Xiao Wei (pseudonym) is a COVID-19 patient who is recovering after being treated in succession by medics dispatched from four Chinese provinces to help Wuhan fight the novel coronavirus.

Xiao Wei and the medical workers. (Photo/Hubei Daily)

On Jan. 26, the 35-year-old man developed a fever when his body temperature went up to 39 degrees Celsius. Hospitalized at the East Hospital Branch of the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, his condition worsened on Feb.1 when he developed breathing difficulties.

On Feb. 13, Xiao Wei started to suffer from respiratory failure, and his blood oxygen saturation dropped to 67 percent.

After an emergency meeting, medics from northeast China’s Liaoning province decided to use an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine to treat him.

With the help of ECMO, Deng Hongping, head of the department of vascular surgery at the hospital, performed a surgery on Xiao Wei that lifted the patient’s blood oxygen saturation to above 95 percent after the more than one-hour-long surgery.

“I sometimes fell short of breath wearing a protective suit for a long time. I was drenched in sweat, and my goggles quickly fog up, blurring my sight and making it difficult to continue the surgery,” Deng recalled.

After the surgery, medics from central China’s Henan province joined their Liaoning peers on Xiao Wei’s treatment.

Healthcare staff worked around the clock to take care of Xiao Wei because for patients whose lives are saved by ECMO machines, nursing service is crucial for the post-surgery treatment.

On March 9, the ECMO machine was withdrawn from Xiao Wei after he woke up from unconsciousness.

Jia Jia, head of the Liaoning medical team, recorded the moment in his diary. “Xiao Wei has been on an ECMO for 25 days, the longest time I’ve seen. I think we did a remarkable job today,” he wrote.

As the COVID-19 situation eased at the hospital, before the Liaoning and Henan medical teams began their departure on March 25, they handed Xiao Wei over to the ICU of the hospital headed by Zhou Chenliang.

A medical team from southeast China’s Fujian province worked together with Zhou’s team to treat Xiao Wei. Thanks to all efforts, the man was able to breathe on his own on April 3, and talk five days later.

“Thank you, all the medics, for taking care of me. I’ll definitely defeat the disease!” These are the first words spoken by Xiao Wei during the 60-day-long treatment.

By April 7, all 21 medical teams assisting the East Hospital Branch of the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University had left the hospital. Five days later, Xiao Wei started to recover, and currently receives respiratory support through a nasal catheter.