Zhong Nanshan on the high-speed train to Wuhan
On January 18, 2020, a photo exploded on the Internet: on the G1022 high-speed train from Guangzhou to Wuhan, the 84-year-old academician Zhong Nanshan closed his eyes and took a nap on the train, his face tired. It was the 24th day of the lunar month, the annual Spring Festival, and the train station was crowded with passengers preparing to return to their hometowns for the Chinese New Year.
Su Yueming, Zhong Nanshan's assistant, wrote affectionately in his diary of the war epidemic: "In the station, there are many people, people on the way home, full of joy, almost no one wears masks." In the ocean of joy, how many people know that there are hidden reefs? ”
This photograph shows the boldness and fortitude of an octogenarian to the fullest. At this moment, the epidemic situation in Wuhan is unknown, and Zhong Nanshan shoulders the heavy responsibility of the Party Central Committee and the people of the whole country, which is another historic moment. Chinese people who have experienced the SARS epidemic can hardly forget the words that Zhong Nanshan said in 2003: Send critically ill patients to me!
Dare to face the truth and take responsibility, the 84-year-old Zhong Nanshan once again shouldered the burden of history. As the state media commented on social platforms:
"17 years ago, fighting in the front line of the fight against SARS, and now fighting the forefront of epidemic prevention, 84-year-old Zhong Nanshan has the profession of academician, the courage of a soldier, and the responsibility of a national soldier. Running tirelessly all the way, full of responsibility for the country and the people, it is indeed awe-inspiring! Thank you to Zhong Nanshan, thank you to the doctors who are carrying heavy loads, and thank you to all those who have worked hard to prevent and control the epidemic. Unity of purpose and determination to win this epidemic prevention and control war! ”
Academician Zhong Nanshan
Today's Zhong Nanshan has long been a household name, and few people may know that in 1984, when Marshal Ye Jianying's illness was urgent, Zhong Nanshan was urgently notified by the central government to enter Beijing. This time, what role did Zhong Nanshan play in it, and what is the untold story in it?
In 1979, the 82-year-old Marshal Ye Jianying was still busy with state affairs, and staying up late to work was even more commonplace, and he did not care about his physical condition at all. For a while, Ye Jianying walked very unsteadily, and the range of steps he took was getting smaller and smaller, which made the staff around him very anxious.
Ye Jianying was also in charge of the daily work of the Central Military Commission at that time, and it was difficult to find time to check. Seeing that Ye Jianying's body was in trouble, the staff around him were very worried, and if it was really a physical problem, it would miss the best treatment time. However, Ye Jianying was still too busy.
The health doctor's examination of Ye Jianying's body can only be arranged in between his work, and this examination is not systematic, and it is difficult for experts to accurately diagnose the condition for a while. Every time he saw the sad faces of the staff around him, Ye Jianying was very calm, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, I may be suffering from difficult diseases, but I can't find the cause." You have worked so hard to observe, record, and examine that it is not easy to name names. I'll give it a name myself, and I'll call it an incurable disease. ”
Seeing that Ye Jianying's condition was getting worse, the staff reported the matter to Deng Xiaoping. In 1980, the Central Health Commission was instructed by Deng Xiaoping to set up a special medical team for Ye Jianying, composed of doctors from the PLA General Hospital.
Ye Jianying and Premier Zhou
The medical team's job is to regularly examine Ye Jianying's body and at the same time need to treat her health and treatment. The medical team was worried and anxious. Ye Jianying was already an 83-year-old man at this time, if the condition could not be diagnosed in time, it would not be possible to treat the symptoms, so as to delay his physical health, how will he account to the motherland and the people?
In view of this, the medical team made a detailed diagnosis plan, and soon Ye Jianying's condition was finally clarified, and he suffered from "Parkinson's disease." "This disease is most common in middle-aged and elderly people over the age of 65, and the main symptoms include lung infection, resting tremor, muscle stiffness, stiffness, slow movement, gait balance abnormalities, etc.
The disease is very dangerous for the 83-year-old Ye Jianying, which can cause lung infection once it occurs, and requires long bed rest infusion treatment. For example, in July 1979, Ye Jianying went to Yantai, Shandong Province, to inspect the work. Due to the sudden change in the weather in Yantai, Ye Jianying was difficult to adapt to for a while, he first had a cold, and within two days he caused a lung infection.
