Wang Wei was close to death in 2008, but thanks to a chance encounter with a top doctor, the 26-year-old is now living a life she never dared hope possible. Liu Zhihua reports. Wang Wei, 26, a nurse with China Meitan General Hospital in Beijing, is a regular guest on television. Onscreen, she wears a long, thick ponytail and a big smile. Her eyes sparkle with vitality as she tells the audience her life story. No one would suspect that she was once a cancer patient with little chance of survival. In 2008, when she appeared on television for the first time, she was at the end stage of thyroid cancer. Doctors said she did not have long to live. "I was waiting for death. But now, I'm as healthy as anyone else, and doctors say I can have babies if I want," Wang says. "It is like a dream." Born in Yichun, Heilongjiang province, in 1987, Wang had a happy childhood growing up in an average urban family with three children. But misfortune struck in 1995 when Wang discovered a pea-sized lump on her neck. Her parents took her to hospital only to be told she had thyroid cancer. Thyroid cancer originates in the thyroid gland, and is a mild cancer that progresses relatively slowly. But in the 1990s, treatment of the cancer in China relied largely on removal of the cancer tissues and even the whole thyroid gland. As a young child, Wang needed to keep her thyroid gland so her body would continue to grow. Wang was 8 years old when the cancer was diagnosed. All she remembers is that she had an operation on her neck not long after the hospital visit and started to take all kinds of medicines. Her parents didn't tell her what disease she had, and her life continued as usual. What she did not know was that she didn't have health insurance. All the treatment and medicine she received were paid for out of her families' pockets. Her parents soon spent all their savings, and started borrowing money from relatives. To make matters worse, in 1997, both of her parents lost their jobs. To provide for three children and to make ends meet, her parents did all kinds of work, including picking up litter to sell, farming pigs and planting rice. As the family became poorer and poorer, Wang started to become suspicious about her disease. "I felt different from the rest of the children, because I had to take a lot of medicines all the time," Wang says. "And all the medicines I took had no labels. My parents had torn them off. They also avoided the topic of cancer, even when watching television." She was always given the best food, such as meat and eggs, while her parents and sisters didn't eat any meat for months. In 1998, Wang finally learned the truth. When another lump appeared on her neck, Wang's father told her that she had cancer, assuring her that all was in control and she would be cured. She also discovered the medication she took were anti-cancer pills, substitute thyroid function medication and nutritional supplements. At age 16, a checkup showed the cancer had spread, with cancer cells appearing in other parts of the body. Her parents sold their apartment and took her to the best hospitals in Beijing. She coughed blood constantly, and her neck was so swollen that she wore scarf or special clothes to hide it from curious eyes. She underwent painful chemotherapy, which made her throw up and lose all her hair. "I thought about death, so that I wouldn't cause further pain to my parents and my family," Wang says. "But my parents had done so much for me, and I couldn't just die." To her family, she was a sweet daughter; to her teachers, an A-plus student who had studied hard despite the cancer; to her doctors, she was an optimistic patient who had postponed death miraculously time and time again. But no one knew Wang cried at night, in fear of death. During the Spring Festival dinner in 2008, Wang started to cough blood. The family fell silent. The television was on, broadcasting the happiness of others. Wang then made a decision, which turned out to be a turning point in her life. "I decided to write to my favorite television program Xingguang Dadao (Star Way, a talent show for ordinary people) to ask for a chance to sing on their stage," Wang says. "I wanted to thank my parents for what they had done for me, and wanted to leave