"In 1939, the Battle of Qihui began. Bethune was at the operating table, racing against death, without rest for sixty-nine hours. The childish reading sound reached the ears of the old man, and the child did not understand the story behind this sentence, but just held the book and recited the text aloud. But the old man listened fascinated, gradually closed his eyes, his thoughts were like smoke, and thousands of memories slowly poured into his mind, and at this moment, he seemed to return to that difficult era.
Bethune treats the wounded
At that time, he was doing the work of military doctors with the troops, and he looked around and saw a blue-eyed foreigner in a cloth uniform and grass shoes, who was concentrating on the operation, he was calm and self-assured, and his hands were as steady as rocks. Every move was in a race against death, and the clamor of gunfire and the shouts of killing outside could not affect him in the slightest. Unconsciously, the old man came back to his senses, and his face was already covered with tear marks.
The old man's name is Su Ying, 95 years old, appeared in the textbook Bethune was once the master who guided his medical skills, and now most people have learned about him from the texts, but how can a short text say the greatness of Bethune, trace back to the roots, only back to the era in the memory of the old man Su Ying, we can truly feel Bethune and commemorate Bethune.
Bethune in his youth
Bethune was an authentic Canadian, and from an early age he showed a strong curiosity about the unknown, which allowed him to show a great talent after being exposed to medicine. At the age of 26, he received a bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto School of Medicine, and immediately after passing an extremely rigorous examination, he became a clinical graduate student at the Royal College of Surgeons. But within a few years, Bethune contracted tuberculosis. The disease did not hinder Bethune's path of medicine, but made his medical skills more superb.
In just a few years, Bethune invented and improved 12 medical surgical instruments and published 14 academic papers with profound influence on the British medical community, making Bethune like a rising star. At the age of 47, he became a consultant to the Canadian government and a fellow of the American Society of Thoracic Surgery.
Status, power, and ideals are all pocketed by Bethune, and common sense is that he has not worried about eating and drinking for the rest of his life, and only needs to work steadily. But Bethune was not a man content with the status quo. In the summer of 1935, the International Physiology Congress was held in the Soviet Union, and Bethune, as a representative of Canada, was invited to visit happily.
Bethune
Unexpectedly, this journey completely changed Bethune's life. Bethune was surprised to find out. All the people in the USSR, rich or not, were able to have access to perfect medical care. Bethune, who grew up in Canada, was shocked. As an experienced old doctor who had seen too many tragic examples of those who needed to be healed but were powerless because of poverty, he believed that a communist system like the Soviet Union was the most humane, and his thinking had changed dramatically since then.
In the year after his return to China, he did not hesitate to join the Communist Party of Canada and set up Saturday as a voluntary outpatient clinic for the poor. Bethune used his position to keep speaking out, hoping that Canada could establish a socialized medical security system and regard medical care as a social work, abandoning the medical cause that used to be aimed at profit.
In 1937, when the all-out War of Resistance Against Japan broke out in China, when the news reached Bethune's ears, Bethune was very indignant about the brutal and unjust aggression of the Japanese army, and he realized that China needed its own strength, and he wanted to go to China to fight against evil and injustice.
In December 1937, Bethune reported to the Committee on International Aid to China, requesting to lead a medical team to support China. In January of the following year, Bethune and Dr. Parsons and his party brought donations and medical herbs and instruments. After more than ten days of bumps on the ship, they came to Hong Kong, and after connecting with the Eighth Route Army, Bethune and his party did not rest much and directly left for Yan'an.
Nie Rongzhen
On June 17, 1938, Bethune finally met with Nie Rongzhen, commander and political commissar of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. Nie Rongzhen had already heard about the lofty ambitions of this man who had come from afar. He was very respectful in his heart, and he advised Bethune to rest for a few more days to recuperate. However, Bethune refused Nie Rongzhen's persuasion, and he made it clear that he had crossed the Pacific To come here not to rest, but to work. Saying that, he instead asked Nie Rongzhen to arrange a job for him immediately.
Nie Rongzhen said that he could not do it, and the next day, Bethune led the team to the rear hospital of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region more than 30 kilometers away. After arriving, After a preliminary understanding of the situation, Bethune began to examine the hospital's patients one by one, spending a week examining more than 520 patients one by one, and another four weeks operating on 147 of them, and during this month, he felt that his medical skills really played a role. Due to the general medical conditions in the hospital, he needs to do many things himself, and when the patient needs a blood transfusion, Bethune, who has type O blood, is always the first to stand up.
