January 25, 2015, was the coldest day in Beijing that I had ever experienced. Walking down the street is a bit difficult to breathe. But I had to go out at about three or four o'clock in the afternoon, and I walked with my friend Wang Zi to an underground passage near the Fuchengmen bus station.
There were very few pedestrians in the passage, and as we walked and talked, we overheard a faint groan. Where does this moan come from? We stopped at the same time, and this stop led to a series of great relays of love that could be sung and wept.
The first baton is the police, the hospital
We followed the sound, that is, focused our eyes on a pile of broken quilts on the side of the passage, and that was where the sound came from. We looked at each other, didn't think much about it, walked forward quickly, picked up the corner of the quilt, saw a man curled up inside, only a broken mat under him, bare feet exposed, under the body did not know whether it was shit or urine, a pool of stains emitted a stinky smell, it seems that he has been lying here for a long time, I shouted twice, almost did not get any reaction, but sure he is still alive! This is an outdoor area of minus ten degrees, and lying down for one more minute can be fatal. We immediately tensed up. Wang Zi called the police, and I took out a water cup to try to feed him water. Wang Zi anxiously called over and over again, almost incoherently, and finally contacted the Suifujing police station.
Officer Guo Hu of Suifujing Police Station drove a police car, with four or five policemen, rushed to the scene, briefly understood the situation, found another futon, carried the old man to the police car, and went straight to the emergency room of the Exhibition Road Hospital, and we accompanied him. The Exhibition Road hospital is not large, the whole hall is smelly and dry, and the emergency room is even more so. Doctors and nurses also reacted quickly, ignoring his face full of feces and urine, and immediately checked various indicators and determined the treatment plan. Officer Guo finished the handover, greeted us, and then left. Seeing the hurried figures of the policemen and the busy situation of the doctors, Wang Zi and I were embarrassed to see how much trouble our own behavior caused to everyone.
After rescue, the old man regained consciousness, but the bad thing was that he was extremely emotionally unstable, threw the stool everywhere, and pulled out the infusion tube! The nurses cleaned and persuaded one by one, and finally he gradually controlled his emotions and actively cooperated with the doctor's treatment. After living in the emergency room for half a month, all indicators returned to normal, but the right toe was seriously frostbitten and there was a risk of amputation, so he was transferred from the emergency department to the general ward, and lived for about four months, and the hospital hired a nurse for him, and at regular intervals three meals a day.
Under the care of the hospital up and down, watching him from weak to weight gain, rejuvenation, just living in the hospital is not the way, what to do next?
The second stick is the community, the disabled persons' federation and the nursing home
During his hospitalization, we inquired about him in many ways, and because he himself had suffered a stroke, he often spoke in a toss-up and ambiguous manner. So after much effort, I finally knew that he had heard some of his situations: his family lived near West Chang'an Avenue, which belonged to the jurisdiction of the Guangming Community in Xicheng District, Beijing, and had no record of participating in the work or paying social security, and his wife and daughter had long since divorced and severed contact with him. At present, the only relatives who can be contacted are his brother, who is nine years younger, who does not have a high income and has been taking care of his old mother who suffers from cancer and his wife who is also suffering from cancer for many years, and his life is also very hard and he can't take care of himself.
With his brother's consent, we sent him to the Shangzhuang Nursing Home in Haidian District. At the same time, get in touch with the community where the elderly are located, the Guangming Community in Xicheng District. The staff of the Bright Community is anxious, and according to the reality of the elderly, the fastest way to apply for the minimum guarantee. The monthly minimum guarantee solves most of the expenses of the elderly in the nursing home, and the remaining part of it is enough through love donations.
After more than two years of this, on September 6, 2017, we sent him to Jinyu Elderly Home in Haidian District. Due to the frostbite on the old man's right foot, he has not recovered and remained disabled, so we contacted the Xicheng District Disabled Persons' Federation with the help of the Guangming Community. The staff of the Disabled Persons' Federation also properly handled the second-degree disability certificate for the elderly. Now the minimum guarantee and disability allowance add up to enough to cover the monthly pension costs of the elderly. On May 1, 2019, with the help of the Guangming community, the elderly were transferred to the Ankang Elderly Nursing Home in Daxing District, which is directly connected to the community, where the elderly can spend their old age in peace.
It is not easy to get these documents for the elderly, for me, it is mainly errands, and each errand is concentrated in the winter. Because I was still a graduate student at Beijing Normal University, riding an electric car through the streets and alleys, and I had to hurry back to school to take classes, the speed of the car did not dare to slow down slightly. Back in the classroom, it often takes half an hour to warm up. However, for the relevant departments that worry about the elderly, their hardships can be imagined, and every time I go to a department, the staff is always warmly received, so that people feel the warmth of spring everywhere at all times.
Third stick Caring people
In the process of taking care of the elderly, we cannot fail to mention many obscure caring people, and the cost of nursing homes is more than 3500 yuan a month, and it has a rising trend every year. The minimum guarantee for each month is not enough, what about the remaining gap? So we set up a WeChat group, a group of friends who are willing to dedicate love to pull in, everyone does their best every month, 30 yuan, 50 yuan, 100 yuan, everyone collects firewood and flames high, with the help of many caring people can always get through all kinds of difficulties. Among them, Yuan Zhe, a caring person, not only donated money, but also often ran errands, driving her own car to send the elderly to banks and hospitals again and again, and changing nursing homes several times. Yuan Zhe is busy at work, and every time we act, we arrange the time a week in advance, but the old man's affairs are sometimes more urgent, and Yuan Zhe has no remorse, a gang to the end.
These caring people also often go to the nursing home in groups of three or five to visit the elderly, bring some fruits and snacks to the elderly, and chat with the elderly. Up to now, we have accompanied the elderly for more than 5 years, how many years to accompany, I don't know, but the responsibility is unshirkable, no complaints, no regrets.
The fourth stick Great country
The elderly are now living peacefully in nursing homes, will not return to the past wandering life and suffer from hunger and frost, community workers are also busy with various tasks step by step, the relevant departments are also performing their duties in an orderly manner, and caring people are also willing to do other meaningful things. The matter gradually settled and began to operate automatically. But what does this self-working mechanism look like? In addition to the orderly operation of the various departments, there is also a strong chain running behind it. That is, as long as the elderly are in the nursing home for one day, they must have a day's expenditure, that is, the monthly pension cost cannot be broken. This cost is not a small burden on whom, but who does this burden ultimately fall on? Without a doubt, it is our country.
As we mentioned earlier, the old man lived in the emergency room of the Exhibition Road Hospital for half a month, lived in the ward for more than four months, and the case alone was a thick book, but this huge medical expense, who ultimately paid the bill? Who pays for the cost of the nursing staff hired by the hospital and the cost of three meals a day? Without a doubt, it is also our country.
Life is small and precious, and if I had thought about it and hadn't stopped, there would have been no more touching and profound relay of love. However, it is invaluable that through the continuous attention to a seemingly "small" life, we have personally experienced living in a strong country and a great era!
![Reporter: Wanderers and Van Bronckhorst discussed coaching, and the two sides agreed[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)