Bethune
Norman Bethune, born in March 1890 in gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada, is a prominent thoracic surgeon and internationalist fighter. Chinese, the year after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he led a medical team composed of Canadians and Americans through Yan'an, crossed the Yellow River, crossed the Zhengtai Road blockade line, and reached the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Area, far behind the enemy, on June 4. In the following year and seven months, he not only served as a health consultant of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, but also spared no effort to devote himself to the treatment of the wounded and sick of the Eighth Route Army and the construction of medical and health undertakings in the base areas, and finally died in Tang County, Hebei Province, due to the rescue of the wounded infected and poisoned. On December 11, 1939, Comrade Mao Zedong spoke highly of Bethune's internationalist spirit in his article "In Memory of Bethune". He said: "Comrade Bethune's spirit of selflessness and specialization is manifested in his extreme responsibility for his work and his extreme enthusiasm for comrades and the people. Every Communist Party member must learn from him. Comrade Mao Zedong's words are best confirmed by Bethune's activities in Shanxi in those years.
Creation of Matsuiwaguchi Model Hospital
Bethune and his medical team came here in the early days of the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region, when conditions were very poor in all aspects, especially when medical and health work was in urgent need of foreign assistance.
In May 1938, Bethune led a medical team across the Yellow River to the Jin-Cha-Ji anti-Japanese base area
Just about half a year ago, the Kuomintang army had retreated in its entirety, and the main force of the Eighth Route Army was also ordered to move to southeastern Jin to fight, and only Nie Rongzhen, deputy commander of the 115th Division, led a small number of troops to stay at Mount Wutai to carry out work behind enemy lines and create anti-Japanese base areas. Of the few troops, the medical staff is even more pitiful, with only 25, of which 15 are caregivers.
In sharp contrast, however, there were more than 690 wounded soldiers, including friendly troops, and there was no anesthetic necessary for surgery in the whole border area; gauze bandages were washed and washed and still used; Western medicine was often replaced by picking up herbs to make pills and cream tinctures; as for instruments, probes were made of iron wire, pliers were actually iron sheets, and saw bones and saw trees were made of the same saw... Therefore, when Bethune came to Wutai County with a large number of drugs, microscopes, X-rays and a set of surgical instruments, it was tantamount to sending charcoal to this anti-Japanese base area.
At that time, the Ministry of Health of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region was located in Hebei Village, GengZhen, Wutai County. Except for one of the three rear hospitals in Hebei Village, the other two were built in the nearby village of Hexi and Songyankou. Although he had just gone through a long march, Bethune came to the military region's ministry of health from Jiaotangzhuang, the headquarters of the military region, the next day, and demanded that he immediately put into work. After receiving approval, he led a medical team to tour between the three rear hospitals day and night. It soon became apparent that, more valuable than the drugs and apparatus that Bethune had brought, he had brought with him a high level of medical technology, amazing organizational skills, and especially infinite enthusiasm for the revolutionary cause of the Chinese people.
In the first week, Bethune examined more than 520 wounded and sick people. Most of these wounded and sick were Eighth Route Army soldiers wounded in the Battle of Pingxingguan, and some were friendly troops who hung up their colors during the Battle of Nankou. Due to the lack of medical equipment and technical problems, they have been lying in the hospital for a long time and cannot get effective treatment. After figuring out the condition of the wounded and sick, Bethune began the operation from the second week. He worked 18 hours a day for four weeks to finally deal with the injuries of all the wounded and sick. After a short period of post-operative recuperation, 147 wounded and sick people returned to the front line with a strong physique.
Bethune examines the body of the wounded (photo by Sha Fei)
It was during this time in the rear hospital that Bethune discovered many problems in the hospital and proposed many improvements from the organization, cleaning, and establishment of various necessary equipment, which made significant progress in all three hospitals. Bethune was very happy to see it, but he did not take it as a foot, because the current situation was still far from the standard of the hospital in his mind. In order to completely change the appearance of the rear hospital, Bethune personally formulated a "five-week plan" with the goal of building a model hospital. Since then, in addition to being busy with medical treatment, prescription, surgery and other work every day, he has put a lot of energy into the preparation of the model hospital.
The preparatory work revolves mainly around both material and technical aspects. Under Bethune's guidance, carpenters made thigh fractured traction frames, patient wooden beds, and various lumber utensils; blacksmiths made toma's splints and iron basin barrels; tinsmiths built probes, tweezers, and pliers; tailors sewed sheets, mattresses, and pillows, and prepared them well for the facilities. Every other day from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., Bethune also gives medical staff professional classes. Without teaching materials, he wrote, drew, and taught on a blackboard. However, before long, he used the evening time to write a lecture note for doctors and nurses, "The Beginning of Healing". This handout, which included first aid, emergency, medicine, anatomy, preliminary physiology, trauma treatment, and the application of splints, was later printed by the Anti-Enemy Newspaper in the name of Taihang Bookstore, solving the difficulty of not having a textbook. In this way, after nearly two months of hard work, a brand-new hospital was finally built in Songyankou Village.
Bethune and carpentry work together to make medical equipment
This model hospital consists of two wounded and sick yards. At first, each had a different name, one called "Zhongshan Hospital", one called "Mao Zedong Hospital", and later the whole was called "International Peace Hospital". The hospital is equipped with a reception room for the wounded, a doctor's office, a department of internal and external affairs, a Roche treatment room, a Roche traction room, a toma's splint room and a ward. The house is equipped with a new washbasin shelf and a divided wooden cupboard. Inside the wooden cupboard were medicine jars, rice bowls, and vegetable bowls for the wounded and sick. Next to the bed are iron spittoons, urinals and urinals. On the snow-white walls hung medical records, temperature tables, ward rules, pictorials and green political slogans. The yard is decorated with flowers to beautify the environment. In addition, the hospital also has a bathhouse and a casino for the wounded and sick to bathe and relax, showing a new atmosphere everywhere.
Group photo with military and political leaders of the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region after the inauguration ceremony of the Model Hospital: Nie Rongzhen (second from left) and Bethune (fourth from left) (photo by Sha Fei)
On September 15, Nie Rongzhen, commander of the Military Region, Song Shaowen, director of the Administrative Committee of the Border Region, and thousands of people, including representatives of troops, organs, mass organizations, medical workers, and local people, jointly held the inauguration ceremony for the model hospital. With the establishment of the model hospital, the medical and health conditions and treatment technology in the base areas have undergone great changes. Especially through Bethune's careful guidance, all doctors and caregivers have greatly improved in surgical dressing and disinfection techniques. The mortality rate of wounded and sick people has decreased, while the number of discharges has increased to more than fifty per cent.
bibliography:
1. "The Third Fascicle of the Second Series of China Reportage Literature Series", edited by the Editorial Committee of the China Reportage Literature Series, Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House, July 1982, 1st Edition.
2. "Records of the Conquest of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army", by Feng Jie, Pla.
(Note: The photos in the text are from the Internet except for the author's work)