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 Liu Xiaoqin tells of his experiences during the SARS epidemic as a doctor and a photography enthusiast at a photo album launch ceremony in 2003. Xinhua Photo |
Doctor Liu Xiaoqin says SARS is something he hopes the world never again faces - or forgets.
The 67-year-old was the China-Japan Friendship Hospital's vice-president during SARS.
"Fighting SARS was an extraordinary experience," he says.
"It was our duty to save lives without thinking about our own safety," Liu recalls.
"But none of us could say we weren't afraid of infection."
Liu says he was responsible not only for his patients but also his employees.
The epidemic broke out first in Guangdong province in late 2002, and then spread to the rest of the country, in early 2003.
On April 17, 2003, six hospitals in Beijing were designated to treat the disease. The number grew to 16 in May.
On April 23, Liu led 104 staffers from the China-Japan Friendship Hospital to help Beijing Chest Hospital.
But the day before work started at Beijing Chest Hospital, the team was called back because China-Japan was also designated for SARS patients.
Liu had to convert a general hospital into a high infection disease treatment zone - and fast. Essentially, he had to turn China-Japan Friendship Hospital into an isolation ward.
SARS isolation wards and intensive-care units were to be placed on the fourth to eighth floors.
The walls, ceilings and doors had to be reconstructed with specific materials. This was not only to block the wards and nearby semi-contaminated areas from the disinfected zones but also to ensure air flowed from the clean area to semi-contaminated and contaminated areas (the wards).
Every ward needed new equipment and air conditioners - and electricity to power them.
More than 700 workers began reconstructing the hospital after patients with other ailments were transferred to other hospitals.
Liu worked with construction company executives to design the buildings and guide their construction. He purchased equipment and materials, and provided workers logistical support.
Liu often worked around the clock. On May 8, hundreds of SARS patients were transferred to China-Japan Friendship Hospital.
All medical staff, including Liu, stayed at a nearby hotel to cut their commutes and ensure they didn't infect others.
"Sometimes, I woke up in the night and had no clue where I was," he recalls.
The hospital was its quietest in the midst of the greatest epidemic panic in a generation.
No one dared come near the hospital. Buses changed their routes to avoid it.
Liu is a photography enthusiast and chronicled the period, even though disinfecting his camera was complicated.
His photos include eight medical workers who were infected by patients. They survived.
Liu had hundreds of photos of the people who lived on SARS' frontline.
The doctor and his medical team host a reunion every April to commemorate those days.
"I hope people will remember," he says.
liuzhihua@chinadaily.com.cn
