Heart doctor finds calling in China
Print Edition
Mahmoud Alsalehi sanitized his hands before walking toward the sickbed of a young patient, gently shaking a toy to delight the 1-year-old who just had surgery for congenital heart disease.
When the kid relaxed, Alsalehi leaned down carefully, put a stethoscope on the toddler鈥檚 chest and listened to the child鈥檚 heart.
As a well-loved doctor by kids, Alsalehi was called 鈥淯ncle Lao Ma,鈥 a nickname derived from the first syllable of his given name.
鈥淢a鈥 literally means horse in Chinese, which represents diligence. 鈥淚 like this name, and it makes me feel very close to the kids,鈥 he said.
Alsalehi, 39, who hails from Palestine, works as the director of Pediatric Cardiology II and the Pediatric ICU Department in TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital in Tianjin.
During his training at a children鈥檚 hospital in Canada, Alsalehi was offered the opportunity to work for the TEDA hospital in August 2019.
鈥淚 accepted immediately. China is a very close friend to Palestine and has helped us a lot. I hope to help more Chinese children with congenital heart disease to give back to China,鈥 Alsalehi said.
With the help of Chinese colleagues, Alsalehi soon acclimated to his new working environment.
Shuttling between patients鈥 sickbeds, screening and monitoring their heart conditions, reviewing the echocardiogram and checking their nursing records, Alsalehi and his colleagues are always busy making tailored medical and surgical plans for each child.
鈥淚 often joke around and say that my colleagues are like 鈥榤otors鈥 that work ceaselessly. I really admire these dedicated Chinese doctors who are considerate to their patients,鈥 he said.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, pediatric patients have to stay in the ICU alone after surgeries.
Without their parents鈥 company, they are prone to loneliness and anxiety, a major concern for doctors.
Doctors including Alsalehi did everything they could to console the young patients.
鈥淓ven though I cannot speak too much Chinese, I try my best to express my kindness through smiles and eye contact,鈥 he said, adding that he treated them as his own children.
Since 2004, the hospital has worked with local authorities and plenty of charities to carry out dozens of projects to provide free surgeries for children from poor families with congenital heart disease.
Their surgery expenses are completely covered by charity projects, which have already reached 24 provincial-level regions of the country.
Alsalehi said he hopes to be dispatched to remote regions in China that were once ravaged by poverty to help kids with congenital heart disease, like his colleagues have for years as part of the country鈥檚 anti-poverty efforts.
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