The members of the medical team who went with them were very anxious, and due to the poor medical conditions in the local area, they persuaded Ye Jianying to return to Beijing for treatment immediately. Ye Jianying said very calmly, "Don't worry, it will get better soon!" The medical team was stubborn, but it consulted with the local hospital doctor, fortunately the treatment was timely, and with Ye Jianying's treatment, the condition quickly improved.
Ye Jianying
Since then, Ye Jianying has not given up his work to recuperate, but has frequently left Beijing to inspect the work in various places, hoping to contribute the last bit of strength to the country. For example, at the closing session of the Second Session of the Fifth National People's Congress in 1979, Ye Jianying said:
"The central task of the mainland at this stage is to realize the four modernizations, which is a very arduous struggle. There will still be difficulties of one kind or another on the way forward, there are still many new problems that need to be solved, and there are many new jobs that we need to learn. The workers, peasants, and intellectuals of all nationalities on the mainland have socialist ideological consciousness, take the overall situation into consideration, are industrious, courageous, and are not afraid of difficulties..."
On September 29 of that year, Ye Jianying spoke again at the commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China:
The consolidation of the country, the stability of society, and the improvement of the people's material and cultural life all ultimately depend on the success of modernization and the development of production. All our work should revolve around the modernization of this center and serve this center. Every region, every department, every unit, and even an individual in the country should be judged by the direct and indirect contributions they have made to the modernization drive. All cadres and the people of the whole country must go all out, concentrate their minds, concentrate their minds, and race against time to plunge themselves into this great cause of construction. We must strive to increase production, strictly practice economy, sweep away waste, improve efficiency, innovate technology, constantly tap new production potential, open up new production channels, and increase new social wealth. ”
When it came to "racing against the clock", Ye Jianying obviously intensified his tone, obviously knowing that he was old and desperately hoping that the country could become strong as soon as possible. Therefore, the medical team also "raced against the clock" to examine and treat Ye Jianying. Fast forward to 1982, Ye Jianying's health has been mixed and bad.
In the spring, Ye Jianying was plagued by diseases, and with the influence of rainy weather, lung infections often occurred once in a few days. During this period, Ye Jianying had to stay in bed for a period of intravenous infusion treatment, which was originally a very simple thing, but it was not easy for Ye Jianying.
Ye Jianying, who is more than 80 years old, has very thin blood vessels, coupled with frequent infusions, and the nurses are quite nervous, and it is difficult to ensure that the infusion needle is successful. Once, a nurse failed to find a blood vessel after two consecutive needles, and she was nervous. The nervousness of the nurses could not escape Ye Jianying's keen eyes.
Ye Jianying comforted her: "I don't blame you for this, this responsibility should be on me, my blood vessels are in trouble!" Ye Jianying's understanding and care made the nurses very moved. When everyone is idle, they will always communicate together: "The health care work of the central leaders is a glorious and arduous task, and it is not allowed to be careless and make mistakes. ”
When people reach old age, due to physiological decline, they are not as good as young people in all aspects, not to mention that Ye Jianying is in that position, and his pressure can be imagined, and he has always wanted to withdraw from the post of central leadership as soon as possible. From September 1 to 11, 1982, the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing.
This was a meeting of great historical significance, marking the party's successful realization of a great transformation of great historical significance, which began to bring China into a new political track of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, and forever recorded in history by comprehensively opening up a new situation in socialist modernization.
At this conference, Ye Jianying quoted Li Shangyin's "Tonghua Wanli Danshan Road, Young Fengqing yu Lao Fengsheng" as a mockery, explaining: "Those who come after are on top, and the young will surpass the old." It can be said that this is a basic law of historical development and social progress. ”
Ye Jianying also said affectionately: "I am 85 years old this year, old and sick, I am unable to do things, from the sake of the party's cause, I have repeatedly asked to withdraw from the leading post, before the central authorities did not decide that I quit, when I did my best, 'bow down, die and then have'." ”
Ye Jianying said this and did the same. In February 1983, as his term as chairman of the Fifth National People's Congress was expiring, he wrote to the People's Congress Committee requesting that he not be nominated as a candidate for chairmanship of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress.
Considering Ye Jianying's physical condition, the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People's Congress agreed to his request and wrote him a reply to commend him for his great achievements in history for the party and the people, and to highly praise the hard and fruitful work he did during his tenure as chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.
