CALL OF DUTY - Dr. Sun Yunbo (2008 DIHMP), at left, led 61 medics to the quake zone where he and other doctors lived in tents without running water. His diary account is posted at www.ceibs.edu. Here, delivering injured survivors in the town of Meishan.
THE BATTLE TO SAVE LIVES
At 12:30 a.m. on the night of May 14, Zhang Ling (DIHMP 2008), Vice President of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing University of Medical Science, was jolted awake by the jangle of the telephone. It was an emergency call from work; the Chongqing Municipal Health Bureau wanted her to dispatch an emergency medical team to the municipality of Deyang, a city that had been severely damaged in the May 12 Sichuan Earthquake.
ON THE FRONT LINES - Arriving in Sichuan just two days after the disaster, Dr. Zhang Ling (2008 DIHMP), at center, threw herself into one week of grueling emergency medical work.
By 6 a.m., Zhang had organized a team of a dozen, equipped with a truckload of medical supplies, flashlights and other necessities. Despite heavy rainfall, they arrived in the city just four hours later and found themselves immediately plunged into a 'battle' to save as many lives as possible.
The work of Zhang's team was made even more challenging by the frequent aftershocks and the humid weather that persisted for the six days the team worked. Working in relief tents outfitted with crude camp beds to create a temporary hospital, the team worked hard on their task: prevention of wound infections. Wounds are most vulnerable to infection on the third day after injury; given the flood of patients into the makeshift hospital, preventing infection was a daunting task. The team members worked hard, taking only a few short naps during their entire six-day stint.
For Zhang Ling, helping came naturally. "I'm moved by the loving hearts of the volunteers, and thrilled by the resilient children who out-witted death by climbing out from under the ruins. I am just doing what I should do. It's not false modesty; it's just what I feel deep down in my heart," she told media.
Zhang Ling's team was surely not the only group of medical volunteers on the front lines in the critical period after the quake. Dr.Sun Yunbo (DIHMP 2008) led a team of 61 medical experts to the town of Meishan, Sichuan on May 18. Dr. Sun, Vice Director of the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University Medical College, is renowned in the region for medical skills that are a "gift from God." A heartfelt account of his impressions and emotions during his work in Meishan area (written in Chinese) are posted on the CEIBS website's Sichuan Earthquake relief section. An excerpt: "My colleagues in Qingchuan are my biggest concern. There are 1,267 persons living in 60 tents with only 2 bathrooms and no running water..."
Expert medical help also came from the Huashan Hospital's Red Cross rescue team, headed by Wang Zhiming (DIHMP 2005). The team arrived at Chengdu's Shuangliu Airport at 2:40 p.m. on May 14, making them the first rescue crew from Shanghai to enter the earthquake zone. Early the next morning, the team went further into the severely-hit An County and began their crucial task of search and rescue.
The first emergency medical team of 103 staff members from Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, headed by Doctor Lv Yigang (DIHMP 2006) reached the town of Mianyang on May 15. The team arrived just in time to provide life saving medical care to a three-day-old infant, who was named after the Changzheng Hospital by the father in memory of the moving episode. The rescue team tirelessly worked in the severely hit city for weeks. Additional assistance came from Dr Yin Xueping (DIHMP 2004), director of the Shanghai Changzheng Hospital.
Meanwhile in the An County town of Xiaoba, Dr. Chen Junfeng (DIHMP 2008), Vice Director of Shanghai Changning Central Hospital, spent 29 days leading a team of medical professionals. The earthquake had transformed Xiaoba into a community of more than 10,000 displaced residents living in makeshift tents hastily erected on farm land. The supply of water and electricity were sporadic, forcing Chen and his team to work under the most challenging circumstances. The medical team used their bare hands to build crude kitchens; they collected firewood from the mountains. Details of this brave and critical work can be found in Chen Junfeng's journal of his rescue work at www.cnchospital.com.
These were just some of the CEIBS alumni with medical expertise who selflessly donated their expertise and time to the Sichuan Earthquake relief efforts. Others from CEIBS 2008 DIHM programme who generously offered their medical skills and donated their time to critical rescue work include: Dr Pan Liangjun, Party Secretary, People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region; Dr Li Qiang, Vice Director, Third Affiliated Central Hospital of Tianji Medical University; Dr Gao Pujun, Vice Director, First Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University; Dr Xu Rongyu, Director, First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University; Dr Lin Fangcai, Director, Beijing Hospital of Post and Telecommunications; and Dr Yu Kaijiang, Vice Director, Harbin Medical University Second Affiliated Hospital.
