Masks mark a hero
What is a hero? We may think of the fictional characters with supernatural powers or great people who can influence world events. Now, as the nation continues its all-out efforts to fight against the novel coronavirus pneumonia (新冠肺炎), medical staff have become heroes in the eyes of the public.
As of Feb 19, a total of 32, 000 medical staff outside Hubei province have been working to treat patients around the center of the outbreak.
Zhang Dingyu, the president of Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, is one of these heroes. Since the hospital received the first seven patients in December, Zhang has been so busy that he barely gets any sleep. Even suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (肌萎缩侧索硬化), the 56-year-old doctor is doing his best to quicken his pace to save precious time for infected patients.
"I have to run, racing against time to save more patients from the deadly disease, because I don't have much time left in my life, " Zhang told Xinhua News Agency.
With the duty of saving lives, many medical professionals like Zhang have been working long hours for days, despite their fear and worries.
Lu Jingjing from Wuhan Children's Hospital also works at a temporary mobile hospital. She does not let her parents know that she is now working with novel coronavirus-infected patients.
When her parents ask for a video chat, Lu says she is working and lets her husband and children chat with them instead.
"It's dangerous but we should win the battle with the virus as soon as possible, so that medical staff and patients can go back home, " she told China Daily.
US writer Khalil Gibran (1883—1931) once wrote, "Tenderness (温柔) and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair (绝望), but the manifestations of strength and resolution. " It's true for the medical workers.
Everyone has fear, especially when it comes to deadly diseases. But for medical staff, saving lives comes first and is enough for them to be brave and stay on the front. They may look like ordinary people in daily life, but in these extraordinary (不同寻常的) times, they are heroes.