Female soldiers help out in quake-hit Taiping

Sun Jin, head nurse of the gynecology and obstetrics department, delivers the first "quake baby" in Taiping on April 23.

The first "quake baby" in Taiping is born smoothly.

With more than 20 years of experience delivering children, Sun kept the woman stable and taught her how to give a natural birth. The "quake baby" was born 46 minutes later in the temporary delivery room.

"I have never delivered a baby under such poor conditions," Sun said, "and I have never been as proud as when I saw the newborn baby."

Liu Liu, a senior nurse in the operating room, performed more than 30 debridement operations and surgical sutures for quake victims each day in the first half of the month since she arrived at the town.

Despite the hard work, she would never forget to comfort the patients and their relatives: "Don't worry. We are here."

Hu Yuejun, a man from Taiping's Shengli village, was sent to the medical center on the evening of April 29. There was a bloody, 5-centimeter wound on the man's head.

Liu quickly cleaned and stitched the wound with her teammate, bringing the man out of danger.

Liu got a call from her mother, informing the passing of her grandmother. Liu didn't tell anyone.

Her teammate Wang Hongmei heard the phone call by accident and told Yao Rong, leader of the medical team. When asked about the reason, Liu said, "My family needs me, but the victims here need me more."

He Ming, senior nurse of the hematology department, visited all six villages in Taiping, including Chunguang village, also called "leprosy village" by nearby villagers.

The village was a place to quarantine lepers in the 1960s. Although the disease is no longer incurable, the nearby villagers are still afraid to go to the village.

"Go away! This is the leprosy village," an old woman warned He and her teammates when they arrived at the village. "Yes, we know," He replied with a smile.

The youngest member of the medical team ran into a 71-year-old leper in the village. He diagnosed the old woman, finding that she was suffering from a cataract and severe pain in her right eye. Her limbs were deformed and her left eye blind.

"I was a little afraid when I saw the patient, but soon I felt the responsibility to help her," He said.

He and her team took the patient to the General Hospital for future treatment several days later. The woman was given surgical treatment on May 7 and is now in recovery.