Now and again, there comes along a story buckingtthe trend. We too often hear of ordinary folk suffering, unable to pay their hospital bills. It’s hence heartwarming to relate a moving story of courage, care and generosity in Jiangsu.
时不时就会出现一些逆潮流而行的故事。我们经常听说普通民众因无力支付医疗费用而遭受痛苦。讲述江苏勇敢、关爱、慷慨的感人故事，令人心旷神怡。
Last month, the Hematology Department of Changzhou No.2 People’s Hospital received a package from Henan Province. It was found to contain a silk banner on which was neatly written, “To the doctors of the Hematology Department of Changzhou Second People’s Hospital, Jiangsu Province: ‘Careful and loving, warming the heart, first-class medical ethics and medical skills’. From Cao XX and his family”. It was dated May, 2024.
上个月，常州市第二人民医院血液科收到了来自河南省的包裹。 It was found to contain a silk banner on which was neatly written, “To the doctors of the Hematology Department of Changzhou Second People’s Hospital, Jiangsu Province: ‘Careful and loving, warming the heart, first-class medical ethics and medical skills’. From Cao XX and his family”.日期为 2024 年 5 月。
It is not uncommon for hospital departments to receive such silk banners. The nurse who opened the package casually took a photo and posted it in the Department’s WeChat group, asking which doctor had treated this patient, so as to make a record.
医院科室收到这样的锦旗并不罕见。打开包裹的护士随手拍了一张照片，发到科室微信群里，询问这位患者是哪位医生治疗的，以便做好记录。
Unexpectedly, no one came forward. The doctors shook their heads and said that they had not come into contact with a patient with this name recently. This confused everyone. From where did the silk banner come? Did the patient themself make a mistake? In addressing the unsolved case, messages in the group filled the screens of all.
没想到，没有人上前。医生们摇头表示，近期没有接触过这个名字的患者。这让大家很困惑。锦旗从何而来？难道是病人自己搞错了？在解决悬案的过程中，群里的留言充斥着所有人的屏幕。
Staring at the name on the banner, an ancient, vague memory eventually came to Yang Jianhe, Chief Physician with the Department. He thought to himself, “Is it her?”. It could not be. After all, it was 14 years ago.
Staring at the name on the banner, an ancient, vague memory eventually came to Yang Jianhe, Chief Physician with the Department.他心里想：“是她吗？”不可能。毕竟那是14年前的事了。
As Sina has reported, it was the late autumn of 2010 when a young woman named Xiao Cao walked into Yang’s clinic. With the pure-white environment seemingly making her nervous, she told Diector Yang that she’d had a fever for a while and felt uncomfortable everywhere. In pain, she decided to come to the hospital. When Yang heard this, his heart tightened. Her symptoms sounded too much like leukemia.
据新浪报道，2010年深秋，一位名叫小曹的年轻女子走进杨的诊所。纯白色的环境似乎让她有些紧张，她告诉杨主任，她发烧有一段时间了，浑身不舒服。痛苦之下，她决定来医院。杨开听到这话，心头一紧。她的症状听起来太像白血病了。
Sure enough, after examination, Xiao Cao was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). A rare disorder indeed, only 600-800 individuals develop the condition in the USA annually. But unlike most forms of leukemia, APL has in fact a very good prognosis; the high cost instead is a heavy burden on the patient’s family.
果然，经过检查，小曹被确诊为急性早幼粒细胞白血病（APL）。这确实是一种罕见的疾病，在美国每年只有 600-800 人患上这种疾病。但与大多数类型的白血病不同，APL 实际上具有非常好的预后。高昂的费用反而给患者家庭带来了沉重的负担。
At that time, Cao was only 23 and had just had her first child. It had been the happiest moment of her life. When she learned of the diagnosis, her spirit was shattered, not only out of fear, but also because she knew too well she could not afford to treat the disease at all.
当时，曹只有23岁，刚刚生下第一个孩子。那是她一生中最幸福的时刻。当她得知诊断结果时，她的精神崩溃了，不仅是出于恐惧，更是因为她太清楚自己根本无力承担这种疾病的治疗费用。
Her family was not well off; her husband an ordinary worker. Neither had medical insurance. Cao’s mother was far away, and it was even difficult to find money for the trip. But come she did, to sit by her daughter’s bed every day and cry.
她的家庭并不富裕。她的丈夫是一名普通工人。两人都没有医疗保险。曹妈妈路途遥远，连路费都很难筹到。但她还是来了，每天坐在女儿的床边哭泣。
And that’s when the Hospital itself stepped in. While actively treating Cao, the Hematology Department of Changzhou No.2 People’s Hospital also tried every means to raise money. It reduced some of the medical costs, staff raised funds and the Department director at that time solicited donations from society’s more caring.
这时，医院也介入了。常州市第二人民医院血液科在积极救治曹的同时，也想方设法筹集资金。减少了部分医疗费用，工作人员筹集资金，当时的科室主任向社会更多爱心人士募集捐款。
In this way, Cao’s medical costs for an entire year were almost completely covered. But her treatment did not go smoothly, with repeated infections and effusions occurring. Through joint efforts, Cao was to overcome the many difficulties and usher in her dawn of victory.
这样，曹一整年的医疗费用就几乎全部报销了。但她的治疗并不顺利，反复出现感染和积液。经过大家的共同努力，曹女士克服了重重困难，迎来了胜利的曙光。
Now, her second baby is 5 years old. Time may have passed but Cao has always remembered the warmth and help given by the Hematology Changzhou No.2 People’s Hospital.
现在，她的第二个孩子已经5岁了。时间虽然过去了，但曹先生始终记得常州市第二人民医院血液科给予的温暖和帮助。
Cao wanted to do something to express her gratitude but it was not until the family had a more stable life in recent years that the idea to send the banner flashed through her mind.
曹女士本想做点什么来表达谢意，但直到这几年家里生活稳定了，她才萌生了送锦旗的念头。
Speaking by telephone, Cao’s family said, “If it weren’t for the help from that Hospital, we wouldn’t be living our current life. We didn’t have a good life before and didn’t think about these things. Now things are going better, and we look forward to saying thank you to the doctors again”.
曹家人在电话中表示，“如果没有那家医院的帮助，我们就不会过现在的生活。以前我们的生活并不好，也没有考虑这些事情。现在一切都在好转，我们期待着再次向医生们说声谢谢。”
