Knowing that his wife was admitted to the hospital and about to give birth, Fan Lei was on his way to disaster relief.
At noon on July 25, the leader urged him to hurry home on the phone. Fan Lei was anxious and worried, but still decided to wait until the next morning, lead the convoy back to Luoyang, and then go to the hospital to take care of his wife.
The leader was anxious, "You must give me back now!" ”
Fan Lei was an instructor of an industrial brigade of the 83rd Group Army. Since receiving the task of fighting floods on July 21, he has successively provided disaster relief in the guojiazui reservoir in Zhengzhou City and in Mihe Town and Xiaoguan Town in Gongyi City.
On the evening of the 25th, nearly 10 o'clock, he rushed back to a hospital in Luoyang after completing the task, and his wife Han Xiaoxiao cried in his arms. The next morning, Fan Lei, who had not yet had time to change his clothes, took a body of mud and picked up his son who had just come into this world.
This was the first time the father and son had met, and Fan Lei's rough hand gently caressed the child's pure and soft face.
Han Xiaoxiao named the little guy "Wait." "My wife and children have been waiting for me to return safely from the frontline of flood fighting, and they have really waited for me." Fan Lei said with a smile.
On July 25, seeing her husband return, the military sister-in-law who was waiting to give birth burst into tears, and Fan Lei hugged his wife to comfort him. Courtesy of respondents
Disaster relief: The mud did not reach the knee, and I could not pull out my feet if I was not careful
Fan Lei did not expect the child to be so "anxious". According to previous examinations, the wife's due date of delivery is August 4.
On July 21, Fan Lei's unit received a mission to rush to the front line of Zhengzhou to participate in flood relief due to heavy rainstorms in Henan. Although Han Xiaoxiao was worried, he also understood his work. She told Fan Lei to pay attention to safety and complete the task well.
Fan Lei thought that the task was completed, and maybe in early August, he would be able to catch up with the birth of the child.
The team first came to Guojiazui in Zhengzhou City to clean up the silt of the reservoir. Two days later, on July 23, they moved to Mihe Town and Xiaoguan Town in Gongyi City. Gongyi was seriously affected, and the 122 officers and men of the battalion were divided into five or six points, and Fan Lei took 20 people to take charge of one of the points, the Mihe Health Center.
"The south side of the Mihe Health Center is the Shuishui River, the river surface is nearly 100 meters wide, but there is no protective facilities around, it is close to the hospital, and after the flood, the hospital was flooded with silt." Fan Lei told the Beijing News reporter that at the most serious time, the silt reached more than 2 meters high, and all the rooms on the first floor of the hospital were flooded in the silt.
The task of Fan Lei's party was to help clean up the silt.
"When we went, the mud had already gone down a part, and there was still about 1 meter." Fan Lei said that when people walk into the hospital corridor, the mud can reach above the knee, walking is also difficult, and if the combat boots are not tight, the feet are stuck inside and cannot be pulled out.
Difficulties are indispensable. Due to the shortage of tools, each officer and soldier only has a shovel, the hospital contacted several small excavators and bulldozers, people and machines cooperate with each other, but indoors, mechanical work is always a lot of inconvenience, or mainly rely on labor. In addition, there are many medical facilities in the hospital, and some officers and soldiers have been punctured and scratched by nails and glass shards.
Living conditions are also harsh. The officers and men lived in a long-abandoned factory building in Xiaoguan Town, laying floors in the corridors. In the hot weather, there is no water and electricity here, and there are many mosquitoes.
At the end of the busy day, the officers and men were covered in mud, and it was difficult to take a hard bath. Contact the local place where there is a well, pull the water through the tanker truck, and simply rinse it.
The weather was hot and humid, the washed clothes had not yet dried, and the clothes on their bodies were soaked, so everyone wore wet clothes to work.
Fan Lei (first from right) and his comrades in arms on a dredging mission at the Mihe Town Health Center. Courtesy of respondents
Home: Originally more than 1 hour of walking for 4 hours
The work on the front lines is being done in an orderly manner.
