“The frontline needs me!” 22yo Nurse Endures Painful Bloodshot Hands To Treat Wuhan Patients Daily

As the Wuhan novel coronavirus continues to keep many people on edge across the world due to its highly infectious nature, by far and wide the people who have most reason to be worried are the medical staff who have been working night and day to ensure that those who are infected with the virus get the necessary help they need to get back on track, health-wise. This is proven by the lengths that they are willing to go, from shaving their heads to sleeping on floors.

Source: the straits times

But another heartbreaking spectacle, recently reported by China Press, might just tug at your heartstrings. According to the Chinese daily, a 22-year-old nurse left her family home for Wuhan, just so she could help out those who have been stricken with the novel coronavirus that has now spread all across China.

Source: china press

What makes her story especially moving is her dedication to her job, which she shows in a letter that she penned herself and was about to send home to her family. In it, she revealed that as a child born during the 90s, she was protected by medical staff to ensure that she didn’t contract the SARS outbreak that happened between 2002 to 2003.

“It’s now our turn as 90s kids to protect the rest of the world. The frontline needs me! They need us, young people of the 90s!”

Working at the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Children’s Hospital in the Hunan Province where Wuhan is also located, the 22-year-old nurse, who is only known as Hu Pei, is involved in the front-line rescue of patients who had suffered from the Wuhan novel coronavirus.

Staying in the quarantine wards for up to four days, her daily routine consisted of treating patients and using the provided rest area in the hospital to eat, sleep and repeat the process of putting on her protective gear and spraying disinfectant. 

Source: sin chew daily

After constantly using medical gloves, sterilising alcohol and water to keep her hands clean of any infected particles repeatedly while treating patients, Hu’s hands gradually began showing signs of deterioration, with the skin on the back of her palms now bloodshot, cracking, and peeling. 

Source: china press

She adds in her letter to home that:

“Despite the fear and worry in my heart, and how my family would worry for me too, I believe that wearing the necessary masks and protective equipment will keep me safe!”

Many who have read her story over the Chinese social media site Weibo have praised Hu Pei for her dedication and persistence in her work, while also taking pity on the state of her hands that she has to endure as a result of her duties.

With such a bright insistence on carrying out her responsibilities, we think that nurse Hu is doing an incredible job at the very front-lines of Wuhan’s epidemic! We wish her and her team well, and hope that they will be able to continue to serve their communities well! 

Also read: Doctors Exhausted From Treating Wuhan Virus Patients, Sleep On Hospital Floors & Benches