Footage shot on mobile phone revives memories of emotional efforts to save patients

Hu Xuejun uses her mobile phone to take a video of a COVID-19 patient recovering in an isolation ward at Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital in Wuhan, Hubei province. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Hu Xuejun's life gradually returned to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic was largely brought under control in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province.

But the young nurse from Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital still watches videos she shot earlier this year to relive the touching moments she and her colleagues experienced when the city was hard hit by the novel coronavirus.

The most impressive video is of the recovery of a critically ill patient at her hospital. The patient was sent to the intensive care unit at the end of February. He was kept alive by an ECMO machine that oxygenates and pumps the patient's blood, and thanks to medical workers' efforts he recovered after 40 days.

"It is hard to express the joy of witnessing the recovery of a patient with my own eyes," said Hu, who works in the hospital's respiratory and critical disease department.

Some of the footage can only be shot by medical workers. I wanted to record and show what we did to save lives during the period as well as our spirit during this difficult fight

Hu Xuejun, Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital nurse

Another video shows four patients singing a song they wrote to express their heartfelt thanks to medical workers when they were discharged from the hospital.

"Some of the footage can only be shot by medical workers," she said. "I wanted to record and show what we did to save lives during the period as well as our spirit during this difficult fight."

The 27-year-old used her mobile phone to record more than 50 hours of video in the wards, treatment rooms and ICUs of her hospital.

Hu has recently become a well-known figure among Wuhan residents after her videos were broadcast by Central China Television.

"I like shooting videos in my spare time. When some media friends and volunteers asked me to help shoot some videos to record the work of medical workers in isolation wards and ICUs of the hospital, I quickly said 'yes'," she said.

Her mother, Zhao Qiong, who is also a nurse, didn't like the idea at first. She warned her daughter that frequently taking out her phone to shoot video footage increased the risk of the device becoming a source for transferring the novel coronavirus.

However, Hu went ahead with her project anyway.

"If the events cannot be recorded at the time, people will soon forget them," she said.

"Videos can record actions, sounds and other small details of the whole event."

None of the 25 medical staff members in Hu's department was infected with the novel coronavirus. But her boyfriend, Xia Hao, who works in a funeral home responsible for transporting bodies during the pandemic, became a COVID-19 patient.

During the day, Hu and her colleagues battled the virus at work, and at night she went to visit Xia, who was a patient in her hospital, to offer him support.

"My boyfriend's illness helped me better understand the feelings of the patients and their family members and made my videos more emotional," she said.

Hu cared for Xia for more than 40 days in an isolation ward.

Now the couple are preparing for their wedding later this year.

After being on the front line of the fight against COVID-19, Hu said she now cherishes life more. "I hope to have a good life together with my boyfriend in the future," she said.

Contact the writers at zhengcaixiong@chinadaily.com.cn