from.

To view the original article, click HERE( 
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-04-04/Remembering-the-medical-professionals-we-ve-lost-to-coronavirus--PoLVQTLgs0/index.html?utm_source=bluef&utm_medium=CgtnWebsiteCampaign&utm_campaign=memorial).


Logo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200228/2733726-1-logo 

Source: CGTN


Image Attachments Links:

   Link: https://iop.asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=361487

   Caption: CGTN launches an interactive memorial page.

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