Town Online 2020: 04: 24.14: 27
Photo: Xinhua
The law of sacrifice is the same throughout the world. To be effective, it requires the consecration of the bravest and most blameless. — Mahatma Gandhi
Tianjin, 04/24/2020 (The People Online) – Zhang Boli, a researcher at the Chinese Academy, was finally able to return to his native Tianjin after 82 days of hard work in Wuhan, the city that was once hardest hit by the pneumonia outbreak (COVID-19) due to the new coronavirus ( SARS-CoV-2).
Zhang and his colleagues established the first temporary Chinese Traditional Medicine (TCM) hospital to treat patients with COVID-19 and bring new action and insights into the fight against the deadly virus.
As president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhang was convened on February 12 to help Wuhan curb the outbreak. When he remembers the gravity of the situation he found in Wuhan, Zhang’s eyes water.
“The situation must have been very serious when an old man like me is summoned to the front. I never thought of refusing to go because I know that the residents of Wuhan needed urgent medical attention. The trust they placed in me was too valuable not to take on the task. “Zhang told the media.
Innovative approaches against the new coronavirus
Zhang spent most of his time as chief consultant for MTC’s first temporary hospital. He also coordinated with his colleagues about ways to create new MTC recipes to cure the deadly disease.
Every morning, Zhang visited his patients in person. After a long day of medical check-ups, his protective gear was drenched in sweat. As night fell, countless meetings and research workshops with other doctors awaited him. His efforts paid off: just a few days after arriving in Wuhan, two MTC prescriptions were started to be used to treat the sick with COVID-19.
“I also understood this mission as an opportunity to promote the values of the MTC, which proved to be very effective in the battle against SARS,” says Zhang. Zhang’s MTC team made a huge contribution in 2003 to curb the spread of SARS. Her recipes and good practices were praised by the World Health Organization (WHO) and recommended to the world.
According to WHO statistics, more than 10 percent of COVID-19 sufferers can develop severe symptoms. In the temporary hospital, just two to five percent of those who accepted MTC therapy developed such symptoms.
Between February 14 and March 10, the makeshift MTC hospital where Zhang worked received 564 patients, of whom 392 made a full recovery, while the others were sent to other hospitals for better follow-up. During this period, none of the patients developed critical illnesses. There were also no health workers among those infected.
“Since modern medicine has not yet developed effective vaccines or drugs to combat the new coronavirus, MTC provides an alternative and has already managed to treat countless patients,” said Zhang.
“Pneumonia from the new coronavirus is a pandemic. When we look through China’s history we can identify more than 500 pandemics. Of these, there are 300 that struck on a large scale. MTC has helped slow the spread of those pandemics. “said the Chinese academic.
Spirit of sacrifice and consecration
Despite his own health problems, Zhang spent most of his time developing new treatments for patients. A week after his arrival in Wuhan, Zhang had to undergo cholecystitis. Three days later, the old doctor returned to his work. Colleagues who operated on him warned him that he still had blood clots in his legs, a major risk factor for his life. However, Zhang declined the designated two weeks of rest.
When Zhang’s son, who is also a doctor, decided to visit his father, Zhang asked him to focus on his work. “You don’t need to visit me, just take care of your patients.”
Inspired by his father, Zhang Lei requested to go to Wuhan to support colleagues on the front line. For the next 20 days, he was so busy that he could barely see his father in Wuhan once – the day the temporary hospital officially closed.
On March 19, Zhang celebrated his birthday with his colleagues. No new confirmed cases were reported that day. Zhang expressed to his colleagues, “The best birthday present for me would be that there were no new cases in Wuhan.”
After months of unremitting work, Zhang’s wish came true. Before returning home, Zhang assured the press that Wuhan is a city of heroes, and that its residents had made a great sacrifice to face the new coronavirus.
“I can express that Wuhan is now the safest place in China, although we must always be vigilant. I will visit Wuhan every two months, and I will also train new MTC professionals,” promised tireless Dr. Zhang.
(Web editor: 吴思萱, 赵健)
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