Home
» City specials
» Hangzhou
Leprosy nurse with heart of gold
By Xu Wenwen |
November 11, 2009, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
MEET a special charge nurse whose devotion to her leprous patients has won her international recognition in the form of a Florence Nightingale Medal. Xu Wenwen reports. I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug. I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession ?"
This is the Nightingale pledge taken by every new nurse - and Pan Mei'er, as one of the 42nd Florence Nightingale Medal winners this year, perfectly embodies this promise.
Pan is the charge nurse of Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Dermatology, a hospital for lepers in Deqing, a mountainous county of Zhejiang Province.
Leprosy is a chronic disease caused by bacteria, which can cause permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes and result in disfigurement.
Zhejiang is China's fourth province to eliminate leprosy from the general population, but a few lepers remain in Deqing, with an average age of nearly 70.
Pan has worked at the hospital since 1996, when she had just graduated at the age of 20.
"I was afraid at the very beginning," Pan says of her early days at the hospital. "However, after studying leprosy I know it's not so terrible, and it can be prevented and healed."
Pan fought prejudice from others, tough conditions in the mountainous district and confronted facial and body deformities in her patients.
None of that deterred her from her duty °?- indeed, Pan chose to work in the most dangerous field, the infectious diseases ward.
Pan's daily duties mainly include giving injections, urging patients to take medicine and washing their wounds and ulcers.
Most importantly, she guards them from harm by hot or sharp objects. Leprosy makes people's skins less sensitive, so patients need to prevent accidents.
This superficially simple job requires perseverance and love of the profession as well as kindness and patience toward the lepers.
An 85-year-old patient suffering an ulcerated foot once needed an injection to save her life.
However, her withered muscles made it hard to find a vein for the life-saving medicine. Several nurses worked hard to find a suitable vein, without success.
Pan came and observed first, then gave one injection as soon as she focused on one spot on the patient's neck.
Some psychological counseling is often needed to help dispel patients' world-weariness, Pan points out.
The dedicated nurse often goes further than that to help maintain her patients' spirits.
One little girl often comes to take care of her mother who contracted leprosy and went blind. Life was difficult surviving on government subsidies, but Pan bought the child food and clothing, and even raised money to help her continue her schooling.
That's not the only help Pan gives to her charges. She won a medal awarded by the Zhejiang Province Health Bureau, and immediately donated her prize of 10,000 yuan (US$1,465) to the Chinese Leprosy Association.
One of her colleagues said that during Pan's 13 years at the hospital, she had donated tens of thousands of yuan to patients in need.
One former leprosy patient surnamed Xu paid tribute to the nurse's dedication. "It was Pan that gave me the courage and hope to live. I'll remember her my whole life," she says.
Xu caught leprosy in 2005, when her muscles atrophied, she became thin and soon her left hand became too weak to hold a cup.
Severe anemia and a miscarriage led to her being cold-shouldered by her husband and mother-in-law, Xu said.
After that, Xu rejected treatment and tried taking her own life on several occasions.
But charge nurse Pan took the time to listen to Xu's fears and arranged rehabilitation training for her disabled left hand.
Pan also kept explaining to the family that leprosy was treatable and persuaded them to accept Xu back into the family home - as well as giving her 1,000 yuan to help her settle back in.
Now Xu has recovered from the disease, is working normally and is back living with her husband.
That's reward enough for Pan. "Patients commit their health and lives to me because I am a nurse - I have the obligation to nurse them back to health."
Pan's experience in treating leprous ulcers has led her to publish papers in medical journals and present her findings at the 17th International Leprosy Association Congress.
The Florence Nightingale Medal, which is the highest international honor for nurses, is awarded to nurses who have distinguished themselves by exceptional courage and devotion to the wounded, sick or disabled.
The medal, which is presented every two years, was awarded to a total of 28 nurses from 15 countries this year.
This is the Nightingale pledge taken by every new nurse - and Pan Mei'er, as one of the 42nd Florence Nightingale Medal winners this year, perfectly embodies this promise.
Pan is the charge nurse of Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Dermatology, a hospital for lepers in Deqing, a mountainous county of Zhejiang Province.
Leprosy is a chronic disease caused by bacteria, which can cause permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes and result in disfigurement.
Zhejiang is China's fourth province to eliminate leprosy from the general population, but a few lepers remain in Deqing, with an average age of nearly 70.
Pan has worked at the hospital since 1996, when she had just graduated at the age of 20.
"I was afraid at the very beginning," Pan says of her early days at the hospital. "However, after studying leprosy I know it's not so terrible, and it can be prevented and healed."
Pan fought prejudice from others, tough conditions in the mountainous district and confronted facial and body deformities in her patients.
None of that deterred her from her duty °?- indeed, Pan chose to work in the most dangerous field, the infectious diseases ward.
Pan's daily duties mainly include giving injections, urging patients to take medicine and washing their wounds and ulcers.
Most importantly, she guards them from harm by hot or sharp objects. Leprosy makes people's skins less sensitive, so patients need to prevent accidents.
This superficially simple job requires perseverance and love of the profession as well as kindness and patience toward the lepers.
An 85-year-old patient suffering an ulcerated foot once needed an injection to save her life.
However, her withered muscles made it hard to find a vein for the life-saving medicine. Several nurses worked hard to find a suitable vein, without success.
Pan came and observed first, then gave one injection as soon as she focused on one spot on the patient's neck.
Some psychological counseling is often needed to help dispel patients' world-weariness, Pan points out.
The dedicated nurse often goes further than that to help maintain her patients' spirits.
One little girl often comes to take care of her mother who contracted leprosy and went blind. Life was difficult surviving on government subsidies, but Pan bought the child food and clothing, and even raised money to help her continue her schooling.
That's not the only help Pan gives to her charges. She won a medal awarded by the Zhejiang Province Health Bureau, and immediately donated her prize of 10,000 yuan (US$1,465) to the Chinese Leprosy Association.
One of her colleagues said that during Pan's 13 years at the hospital, she had donated tens of thousands of yuan to patients in need.
One former leprosy patient surnamed Xu paid tribute to the nurse's dedication. "It was Pan that gave me the courage and hope to live. I'll remember her my whole life," she says.
Xu caught leprosy in 2005, when her muscles atrophied, she became thin and soon her left hand became too weak to hold a cup.
Severe anemia and a miscarriage led to her being cold-shouldered by her husband and mother-in-law, Xu said.
After that, Xu rejected treatment and tried taking her own life on several occasions.
But charge nurse Pan took the time to listen to Xu's fears and arranged rehabilitation training for her disabled left hand.
Pan also kept explaining to the family that leprosy was treatable and persuaded them to accept Xu back into the family home - as well as giving her 1,000 yuan to help her settle back in.
Now Xu has recovered from the disease, is working normally and is back living with her husband.
That's reward enough for Pan. "Patients commit their health and lives to me because I am a nurse - I have the obligation to nurse them back to health."
Pan's experience in treating leprous ulcers has led her to publish papers in medical journals and present her findings at the 17th International Leprosy Association Congress.
The Florence Nightingale Medal, which is the highest international honor for nurses, is awarded to nurses who have distinguished themselves by exceptional courage and devotion to the wounded, sick or disabled.
The medal, which is presented every two years, was awarded to a total of 28 nurses from 15 countries this year.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
