A letter from a doctor fighting the coronavirus pandemic to his son.
"Son, have you ever looked into the pleading eyes of the patients and their families? They always look to me for hope and a burning desire to live."
These are the opening lines of a letter that Dr. Cao Xiaoying, 56, director of the Infectious Disease Treatment Center at Hunan Province's No. 2 People's Hospital, sent to her son before entering the isolation area designated for doctors and medical staff fighting the Wuhan pneumonia epidemic.
"Mother understands the pain and suffering they are enduring because of the epidemic, son," the letter continued.
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This is a handwritten letter from Dr. Cao Xiaoying to her son before entering the quarantine area. Photo: The Paper. |
Dr. Cao Xiaoying was scheduled to retire before the Lunar New Year, but when the Hunan provincial government announced the coronavirus outbreak, she immediately returned to join nearly 60 doctors and nurses at the Infectious Disease Center to fight the epidemic. With over 30 years of experience in epidemic prevention and control, she was assigned to treat the first infected case in the area.
Before this decision, Mrs. Cao's son had a heated argument with his mother. He planned to bring his girlfriend home to introduce her during the Lunar New Year. Before returning to the hospital, Mrs. Cao prepared a lavish New Year's dinner for her son to treat his girlfriend, and also left a letter hoping he would understand her feelings.
In the letter, Dr. Cao apologized to her son for not fulfilling her duties as a mother, but she reiterated many times that she loved him very much.
"Son, because I chose to become a doctor, I can't always be fully reunited with my family."
"I love you 100%, but I can't dedicate 100% of my time to you. I know the dangers of this job, I feel the pain and suffering of the pandemic. My lifelong wish is to eliminate those things. I'm sorry, my son, but our brief separation will bring laughter to millions of families. This is what doctors like me should do."
At the end of the letter, the woman wrote: "Son, paper is short, but my love for you is long. I will always wear protective gear, so rest assured and please help me protect our family. I need to fulfill my responsibilities. When the pandemic subsides, I promise to be with you as much as possible. I believe you understand, right?"
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Doctor Cao Xiaoying works in the isolation ward of the Hunan Provincial Center for Infectious Disease Treatment. Photo: The Paper. |
On January 26th, after the letter was widely shared on Chinese social media, many people expressed their feelings.
"In the midst of the epidemic, Dr. Cao's letter moved me deeply and filled me with admiration for her selfless dedication to her patients," a Weibo user wrote.
Meanwhile, another reader commented: "I hope all the angels in white on the front lines will return home safely and be reunited with their families."
Health officials in Hubei province, China, announced on the morning of January 28 that 24 more people had died from pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus (nCoV), bringing the total death toll from the disease to 106. The majority of these victims were in Hubei province, where the outbreak began in Wuhan, the provincial capital, at the end of last month. The number of nCoV infections in China also increased by 31%, from 2,887 to 4,193 cases.