Busy during the day and poor signal, Fan Lei called or sent a message to Han Xiaoxiao at night to report that he was safe.
By the morning of July 25, most of the silt in the hospital had been cleared. At less than 1 p.m., Fan Lei was rushing from the garrison to the Mihe Health Center with officers and soldiers to prepare for the final clean-up work. At this time, he received a call from the leader, "Let me seize the time to go back, the family will give birth." ”
In fact, at more than 9 o'clock in the morning, Han Xiaoxiao was admitted to the hospital because of abdominal pain. She called Fan Lei, but because of the poor signal, Fan Lei did not receive it. She left a message saying, "You stay safe outside, don't worry about me, I'm strong." ”
Van Ray is a bit of a blindside, which is more than 10 days away from the due date. He remembered that when Han Xiaoxiao did the pregnancy test before, he found that the child had an umbilical cord around the neck for three weeks, and fear and nervousness all came to his head. After several days of continuous combat, he did not shout tired, and tears flowed down.
But he decided to go home after the mission was completed.
After the final dredging work was completed, it was around 7 p.m. The leader arranged a car for him and asked several comrades-in-arms to take him home. After getting on the road, Fan Lei did not contact Han Xiaoxiao, "I want to surprise her." ”
Along the way, Fan Lei was impatient. Originally more than an hour away, they took almost 4 hours. "When we were still a kilometer or two away from the highway, we suddenly found that the road ahead was washed away by the river, and we looked for a new route, delaying the time." It was almost 10 o'clock that night, and Fan Lei finally arrived at the hospital.
Pushing open the door of the ward, Han Xiaoxiao turned his head and was stunned for a moment. After the surprise was an uncontrollable cry, "I have been so many grievances in my heart, and suddenly I vented out." Fan Lei took her in his arms and carefully wiped away her tears with a tissue.
He was guilty. Although the family members were stationed in the army station, the two could only see each other once every two weeks. His wife was pregnant in October, he didn't take much care of her, and he always felt that he owed her a lot.
On July 25, Han Xiaoxiao was extremely surprised to see her husband Fan Lei, who should have been on the front line of the flood fight, suddenly appear. Courtesy of respondents
Birth: "Wait" is very cooperative
Five hours after Fan Lei arrived at the hospital, at 4 a.m. on July 26, Han Xiaoxiao entered the delivery room.
He was afraid that the umbilical cord that wrapped around the child's neck would bring accidents. After 6 hours of tension, at 10:45 a.m., the white and fat boy was pushed out, and about half an hour later, Han Xiaoxiao also came out safely. The mother and son were at peace, and his heart was finally released.
"This kid is also more cooperative." Fan Lei joked.
During the time he came to the hospital, he did not have the time or heart to change his clothes. When he picked up the soft, pure baby, he was wearing the camouflage suit that was sticky with dirt.
"I am very excited to see a small life born, and it is not easy to think of my mother, and I feel a lot of guilt for his mother and son."
In the past two days, Fan Lei has been taking care of the mother and son in the hospital. Letting go of the hard shovel, his heart unfolded a soft side, gentle and careful from his arms to his fingertips. Fan Lei walked with Han Xiaoxiao, helped her change her clothes, washed her clothes, and changed her child's diaper. He is a novice in this regard, and when he does these chores, he only feels that "tired is very tired, but very happy".
This is not the same as when he was on the front line of disaster relief, but it is somewhat similar. "It is also very tired, sleep can not be guaranteed, but can get the affirmation of the people, the heart is still very content."
Comrades-in-arms and leaders were busy sending blessings. He was grateful to the people who urged him to come back that day, "After I wanted to complete the task before, I would rush back the next day." If you come the next day, it is estimated that it will be noon or afternoon here, and you may miss the time of birth of the child. Fan Lei felt lucky.
Next, he was ready to take care of his wife for a few more days. "But if the front line still needs it, I want to apply to go back and get the mission done."
Beijing News reporter Peng Chong correspondent Ma Liang Yin Hao Jia Fangwen intern He Yu
Edited by Zuo Yanyan
Proofreading Li Lijun