Author: He Guanghua, Li Changyu, Cheng Yuanzhou

Translated by: Wu Xia

Wuhan, the main battlefield to fight the epidemic.

Where there is a battlefield, there are soldiers. Among these brave fighters, there are a group of vanguards regardless of pay, regardless of life and death. They volunteered to rush to the front line of the hardest, most tiring, and most dangerous front line, and they swore to the forefront of the team. They are Communists. Among them are the doctors and nurses in front, as well as the builders and city operators in the rear. They charge forward and set an example for frontline soldiers with courage and wisdom.

A party member is a flag. These party members who charge at the forefront, at any time, anywhere, as long as the country needs, the people need, they will go and look forward without turning back.

January 31, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University.

After a few days of haze, Wuhan, Jiangcheng finally ushered in a bright sun. 53-year-old Peng Zhiyong, Director of the Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, sat in the office with a strong tone, but it was still difficult to hide his exhaustion. He rushed back from the consultation in Huangshi at 2am. In the morning, he was busy rescuing two seriously ill patients. He only slept for 2 hours today.

This is Peng Zhiyong's third charge in the forefront of epidemic prevention and treatment in 17 years as a party member with 30 years of membership.

When the SARS epidemic broke out 17 years ago, Peng Zhiyong participated in consultations and rescued several critically ill patients; during the bird flu outbreak in 2016, he also actively asked and was responsible for the rescue of critically ill patients on the front line. When the outbreak of pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus occurred, he led the ICU team at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University and once again charged on the front line of fighting the epidemic.

"I'm an elder party member and director of the department. If I don't rush to the frontline, who can take the lead?" Peng Zhiyong said calmly. As the first soldier, he regarded ICU as his second home. He was in the department for almost 24 hours. When he was tired, he leaned on the office sofa for a while.

On the evening of the 28th, Peng Zhiyong, who had stayed in hospital for more than half a month, finally had time to go home for the first time. After only a few hours of sleep, he was woken up by the department's phone at 4am. It turned out that a critically ill patient was admitted to the ward, and he was in urgent need of help. Peng Zhiyong rushed to the hospital immediately.

"The epidemic is a rally. It's not just me. Every medical worker is a soldier." Peng Zhiyong said that the party branch of the Intensive Care Department had more than 30 party members. "Everyone wants to do their best to treat one more patient. This is not only our responsibility, but also gives society the confidence to overcome the epidemic."

Fighting the epidemic requires courage and scientific spirit. As a veteran on the front line of epidemic prevention and treatment, he has the most experience. He renovated the ward according to the standards for treating SARS epidemics, strictly formulated the procedures, and planned the import and export of medical personnel. Because of this, in the ICU ward that was most susceptible to infection, only one case of more than 150 medical staff was mildly infected, and the infection rate was extremely low.

“The new type of coronavirus has a long incubation period, the symptoms are not obvious, and it is easier to spread. We dare not slack off every day.” Peng Zhiyong said that whenever he sees a patient recovering and being discharged from the hospital, he does not feel tired after working.

"There is a saying in the oath of joining the party: 'Ready to sacrifice everything for the party and the people at any time'." Peng Zhiyong said, he was pleased that in the face of the epidemic, the party members of the Intensive Care Unit charged forward, and all the members went into battle. Today, of the more than 40 patients admitted to the ICU, 80% have successfully recovered after treatment.