On the evening of November 19, 1983, Ye Jianying sat at home for dinner as usual. Before dinner, Ye Jianying felt chest tightness, and the staff around him immediately helped him to go to bed to rest, and notified the medical team at the first time. Doctors conducted a preliminary examination of Ye Jianying and diagnosed him with "acute high lateral wall small focal myocardial infarction." ”
However, after treatment, Ye Jianying's physical condition was not as optimistic as expected. In January 1984, the 87-year-old Ye Jianying's pneumonia recurred again. The central government asked the medical team to do its best to rescue Ye Jianying, and assigned Wang Minqing, then deputy director of the office of the Central Health Commission, to join the medical team.
A week later, Ye Jianying's condition was temporarily brought under control. Time entered July, Ye Jianying's condition deteriorated. Wang Minqing participated in the whole process of Ye Jianying's treatment during his serious illness, and he recalled in his later years: "The elderly Ye Jianying had symptoms in almost all systems of his body. This complicated situation was the first time in my life that we called this rescue the 'Huaihai Campaign' in the history of health care. ’”
At that time, all the members of the medical team had a belief that they must go all out, and everyone gathered in a hall to monitor and rescue Ye Jianying day and night. Wang Minqing said: "No matter day or night, at any time according to the changes in the condition, timely consultation and treatment. In the most stressful few days, 24 hours without leaving the hall, everyone persevered under extreme exhaustion. I was so sleepy, so I found a corner to lean in and squinted for a while. ”
Ye Jianying's illness has worried the hearts of countless people, but he is still in danger. Seeing that the "August 1st" Founding Day was approaching, considering Ye Jianying's illness, the central authorities decided not to hold a routine military founding day celebration for the time being. In addition, the administrators of the Great Hall of the People have also received notices from their superiors not to arrange other activities here in the near future, and they have also asked them to arrange the memorial service venue and even let people prepare wreaths, which is the worst plan.
The condition was so critical, but the medical team did not give up its efforts, and everyone thought it was necessary to arrange for authoritative experts from the respiratory system to come to Beijing. Wang Minqing immediately thought of a person, Zhong Nanshan, an associate professor at Guangzhou Medical College. When Zhong Nanshan officially became a doctor, he was 36 years old.
Zhong Shifan family portrait
On October 20, 1936, Zhong Nanshan was born in Nanjing, a medical family. His father, Zhong Shifan, graduated from Peking Union Medical College and later received his MD from the State University of New York, and after returning to China, he became an attending physician in the Department of Pediatrics at Nanjing Central Hospital. Her mother, Liao Yueqin, graduated from Peking Union Medical College in her early years with a senior nursing major, served as the vice president of the Cancer Hospital of Sun Yat-sen Medical University, and was the founder of guangdong Provincial Cancer Hospital.
Before the fall of Nanjing in December 1937, Zhong Shifan led a family to Guiyang. In 1946, Zhong Shifan was appointed by the Nationalist government as the vice president of Guangzhou Central Hospital. Zhong Shifan works hard, staying up late is almost a common thing, and has always adhered to the belief that "the so-called doctor's duty is to cure the disease and save people".
When the Kuomintang defeated the mainland, the superiors asked Zhong Shifan to lead the family to withdraw to Taiwan as soon as possible. Zhong Shifan flatly refused, firmly saying: "I am Chinese I have to stay here, not leave." After the People's Liberation Army entered the city, Zhong Shifan counted all the materials in the hospital and handed them over to the Military Control Commission.
Under the influence of his parents, the young Zhong Nanshan became interested in medicine. Many years later, Zhong Nanshan recalled: "I think that when a doctor can solve problems for others, he will be respected by society and have a strong sense of satisfaction." In 1955, Zhong Nanshan was admitted to the medical department of Beijing Medical College (now Peking University Medical College).
Zhong Nanshan young photo
In college, Zhong Nanshan is not only a bully, but also actively participates in extracurricular activities, athletics, swimming, basketball and so on are his hobbies. For example, in September 1959, Zhong Nanshan won the 400-meter hurdles championship at the first National Games, and once broke the national record.