something for them to remember me by after I die." She soon heard from the show's production team, who immediately arranged for her to sing on the show. Wang appeared on television and the program's host told the story of her struggle with cancer, the devotion of her family and how she wanted to donate her body for medical study and organ transplants. One viewer happened to be Wang Mingxiao, president of China Meitan General Hospital. He rarely watched television, but happened to tune in and was deeply moved by Wang's story. The hospital president called the show's production team, offering free treatment to the girl. Viewers across the country also called and donated money to the family. The hospital organized its best medical team and performed an operation on Wang Wei in April 2008 to remove the original cancer tissues, which lasted more than six hours. An average thyroid cancer removal operation lasts about two hours. "She had an operation before, which made a second operation a great challenge. But without a new operation, she would have died," Wang Mingxiao says. Luck was on Wang Wei's side this time. The operation was successful, and she soon started recovering. As she recovered, the hospital president learned she used to be a top student in a key high school and decided to help her continue her studies. He used his connections and enrolled her in a nursing school in Heilongjiang province. She graduated last year and became a nurse in the hospital. Wang is popular with both colleagues and patients. "She always smiles, and treats patients with kindness because she was once a patient and can empathize with them," says Wang Mingxiao. Earlier this year, a regular checkup indicated that all the cancer cells in her body had disappeared, and her hair has become long and thick. "I never dreamed I would live like I live now, being a medical staff member in a great hospital and being needed," Wang says. "I just want to tell people to never let go of hope and everything will be good." By Liu Zhihua ( China Daily ) |
26歲的王威是北京煤炭總醫(yī)院的一名護(hù)士,最近一段時(shí)間,她常常出現(xiàn)在電視中。 鏡頭前,她穿長裙,梳著長長的馬尾辮,神采飛揚(yáng),沒有人想到她曾經(jīng)是瀕臨死亡的癌癥患者。 2008年,王威第一次出現(xiàn)在電視上,本以為將要走到生命盡頭,卻意外獲得一線生機(jī)。 那是在《星光大道》的節(jié)目里,她演唱了一首歌,講了自己的故事,感動(dòng)了很多人,包括改變了她人生的北京煤炭總醫(yī)院的院長王明曉。 “那時(shí)候我處于等死的狀態(tài),沒想到現(xiàn)在病全好了,”王威說。 “醫(yī)生說我現(xiàn)在血液里一點(diǎn)癌細(xì)胞都沒有,就算是結(jié)婚生孩子都沒有問題?!?/p> 1997年王威出生在黑龍江伊春一個(gè)平凡的五口之家,父母均為普通職工,有兩個(gè)姐姐。童年的王威很幸福,是一家人的掌上明珠。 1995年,不幸降臨,脖子上一個(gè)豌豆粒大小的腫塊,讓王威被診斷為甲狀腺癌。 甲狀腺癌是相對溫和的癌癥,進(jìn)展較慢,但是如果治療不當(dāng),會(huì)危及生命。那時(shí)候中國醫(yī)院對甲狀腺癌的治療主要依靠手術(shù)切除癌變組織以及放療、化療。 但是王威當(dāng)時(shí)只有8歲,醫(yī)生做手術(shù)時(shí)必須盡量保留甲狀腺。手術(shù)之后,王威需要服用藥物抗癌、替代甲狀腺功能和補(bǔ)充營養(yǎng)。 因?yàn)樗龥]有醫(yī)保,所有治療都需要自費(fèi)。很快,父母就用完多年積蓄。然而,禍不單行,兩年后,王威父母先后下崗。 為了給王威籌錢治病,王威的父母撿垃圾、養(yǎng)豬、種水稻,做了很多從來沒做過的重活、累活,整個(gè)家庭的經(jīng)濟(jì)狀況每況愈下。 即使這樣,王威家人也沒有放棄對她的治療、給她提供足夠的營養(yǎng)。即使全家只有一塊肉,也都給她吃。 王威一直不知道自己得了癌癥,因?yàn)楦改缚偸前阉幍耐獍b和說明書藏起來。 在王威的再三追問下,十一、二歲時(shí),父母終于告訴她真相,并且讓她放心,她的病一定可以治好。 “我很害怕,晚上常常躲在被子里哭,但是從來不敢讓爸媽和姐姐發(fā)現(xiàn),怕他們傷心,”王威說。 “我想過一死了之,不再拖累他們,但是覺得這樣對不起他們?!?/p> 除了治病之外,王威堅(jiān)持像其他孩子一樣上學(xué),她很努力,從小成績名列前茅。 2003年王威16歲的時(shí)候,癌細(xì)胞擴(kuò)散到全身,病情加重。 她的父母將房子賣了,給她籌錢到北京的大醫(yī)院治病,可醫(yī)生說她最多再活三到六個(gè)月。父母帶著她多方求治,雖然奇跡再次出現(xiàn),王威活下來了,但高二時(shí)病情太過嚴(yán)重,不得不休學(xué)。那時(shí)候的王威,脖子腫大,時(shí)常吐血,卻不敢讓家人發(fā)現(xiàn)。 到2008年除夕夜,王威決定給她最喜愛的《星光大道》節(jié)目組寫信,希望在離開這個(gè)世界前能在星光大道舞臺上唱一首歌,一來滿足自己的愿望,二來也給父母留下念想。她還打算將自己捐贈(zèng)自己的遺體。 不久,王威站在了星光大道的舞臺上,評委讀了她的來信,介紹了她的情況。 也許是天意,在節(jié)目播出的時(shí)候,很少看電視的煤炭總醫(yī)院王明曉院長偶然打開電視,看到了王威,聽到了她的故事,非常受感動(dòng),決定伸出援助之手,給王威提供免費(fèi)治療。 “她還很年輕,不應(yīng)該這么早就離開這個(gè)世界,”王院長說。 2008年4月底,煤炭總醫(yī)院集結(jié)全醫(yī)院最好的醫(yī)療資源為王威做了手術(shù)。手術(shù)進(jìn)行了6個(gè)多小時(shí),而一般的甲狀腺癌手術(shù)只有兩個(gè)多小時(shí)。 “王威以前做過甲狀腺癌手術(shù),再次做手術(shù)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)很大,”王院長說。 “但是,不做手術(shù)她肯定活不了,做了手術(shù)至少還有希望。” 這一次幸運(yùn)之神終于眷顧了王威,手術(shù)很成功,她當(dāng)天夜里就蘇醒了。此后,她按照醫(yī)生指導(dǎo)服用放療藥物,身體日漸恢復(fù),進(jìn)入黑龍江護(hù)理學(xué)院學(xué)習(xí)。 去年王威順利畢業(yè),成為煤炭醫(yī)院的一名護(hù)士。今年,血液檢查顯示,她血液中已經(jīng)沒有癌細(xì)胞了。 “我從沒想過我會(huì)成為護(hù)士,沒想到我也可以照顧病人,”王威說。 “我特別想告訴大家,不管什么時(shí)候都不要放棄希望,一切都會(huì)好起來。也許有些疾病,比如癌癥,現(xiàn)在還不能很好的治療,但誰知道呢?或許再過一段時(shí)間就又更好的治療辦法了,就像我一樣?!?/p> 相關(guān)閱讀 奧巴馬承諾審視NSA監(jiān)控項(xiàng)目 或把電話數(shù)據(jù)交由運(yùn)營商保存 (中國日報(bào)記者 劉志華) |