Bethune's meticulous work attitude quickly spread to the Chinese central government, and after consultation, Nie Rongzhen told Bethune that his position was paid 100 yuan a month. But Bethune directly rejected Nie Rongzhen after listening. For a while, Nie Rongzhen also thought that Bethune, who had held high positions in Canada, was too few. But Bethune's words made him have no doubts in his heart, only moved. Bethune said: Chairman Mao and Commander-in-Chief Zhu's allowances are very small, your monthly allowance is only 5 yuan, soldiers are only 1 yuan a month, I don't need so much money alone, I hope to share weal and woe with other comrades, not too little, but I think it is too much.
At the end of November, the Eighth Route Army prepared an ambush in Wei County, and When Bethune learned of this, he immediately led a medical team to the front. They trekked through mountains and rivers, walked 60 kilometers with medical equipment, and built an operating table only 6 kilometers away from the front line, a distance that was already easily affected by the war, which can be said to be very dangerous. But Bethune believed that being closer to the battlefield would allow the wounded to be rescued more promptly.
Bethune is treating the wounded
On this small operating table, Bethune worked for more than 40 hours in a row to operate on 170 wounded people. 71 soldiers with broken bones were splinted, none of them were amputated, and the final rescue success rate was as high as 85%. Bethune was very proud of his actions, and in his report to Nie Rongzhen afterwards, he wrote: "The era of a revolutionary doctor sitting at home, waiting for the patient to knock on the door has passed, and the doctor should take the initiative to go to the patient, and the sooner the better." ”
In 1939, the Battle of Qihui was in full swing, and Bethune immediately reorganized his armaments and led a medical team to the battlefield. This time, the rescuer Bethune directly set up the medical point 3.5 kilometers away from the battlefield. 6 kilometers is very threatening, but Instead of being intimidated by the hustle and bustle of the war, Bethune directly drew the distance closer by nearly half so that he could fight with death. At this distance, if the enemy has an aircraft patrol, then his life will be directly threatened. But Bethune had already put his life and death aside, and he only wanted to better fulfill his mission as a war doctor.
As the first wounded man was sent in, Bethune quickly entered a working state, forgetting to eat and sleep completely, and when the attendant delivered food to Bethune, Bethune's focused eyes never moved. But the attendant knew that Bethune was nearly 50 years old, and such a high workload would inevitably destroy his body, but Bethune was like a cow, dead or alive. The soldiers on the side could not bear it, and forcibly let Bethune go to rest, bethune could not resist the resolute attitude of the comrades, had to pretend to put down the scalpel to rest, and it turned out that less than ten minutes later, he stood in front of the operating table to treat the wounded.
In this way, Bethune continued to work for 69 hours, almost three days and three nights without rest, and the warriors were unusually brave under his influence. In the end, the Battle of Qihui ended in victory, and the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army successfully annihilated more than 1,200 enemy soldiers and captured a large number of weapons. At the celebration meeting, Bethune was also very happy and sang and danced with the comrades of the Eighth Route Army.
At this time, a new idea was born in Bethune's mind, he thought that his own strength was not enough, he wanted to return to Canada to raise more money for the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army, and tell their deeds to more righteous people in the world to get more assistance. But on the one hand, Bethune realized that China's frontline war has always been very tight, he left, the soldiers' medical work who can be responsible, "teach people to fish is not as good as teach people to fish", Bethune before leaving, went to the major hospitals in the war border area, he taught his life's learning to the hospital doctors without reservation, and also put forward many opinions on the construction of the hospital.
The date of Bethune's return to China was approaching, but the restless Japanese army suddenly launched a "winter sweep" against the border area. When the news reached Bethune's ears, he immediately made a judgment, postponed his return time, and immediately rushed to the front. This time, Bethune set up the operating room directly from the battlefield only 2 kilometers away, this distance as long as the enemy army gained a slight advantage in the battlefield, then Bethune's life would be exposed to the enemy's range. From 6 kilometers, 3.5 kilometers, to 2 kilometers now, it was a big gamble to bet everything on, but he did not hesitate.
