Winner of the National Medal and National Honorary Title|Lu Shengmei: Take root where the motherland and the people need it most

He went from Beijing to Jia County, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province to practice medicine; From a pediatrician to a self-taught general practitioner who is "proficient in all eighteen martial arts"; For the sake of the health of women and children, we have promoted the new method of midwifery and scientific child-rearing, and established the first formal pediatric ...... for backward small counties

   After more than half a century of perseverance, "Beijing girl" Lu Shengmei has gone from Fanghua to white hair, from "Doctor Xiaolu" to "Grandma Lu", and her commitment has also changed from "serving the people of Jia County for 50 years" to "life is endless, service is not stopped". Since her retirement, Lu Shengmei still insists on volunteering to receive medical treatment and protect the health of the people. "I just did what a doctor is supposed to do," she said. ”

  "Obey the assignment of the Motherland and go to the hardest places"

  On December 5, 1968, Lu Shengmei, who had just graduated from the pediatric major of Beijing Second Medical College (now Capital Medical University), stepped on the westbound train.

  "At that time, there was only one thought in my heart, which was to obey the assignment of the motherland and go to the most difficult place." She said.

  After a few days of taking a train or a truck, 24-year-old Lu Shengmei finally arrived at the county seat of Jiaxian County.

  "Walking to the end of the potholed dirt road, two rows of old caves with a little peeling wall skin are the county hospital." Lu Shengmei did not expect that the conditions in Jia County would be so difficult: the Loess Plateau and the Mu Us Desert meet here, and the natural environment is harsh; The county seat is surrounded by water on three sides, and the cliffs are numerous, but it is difficult to hold the Yellow River.

  In the dead of night, Lu Shengmei also secretly wiped her tears, but after crying, she threw herself into intense work. "The hospital has no subdivisions, and although my specialty is pediatrics, when the masses hear that I am a doctor from Beijing, they feel that they can see any disease." Lu Shengmei recalled.

  In order not to disappoint her patients, she seized the time to study. During the day, he sat in the clinic and went to the clinic, read books under the kerosene lamp at night, wrote dozens of notes, mastered the knowledge of internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, dermatology and other disciplines, and also learned acupuncture. In this way, Lu Shengmei became an all-rounder in the hospital.

  On a snowy morning, Lu Shengmei went to Cui's house, which was more than ten miles away from the county seat. Wearing plastic-soled cotton shoes brought from Beijing, she fell after walking a few steps in the snow, and on the downhill road near the village, she simply slipped down half-lying down, and almost became a clay figure when she arrived at the patient's home.

  "At that time, I thought that there was a sick child waiting for me, time is life, and I must move forward." Lu Shengmei said.

  "The child's mother stayed up all night and made me a pair of cloth shoes with mille-feuille soles." Lu Shengmei told reporters, "I felt the warmth of home at that time, and I felt that every stitch on this shoe was the love of Jia County people for me." ”

  "Since you have promised, you can't back down"

  A visit experience that shocked Lu Shengmei to this day made her make a commitment to "serve the people of Jia County for 50 years".

  It was the second year that Lu Shengmei came to Jia County. Once, she rushed to the home of a expectant mother, and when she entered, the woman had already given birth, sitting on a bloodstained dirt bag, and the family, fearing that the mother was unconscious, tugged at her hair and prepared to cut the umbilical cord with a pair of black scissors.

  "At that time, there was a disease in Jia County, called 'Four Six Winds', with a case fatality rate of nearly 100%, which was actually neonatal tetanus." Lu Shengmei said that seeing such a scene, she finally knew how those newborn tetanus came about.

  At the moment of emergency, Lu Shengmei rushed over and grabbed the scissors, and while explaining, she quickly took out the medical equipment and cut the umbilical cord and wrapped the child.

  After returning, Lu Shengmei thought for a long time, and made up her mind to promote the new method of midwifery, popularize medical and health knowledge, and change the backward medical conditions here.

  In the years since, although she has had the opportunity to leave Jia County to work in a big hospital or even return to Beijing, she finally chose to stick to her original intention.

  Lu Shengmei said: "The people here need me. Now that you have promised, you can't back down! ”

  In the 80s of the 20th century, Lu Shengmei was successively selected to study in Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Shaanxi Provincial Pediatric Attending Physician Class.

  "The people of Jia County need me, and my husband and children can't do without me." Lu Shengmei still chose to return to Jia County.

  In 1983, Lu Shengmei founded the Department of Pediatrics in Jia County People's Hospital, became the first director of pediatrics, and has trained more than 50 professional pediatricians and pediatric nurses. Lu Shengmei said: "At that time, Jia County Hospital was a relatively backward county hospital in Yulin, but its pediatric level, especially pediatric venipuncture technology, was among the best. ”

  In the 90s of the 20th century, Lu Shengmei, as the vice president of the hospital, led the staff of the hospital to successfully establish a second-class hospital and a baby-friendly hospital, which further improved the level of local disease diagnosis and treatment. Today, what was once a "cave hospital" has been transformed into a modern hospital.

  "I want to strive to live and serve"

  In 1999, Lu Shengmei retired. She refused a high-paying offer from a hospital in another place; Her children wanted to take her to the city for retirement, but she didn't agree.

  "As a doctor, there is no retirement age for relieving patients' pain." She chose to continue to stay in Jia County and provide free medical treatment for the masses.

  Three times a week, Lu Shengmei will take turns at Jia County People's Hospital and Jia County Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. When she is not in the hospital, patients come to her home to look for her.

  In an alley not far from the Jiaxian County People's Hospital, the two-hole cave at the end is Lu Shengmei's home.

  "My address is known to a lot of people, and my phone number is more like a 'health hotline.'" Lu Shengmei said with a smile, she had to answer the phone when she came, and she would call back immediately if she was not free for a while, "What if it is a sudden illness?" There can be no delay".

  In 2019, 50 years have passed since Lu Shengmei's promise, but she still has not left Jia County, "I want to strive to live and serve."

  Free clinics, participation in pediatric team training, participation in elderly volunteer service teams...... This gray-haired, thin old lady always seems to have endless energy and busy work.　　

  "Because there is a responsibility on the shoulders and a mission in the heart." On the way to the clinic, Lu Shengmei walked vigorously, and her vigorous and resolute style was the same as back then.

  Half of the people in Jia County have looked for Lu Shengmei to see a doctor, and she is a relative of the people of Jia County. "I am like a kite, no matter where I am, the string is always in the hands of the patient." Lu Shengmei said, "As long as the masses need me, my service will not end." ”

Source: Xinhuanet

Editor: Ma Pengfei