An ICU doctor in the eye of the storm

Call to arms

In late January, when Li was asked if he was willing to work on the front line fighting the pandemic, he stepped up, saying it was the duty of every medical worker.

He spends most of the time at the Third People’s Hospital in the ICUs working with patients. The normal shift for ICU workers is four hours. Sometimes he stays for more than seven hours.

He checks patients from head to toe and adjusts their equipment as needed. Using his fingers, he has performed colon cleansing for comatose patients every two or three days to prevent bacteria from infecting the body.

To date, the hospital’s ICUs have admitted more than 40 patients. Each ICU doctor takes charge of three patients during peak hours. When Li finishes work with his patients for the day, he walks among the wards and checks up on other severely ill patients and encourages them.

He has even visited patients in his spare time. Li has taken only two days off since he began his assignment.

Colors in the dark

Li observed that many ICU patients are suffering from high anxiety. They ask him constantly, “When will I recover?” and “When can I be discharged?”. Li takes the time to encourage them and help them get through their ordeal. He helps them get out of bed, exercise breathing, and helped them with psychological counseling.

One evening, he took three severely ill patients in wheelchairs to watch the sunset together. “What they saw every day were doctors and nurses with protective suits. What they heard was only the sound of medical instruments. They needed something vibrant and that gave them hope,” he said.