"No matter how many seriously injured people there are, they are all sent to my operating room," he said. The battle lasted all night, and Bethune was sleepless all night, each operation accompanied by the clear sound of gunfire, but Bethune's eyes were extremely firm. Suddenly, a war report came from the front line, saying that the Japanese army was coming fiercely, and the war was about to burn to the operating room, and they needed to evacuate immediately! When Bethune heard this, he stopped the scalpel and looked at the dozens of wounded who had not been treated, and he refused to evacuate. He said to the nurse next to him: "Add two more operating tables, carry three wounded people at a time, we still have time." ”
The countdown to death is approaching, and the distance between himself and the lives of these wounded is really 2 kilometers from the god of death, and this distance is gradually shortening. Everyone in the operating room held their breath, and the hopes and eyes of the audience were focused on Bethune. The sound of the artillery was getting louder and louder, and the smell of gun smoke mixed with disinfectant was very pungent.
Bethune was in the hospital
Suddenly, Bethune's figure stagnated for a moment, and the nurse who handed him the knife in front of him froze. At this critical moment, Bethune's middle finger was actually cut by a scalpel. Bethune knew that such a wound during the operation must be treated immediately, but Bethune calmed down in an instant.
He soaked his fingers in the iodine solution on the side and continued the operation without hesitation. The shaking of the operating room was getting bigger and bigger, the Japanese guns were close at hand, and at this time, there was still one last wounded man left in the operating room, Andothune signaled to carry him to the operating table, but the wounded man was unwilling, and he cried and asked Dr. Bethune to leave quickly, not to delay the retreat for him. Bethune didn't say much, he calmly examined the wound of the wounded man, and then began the operation. When the last wounded were rescued, Bethune was relieved, put down the scalpel he had been holding for a long time, and retreated toward the safety zone before the Japanese army was about to arrive at the operating room.
Bethune and paramedics
Bethune's postponed return date is also approaching, but Bethune's fingers that he cut during the operation are already swollen and inflamed. If Bethune returns to Canada on schedule, then his finger can be treated immediately. But Bethune was reluctant to leave, worrying about the wounded at the border hospitals, and said he would return to Canada after the tour was completed. During the inspection, Bethune found that the neck of one of the wounded was abnormal, and he immediately judged that it was erysipelas in the neck and needed immediate surgery.
But his swollen fingers were no longer able to wear surgical gloves, and he knew that if the wound on his finger touched erysipelas during the operation, then he would be infected, but he thought that the life of the warrior was more important. However, during the operation, Bethune accidentally touched the wound of the wounded man because of a rare oversight. Bethune instantly realized the seriousness of the matter, but he still put the operation first, soaked in the disinfectant for a while and then proceeded with the operation. After this, Bethune kept producing dizziness, nausea symptoms, comrades could not bear to let him continue to work, after repeated persuasion finally let Bethune willing to be treated in the hospital.
But Bethune did not rest for long, the news of the outbreak of the Loess Ridge War on November 7 reached Bethune's ears, and he was bedridden and sick, ignoring his illness, took a branch as a crutch at random, and forced the medical team to the front line. But after arriving at the location, he felt weak and dizzy, and the nurse on the side quickly examined him and found that his body temperature had reached 39.6 degrees, and he could not even stand steadily, so he had to lie down. But in this way, he murmured that all the wounded were sent to him. After a while, Bethune's body temperature warmed up again to 40 degrees, there was a lot of pus on the finger wound, and there was metastatic pus in the elbow joint of his left arm. Nie Rongzhen was impatient when he learned of this, and immediately ordered Comrade Bethune to be transferred to the rear safety zone, at all costs.
On 10 November, Bethune was escorted back to safety by the fighters, and doctors judged that he needed to amputate his left arm, but Bethune knew in his heart that he was now suffering from sepsis, a disease that could not be cured. The next day, with the last bit of clarity of consciousness, Bethune used all his strength to send Nie Rongzhen a final farewell telegram.
Portrait of Bethune
He wrote in a telegram: "Remember to buy 250 pounds of quinine and 300 pounds of iron every year to treat malaria patients and the extremely large number of anaemia patients." Even in the last days of his life, he thought about giving and saving people. This telegram was delivered to Nie Rongzhen's hands, and the man who was usually called "Iron General" could not cry, and it was difficult for him to make it difficult for himself.
That night, all the soldiers gathered around Bethune's sickbed, and Bethune said: "I know that China will be liberated, but I regret that I can't see it with my own eyes, and I regret that I didn't tell more people about the heroic resistance of the Chinese people to more people who are also trying to resist the war." The warriors on the side burst into tears in an instant.
He is a foreigner, but he is also a communist, although he is dead, he will always live in the heart of everyone who yearns for peace, and will be remembered by Chinese!