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‘Auntie Su’ a doctor who never stops giving
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EVERY Monday morning, Su Meilin’s small clinic room on Guyang Road has a long line of people waiting to see the doctor. “Auntie Su, my back is aching again.” “Auntie Su, could you massage my shoulders?”
If it’s anyone who should probably have an aching back or need a massage, it’s the doctor herself. Su is 82 years old and suffers from some old-age infirmities herself. But that doesn’t stop her. She and four other retired doctors donate their time to provide free medical services such as massage and “fire cupping” to residents in three downtown Songjiang communities.
With her clean-cut silvery hair, Su looks more energetic than her age. She talks loudly, moves quickly and smiles constantly. She is the oldest of the team and serves as director of the voluntary service.
Su was a military doctor during the Korean War in the 1950s after graduating from the First Military Medical University. She was one of the few women studying there at the time.
Though an armistice was signed in July 1953, Chinese soldiers were not completely evacuated from the battlefields. Su volunteered to go to North Korea to take care of wounded soldiers in a field hospital at the eastern side of the 38th parallel, which formed the border between North and South Korea prior to the war.
“I was both a doctor and a nurse,” she said. “Conditions were very poor. It took more than 20 minutes to walk back and forth from the hospital to the military encampment.”
She once fell and hurt her leg badly.
“It left a permanent scar, which I wear like a medal,” she said, rolling up a trouser leg to reveal a scar about five centimeters long.
After retirement, Su returned to Songjiang and began offering free medical services to her neighbors. Over the years, her reputation grew along with the number of patients wanting to see her. In 2012, with the support of the Changqiao Community, she set up her volunteer medical team.
Though she doesn’t prescribe drugs anymore, Su still carries out her duties conscientiously. She checks blood pressure, does massage treatments and offers medical advice to locals. For the disabled and the very elderly, Su takes her service to their homes.
“We’re short of hands,” she said. “I study every day to keep abreast of modern medicine. But much of my medical knowledge comes from long years of experience.”
In addition to being a good doctor, Su is a good friend to her patients. When they are stubborn or grumpy, she tries to ease their physical pain and improve their mental outlook by offering friendly advice. If she hasn’t seen someone for awhile, she goes to check on them.
“We are like sisters and brothers who care for each other,” she said.
In a sense, she is also an “agony aunt” to her patients, who often spill forth with family issues and troubles.
“I tell them the most important thing in life is to learn to be happy,” she said. “An optimistic attitude is the basis of a healthy life.”
But sometimes it’s hard to be optimistic, as in the case of Dai Mingjuan, 70. One winter night in 2010, she accidentally fell at home and when she regained consciousness, she was unable to walk and or move her arms.
Since then, Su has been doing massage treatments every week at Dai’s home. Her patient was initially intemperate, telling Su, “Leave me alone. I won’t walk again!”
But Su never gave up, and Dai has come to appreciate her tenacity. She can now walk a bit and hold a pen to write simple Chinese characters.
“She gives me confidence,” Dai said. “It’s hard to express my gratitude.”
Another case was Zhang Meihua, 85. She used to come to the clinic every week. When she didn’t show up for several weeks, Su went to her home and found that the old woman had suffered a fracture.
“When I was about to leave, she told me not to come again because climbing the stairs to her apartment would be too difficult for me,” Su recalled. “I was so touched that a patient was so concerned about me when it’s I who should be concerned about them.”
Su herself is not immune to the infirmities of old age. She has suffered rheumatism, a cerebral infarction and myocardial ischemia for years.
“I’m not worried about myself,” she said. “I am more worried about who will take over our volunteer service when we can no longer do it. Our team’s average age is over 70.”
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