News

HK Jockey Club: Helping hope recover

By Zhuan Ti (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-12 08:36

The 8.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked Sichuan province on May 12, 2008 devastated the lives of many. Although the mental trauma inflicted by the disaster has not entirely healed, survivors have learned to move on and begin their journey to rediscover hope and happiness.

The earthquake put Wei Ling's aspirations and passion for life into perspective. [Photo/China Daily]

'Most Touching Moment'

In May 2008, Gu Yunxian, a nurse who worked at the Mianyang 3rd City Hospital intensive care unit (ICU), spent five days and five nights in the thick of the rescue mission in Beichuan - the town hit hardest by the calamity.

When she found a teenager half-buried in the rubble of Beichuan Middle School, Gu squeezed without hesitation into the fallen debris, balancing a bag of blood plasma in her left hand while holding the hand of the injured student with the other.

"I thought I must encourage him, give him hope and make him believe he would get out of there," Gu said. "I stayed by him and held his hand for over 10 hours."

The incident moved hearts across the country, qualifying as one of the "Most Touching Moments of the Sichuan Earthquake" and earning the petite Gu the nickname "Angelic Nurse".

Despite the attention, she remains modest. "I was just doing my job," she says.

Yet Gu never took the job lightly, noting the patients battling for their lives in the ICU weighed on her mind just as much as her 1-year-old son.

Based on these heartening experiences, Gu recognized inadequacies in the hospital's facilities that could impact the continuing work of her team. So she was elated to learn that new medical equipment would soon be made available, thanks to a donation by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC).

Today, she is still emotional when recounting how the new equipment has since helped her team bring a patient suffering cardiac arrest back to life, even though the doctor had declared there was little hope. "Thanks to this new resuscitation device, we succeeded in reviving the patient after 30 minutes," she said.

Reversal of misfortune

Also benefiting from improved medical and rehabilitation facilities is earthquake survivor Wei Ling.

Twenty-year-old Wei never imagined she could host an exhibition of her own paintings, much less attract the compliments and words of encouragement that have kept pouring in since.

The devastating earthquake three years ago turned the life of this ordinary secondary schoolgirl upside down. Although Wei survived being buried under the rubble for 48 hours and undergoing some 20 rounds of major surgery, her limbs were forever lost.

Not lost, however, is her sunny smile.

Thanks to the wholehearted support of her doctors and the unconditional love of her parents, Wei kept her dreams alive by taking up drawing and writing.

Through colors and words, she has learned to cast aside the frustration she faced during the long and painful rehabilitation process, and put her aspirations and passion for life into perspective.

"The rainbow symbolizes a bright future. As to the wings, they tell people that although I have lost my legs, my heart can still fly," said Wei, explaining how she now paints with a passion for life.

Fiddling with the empty trunks of her trousers, which could easily make onlookers' hearts swell with empathy, Wei puts on a brave face by saying cheerfully that the calamity has given her much more than a purpose in life. It has also brought harmony to her family because they have grown closer in face of the ordeal.

"Now I look back on the past with optimism and I hope one day I can return to school with the help of prosthetic limbs," Wei said as she underwent rehabilitation at the Sichuan Provincial 8-1 Rehabilitation Center, whose work is assisted by the HKJC's donation of 53 million yuan ($8.16 million).

Asked if she aspires to become a painter one day, the young lady gives a hearty laugh, replying modestly that no one can tell what the future might hold. But Wei is certain she will try to live life to the fullest, come what may.