At the critical moment when the whole nation was fighting the COVID-19 epidemic, there was a group quite likely to be neglected - the elderly. Back then, the nursing institutions for the elderly in Wuhan were going through an incredibly difficult time in epidemic prevention and control. Ensuring the health and safety of the aged had become a very arduous task. The Ministry of Civil Affairs initiated a campaign of trans-regional support for Wuhan’s senior care services. The Civil Affairs Bureau of Nanjing was the first to respond. It formed an elderly services support team of 13 hand-picked staff members from the Mount Zutang Social Welfare Home, which set out to Wuhan along with a support team from Jiangsu Province. After 33 days, they successfully fulfilled the first trans-provincial elderly services support task in the history of civil affairs in the People’s Republic of China.
Rong Jiangbo: The news of the rampant epidemic, especially the surge of new infections every day, was everywhere on TV and the internet. To tell the truth, I was nervous. I was too anxious to think.
Liu Dawei: The Jimin Geriatric Hospital of the Social Welfare Institute of Wuhan was the only inpatient treatment station of the institute. It was only 650 meters away from the South China Seafood Market, the epicenter of the outbreak. Before we set out, we heard about how serious the epidemic was in Wuhan, but we didn’t know the actual situation. The Department of Civil Affairs of Hubei Province took us there and provided us with full sets of protective supplies. Every time we entered the ward, we would double-check each other to ensure that nothing went wrong. Only if we were safe could we ensure that the elderly people we helped were also safe. However, as we reached our destination, we were deeply shocked, because what we faced was much more severe than what we had imagined. Due to the epidemic, the institute was short-handed, and the staff there had been staying at their posts since before the Chinese New Year, never going home, which made the normal functioning of the institute very hard. Worn out and suffering from extreme stress, they were unable to fully handle caring for their patients.
Rong Jiangbo: The situation didn’t allow me to think much. All that was on my mind was going where we were needed. My teammates and I played the roles of both nurses and nursing assistants. Like the seniors, we were scared and anxious, but we masked our feelings to help the seniors build up their confidence and overcome their fears.
Liu Dawei: I still remember the head nurse of the ward. She was very young. When I asked her, “Do you want to go home?”, she said “I do, but I can’t. I video chat with my families every night to tell them I’m safe. I will not leave until the epidemic is contained.” There was also a young nurse in the ward, a post-90s in her twenties. We asked her, “Are you afraid?”, and she replied, “I am not. Since I am young, I believe I will not get sick, and I do believe we will overcome any difficulty.” That little girl really impressed us.
Rong Jiangbo: On the first day at work, I saw a couple lying on the hospital bed, grandma Tian and grandpa Li. Grandpa Li said to me, “Madam, I haven’t taken a bath in half a month. Could you help me with it?” “Grandpa, for the time being, I’m afraid I can’t, because I can’t feel the water temperature with protective gear on,” I replied. “How about I fetch the water and clean your body, like washing your face and feet?” When I did that and solved his problem, he thanked me. “Ms. Rong, thank you so much. I would kneel down to express my gratitude if I could get out of the bed.” That was something that kept us going.
Liu Dawei: During our time there, our work was highly intense. Some of my teammates were totally worn out. One of them even collapsed in the ward. When we helped him get out of the ward, he mumbled, “I’m OK. I can carry on the battle after a short rest.” When we went to work wearing baby diapers, counting on Xiangsha Liujun Wan, medicine used for indigestion, and with our wounds covered by adhesive bandages, every one of us had a belief that we were working not only for ourselves but also for everyone behind us. We firmly believed we could conquer everything and return safely.
Pang Zhichun: Our focus was to take care of the work in the rear to fully address the worries of our ten Wuhan-supporting colleagues at the frontline. As required, we delivered vegetables to their families in person twice a week and gave out subsidies to medical workers who had gone to Hubei Province to battle the virus. Moreover, we also designated representatives of our labor union to send supplies door-to-door on behalf of our institution and assigned specialists to tackle the problems facing their families.
Rong Jiangbo: When we came back, we were warmly received by our leaders and colleagues. I thought that I only did what I should do, so I was very excited. Being received in that grand manner really surprised me.
Liu Dawei: Many people said we were heroes, but I didn’t think that way, for I just did what I should do as a CPC member and as a caregiver for the elderly at the grassroots level.
