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Every day brings a new record
On June 25, 24-year-old Li Bo (not his real name) took part in the First National Games for Transplant Recipients held in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei Province, competing in the shot-put event. The competition means much to Li, as it was held on the first anniversary of his heart/lung transplant. One year ago, Li underwent the operation in Wuhan Union Medical Hospital. So far, only six such surgeries have been conducted in China, with five of them having failed. The longest post-surgery survival period of the five patients was only 87 days. Every day Li lives, he creates a new national record. The participation in the sporting event proves not only his survival, but also his return as a healthy person. An energetic young man now, Li still remembers the day he discovered his illness. In late November 2002, Li, then a senior student at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, suddenly coughed up blood after reviewing his lessons for the final examination. At first he did not pay much attention to the "incident," assuming it resulted from days of fatigue. When the blood appeared again the next evening, he went to the hospital and was told he had tuberculosis. But when a month later he brought an X-ray to Tongji Hospital for another check-up, the doctor there told him directly that something had happened to his heart, and chances for an operation were slight. For Li's family, the New Year of 2003 was not a merry one. Only five days after Spring Festival, Li was hospitalized. Further examination showed that his heart and lungs had ceased functioning, and a heart/lung transplant was the only way to save his life. Given the extremely high difficulty and risk of the surgery, even the doctors could do nothing but show sympathy. Li's mother, at first, was stunned by the news, but then she recalled what she was told shortly after her son's birth. When the boy was 6 months old, he was diagnosed as having congenital ventricular septal defect, a common type of heart disease. Since the doctor said the defect could heal by itself, Li's mother gave up the idea of operating on her tiny baby. All signs later showed that the defect might have cured itself. Li did not catch a cold often, and had no heart murmurs. He also attended athletics classes at college as other students did. Unfortunately, the disease had only worsened after 24 years. When the department of cardio-thoracic surgery at Wuhan Union Medical Hospital raised the idea of carrying out the heart/lung transplant, the family was forced to face an age-old question: to be, or not to be? Li's mother was a solid believer in the surgery, for she thought that it at least provided some hope. Li's father, however, wanted him to see the world and leave it without regrets. And Li's classmates thought surgery was a bad idea, given the possibility of good results. Li, himself, made the final decision. He chose to accept all challenges and risks of the operation. Having completed his BA thesis in bed, he moved to Wuhan Union Medical Hospital. June 24 last year was the eve of the surgery. Friends and schoolmates did not leave Li's ward until 10 pm, as if it were their last meeting. "I can at least contribute to medical advancement, even if the operation fails," Li said. About 2 pm the following day, Wang Guobin, head of the hospital, left the operating theatre to tell Li's mother that the operation had been successful. Overjoyed, she collapsed on the ground. The first thing she did after coming to was run to every ward, informing people of the good news. One week after the surgery, Li ate porridge cooked by his mother. Five days later, he got out of bed and lightly exercised. But soon he found that standing up was a problem due to a lack of strength. Speaking to his mother from the isolation ward, Li cried for the first time since falling ill. The gravity of the situation finally caught up with him. Scared too was his mother. She insisted on entering the ward to see her son, despite the doctor's concern that Li could be contaminated by a virus. "He needs to be comforted," she said "One word of mine is more helpful than 10 of yours." She was allowed to have a short meeting with her son. "I regained courage when I saw my mother," Li said. A telephone was installed and during the following three months of isolation, Li's mother helped her son pull through by calling at 7 pm every day. The 18th day after the operation was Li's 23rd birthday. Gathering together in the hospital, his parents, relatives and friends greeted him through a screen. One day at the start of September, Li began to enjoy the sunshine for the first time since his surgery. To prevent infection, he wore a gauze mask. When he showed up at Zhongshan Park in October, an old man asked him in curiosity: "There's no SARS now, why are you wearing a mask on such a nice day?" Li smiled.
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