However, Zhong Nanshan's path to practicing medicine was not smooth. Zhong Nanshan said: "When I was in college, I was a teacher, engaged in a new major, and later engaged in radiobiochemistry. Always obey the distribution, always be a pacesetter, advanced. So, from 1960 to 1971, I didn't work as a doctor for 11 years. Being a doctor is my desire, but not something I can choose. ”
In 1971, Zhong Nanshan left Beijing and returned to Guangzhou, where he entered the Fourth People's Hospital of Guangzhou (now the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University) and became a doctor, who was 36 years old. It was also one day this year that Zhong Shifan, who had never liked to talk, suddenly asked his son: "Nanshan, how old is this year?" ”
Zhong Nanshan was suddenly confused by the question, he did not understand his father's intentions, and directly replied: "36 years old." "Alas, they are all 36 years old..." Zhong Shifan sighed deeply and did not say anything more. That night, Zhong Nanshan stayed up all night. Later, Zhong Nanshan often said a sentence, "My medical career began at the age of 36!" ”
Zhong Nanshan work photo
Soon after entering the hospital, there was a medical accident, Zhong Nanshan misdiagnosed a patient who coughed up blood as tuberculosis, and the patient almost died. This misdiagnosis incident greatly stimulated Zhong Nanshan, who began to work hard and learn from Yu Zhen, a female doctor in the hospital, starting from the most basic things, how to deal with patients and what kind of examination to do. After returning from work in the evening, Zhong Nanshan continued to stay up late to study, carefully writing down his experience in a notebook, and also using his spare time to learn medical terminology and professional English.
Yu Zhen later recalled: "However, in two or three months, the original thick and black athlete physique has been reduced by more than one yard; a young man with a round head full of cheeks, glowing eyes, and a smile that is often open has become a tall cheek, deep-eyed, serious face, and is thinking about problems when he walks; the white coat that was originally tight on his body actually looks flowing and loose." ”
With more than half a year's efforts, Zhong Nanshan's level of medical practice has improved rapidly, and colleagues have commented that he is "worthy of an attending doctor." After working in the hospital's emergency department for a while, fate once again made him change direction. At that time, the research on respiratory diseases in China was quite backward, and the Fourth People's Hospital of Guangzhou Undertook the task of forming a chronic bronchitis prevention and treatment team.
Zhong Nanshan considered himself a party member and joined the group, which laid the groundwork for him to become a marshal who later participated in the rescue of Ye Jianying. There were 3 people in this group at that time, the group leader Hou Shu, the female doctor Yu Zhen and Zhong Nanshan. In March 1978, the First National Science Congress of China was held in Beijing.
As a representative of Guangdong Province, Zhong Nanshan also participated in this conference of great historical significance. Not only that, the paper "Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Tracheitis in Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine" written by Zhong Nanshan and Associate Professor Hou Shu was awarded the first prize of the National Science Conference Achievements.
In 1979, Zhong Nanshan and 16 other people were selected to study in Britain for two years, and Zhong Nanshan served as the leader of the group. Zhong Nanshan entered the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom for further study, under the door of his mentor Professor Freeland. Zhong Nanshan cherished this learning opportunity very much and worked hard. Professor Freeland later said with emotion: "In my academic career, I have worked with scholars from many countries, but frankly, I have never met a scholar who is as diligent as Dr. Zhong, who has cooperated so well and effectively. ”
In 1981, at the age of 45, Zhong Nanshan gave up his high-paying job in Britain and resolutely returned to his homeland. After returning to China, Zhong Nanshan became an associate professor at Guangzhou Medical College, and he became one of the authorities on respiratory diseases in the country. On the evening of July 11, 1984, Zhong Nanshan was checking the patient's medical records in his office.
Suddenly, the phone on the desk rang rapidly. As soon as Zhong Nanshan answered the phone, the voice of Liu Zhengshu, secretary of the party committee of Guangzhou Medical College, came from the other end: "Professor Zhong, the Guangzhou Military Region will immediately send a car to pick you up at the airport." They're going to arrange for you to go to Beijing, remembering that this mission is top secret. ”
Zhong Nanshan immediately realized that the situation was serious, and after simply cleaning up, the car had come downstairs. Just half an hour later, a military plane took off from Guangzhou and headed for Beijing... At 9:30 p.m. that night, Zhong Nanshan appeared in Ye Jianying's rescue room. Under the guidance of Zhong Nanshan, the rescue of Ye Jianying was quite smooth, and he gradually woke up from his coma.
A month later, the central leadership received all the medical staff involved in the rescue of Ye Jianying and praised everyone: "You have created a miracle in the history of medical treatment. With the efforts of Zhong Nanshan and others, Ye Jianying's life lasted for more than two years. On October 22, 1986, Ye Jianying died in Beijing at the age of 89.
Today, Academician Zhong Nanshan is 86 years old, and he is still fighting in the forefront of serving the country and the people. Whenever someone asked Zhong Nanshan when he would retire, he always said, "I'm not old, I can still do something!" "What is a national soldier, this is a national soldier!"