Below is from memories of a husband whose wife went to the Wuhan Frontline to save patients.
 

My wife’s name is Zhou Dan Dan. She is a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College in Wuhu City, Anhui Province. Here I want to use my own words to record the great journey that my wife has undertaken in the past couple of months.

I still remember January 22 of this year... after the company's annual meeting, I had packed my luggage and happily taken my daughter on our journey home. At that time, the COVID-19 epidemic was not so severe.

Due to having duty during the Chinese New Year, Dandan planned to reunite with us after the night shift on the morning of the 27th. But the situation ended up being at odds with our expectations, as the epidemic rapidly spread, becoming more and more serious. Expressways were locked, cars were stopped ... Our reunion plan was ruined.

At the same time, Dan Dan’s hospital launched a “Written Request for Combating  the Virus to Support Wuhan” campaign. As the "Excellent Employee" and "Top Ten Nurses" award winner in the hospital for the year 2019, Dan Dan took the initiative to sign up without notifying me or my family. Only at 11 pm that day did she call to get  my thoughts on the matter. Knowing little about the virus, I just didn’t want her to take any risks. And in a few days it would be our daughter ’s third birthday. But I knew my wife’s character—knew that she could never turn back on what she had already decided.

Since then, Dan Dan was on standby at all times, repeatedly practicing putting on and taking off protective gowns, while learning various protective measures ...

On February 17, after a long wait, Dan Dan officially received the notice from Anhui’s sixth batch medical support team that she would be sent to the Houhu Campus of Wuhan Central Hospital to support local medical work!  It is also a designated hospital for treating COVID-19 patients. The whole family was very worried and nervous for her.

 
Dan Dan supporting anti-epidemic medical work at the Houhu Campus of The Central Hospital of Wuhan
On February 19, Dan Dan finally embarked on the journey to support Wuhan. After settling in Wuhan that day, she commenced with a rigorous regimen of intense training. After that, Dan Dan was assigned to the No. 6 Fever Ward, where she needed to wear protective gear to work for five hours each day. After coming out, her clothes would be completely soaked. As she wore goggles for a long time, there were deep indentations on her nose and face.

 
Every night I would wait for Dan Dan, to chat with her after work and listen to her stories from the front-line in Wuhan.

It is gratifying that the epidemic was finally well controlled, and all patients have been effectively treated, with many having already been discharged from hospital. However, some patients who did not recover were gathered together and transferred to other hospitals. Dan Dan's work also came to an end. On March 24, Dan Dan and her colleagues returned to Chaohu, Anhui Province, for isolation and recuperation.

On April 5th, China's epidemic situation had even further improved! That day I took my daughter to Wuhu so that we could pick up her hero mother together.

On April 7, I ordered a bouquet of flowers and took my daughter to welcome her mother’s triumphant return. However, when our daughter saw Dan Dan, she was for some reason unable to recognize her, and didn't even call her "Mom". I burst into tears ...

This exceptional journey exhausted Dan Dan. As her husband, I felt both distressed and deeply proud of her. When our daughter grows up, there is no doubt I will tell her about Dan Dan's experience. “You have an amazing mother,” I will remind her.

Working moment
 

—— By Meng Ben, director of Manufacturing at Luye Wuhu