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Wang Li, a nurse of China-Japan Friendship Hospital and also a SARS survivor, says her optimistic outlook keeps her going. Zhang Wei / China Daily |
A nurse who conquered SARS discovers why life's worth living. Deng Zhangyu reports.
Editor's Note: Ten years ago, the world was hit by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic. Thousands lost their lives, including medical workers all over the world who selflessly looked after patients in spite of the high risks of infection. In China, the effects of the dreaded virus still reverberate to this day. In a series of reports, China Daily highlights the human faces behind the news.
While many hospital workers recovered from SARS still grapple with its effects a decade later, Wang Li has moved on, mostly.
The deputy head nurse at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing has a happy family, a good career and a gratitude for life.
"Some medical workers who were infected and survived got divorced and stopped working," the 48-year-old says.
"They keep complaining about life. I feel so sorry for them. Complaining doesn't solve any problems. I hope they can move on. I'm lucky to have a happy family and a job I'm fond of. I'm very glad everyone regards me as a normal person other than a patient."
Unlike many SARS survivors, who are sickly and sometimes even bedridden, nothing about Wang's appearance or behavior betrays the fact she was infected.
She has largely forgotten the experience, she says. Her only reminder is the hip pain caused by the hormonal therapies that ate away much of her joint.
"I always carry pain killers in case my hip starts to affect my job," Wang says.
"I don't tell others."
But she'll have to get her hip replaced in a few years. She says she's not afraid.
That's not to say Wang has always had such an optimistic outlook, especially toward her illness.
She pulled back from the brink of death and left the hospital three months later to discover she had to deal with severe pelvic necrosis from the treatments.
Wang couldn't walk for a long time. Afterward, she couldn't carry anything heavy or exercise outdoors - her favorite pastime.
Her hip replacement is necessary to avoid losing use of her legs. The implant only lasts a few years.
Wang spent a long time after SARS in fear of paralysis. She often lamented her life.
"It was a disaster," she says.
"I did nothing. But, suddenly, I had to burden all the suffering. What about my family? My child?"
Wang recalls the "dark days" with tears.
She also remembers her colleagues - whether they knew her or not - greeted her with warm smiles. Her small son carried her purse.
"I was so moved and felt grateful for those little acts of love and care," she says.
"I told myself to be strong. Although I can't control the length of my life, I can decide the breadth of it."
The only exercise Wang could do for two years was swimming. So she swam three hours a week in two-hour sessions.
"Swimming washed away the negativity," she says.
"I swam back and forth in the 50-meter-long pool, staring at the ceiling and thinking about my life. It refreshed me and killed the slow-passing time."
Other than swimming, Wang spent her time reading, learning English and on academic study. "I didn't have much time to think about SARS or complain," she explains.
She was infected when she intubated a patient in March 2003. Few knew what SARS was or how to deal with it.
Wang didn't have to do the intubation because she had already worked several nightshifts. She still rushed to the operating room when called.
"I knew there was a high infection risk," she recalls.
"But it was my responsibility. The patient needed me."
She had to intubate him several times and get close to comfort him.
Wang didn't tell her family she was infected for the first month she was in critical care. She lied and told them work demanded she stay.
Her role at that hospital at which she both treated and lived as a SARS patient changed after she contracted the disease.
Wang had a shining resume beforehand.
She graduated from the Nursing School of China-Japan Friendship Hospital. In 1990, she was sent to study for two years in Singapore General Hospital. In 1997, she studied in Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong.
But her hip problems forced her into administration.
She was deputy director of a 170-member medical team that served at the Beijing National Stadium (Bird's Nest) during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Wang, together with her team, had mapped out the medical emergency system, and recruited and trained medical volunteers since June 2007.
Her family worried about her health during the Games.
"My job then was very demanding, but it was an honor and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," she recalls.
"It also made me understand my value and inspired me to move on."
Wang views the world differently after the disease, she says.
"SARS and my battle against death made me most value the love and care from and for people around me, whether they're strangers or not," she says.
"People helped me when I needed it. Life's obstacles aren't as scary as we think. It depends on how we face and overcome them. I won a 10-year victory."
Contact the writer at dengzhangyu@chinadaily.com.cn.
