Source: JobTube Team, Josh B.
Earlier this year, Xu Meihua (alias) spent 13 days in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Hangzhou First People's Hospital because of the flu, which costed her family more than 400,000 Yuan in total to save her life. Later, while being interviewed by the news staff, Xu told her story, "Can you imagine that a small cold almost got me killed?"
A Small Problem Turned Into Big Trouble
On February 4th, 2019, the day of Chinese New Year's Eve, Xu felt a little cold on her back after having a big meal. When noticing that she had a fever, she took some cold relief medicine. The next two days when she still felt sick, she insisted on taking her own medicine rather than going to a hospital. On February 7th, she decided to stop being stubborn, yet went to a local hospital. After examination, the diagnosis was that she had a respiratory infection. Unfortunately she did not take it seriously and thought that she had no other symptoms except a fever, in hopes that she would recover soon. On February 8th, when her fever went up to 40 degrees, Xu was hospitalized the next day, but still she and her husband Liu Jun (alias) were still excessively confident, thinking that it was only a cold.
A typical ECMO Machine, used to provide oxygen to the user.
"At 9:30PM, I received a phone call from the hospital saying that my wife had entered the ICU. I was so scared, that I thought they might have called the wrong number. It was a bit confusing. I asked a doctor what disease she had. The doctor said it was flu. I could only understand that her lungs were like stones, she was unable to breathe on her own. She needed to use the ECMO machine to provide circulation support. However, the hospital contacted several hospitals in Jiaxing and Shanghai for assistance, but their ECMO machines were not available. So, the doctor didnt recommend us to transfer her without the ECMO. He gave the warning that there may be an accident on the way to transfer. " Liu told the news staff.
Transfer: The Last Straw
At that time, the situation that Xu faced was very urgent. Liu had to make a decision immediately. He said, "When we transferred to another hospital, we still kept our hopes alive. However, if we would stay there, it would only mean death. Even if she would die, it could happen on the road. "
The hospital discharged her and recommended her family members to transfer her to another hospital for ECMO treatment, and informed them about the risk of death at any moment.
After 11AM of that day, the ambulance drove Xu to the downtown of Jiaxing. The doctor at the hospital checked Xu's condition and told Liu that her disease was a symptom which was not obvious. However, it was fast, thus, her condition deteriorated in just a few hours. At that moment, Liu had no choice but to kneel down and seek help from the doctor. Fortunately, the doctor soon returned with good news. The ECMO was available at Hangzhou First People's Hospital, although the cost was very expensive, about 100,000 Yuan. Liu had nothing to do, but to agree without hesitation. On the morning of February 22nd, Xu was delivered to Hangzhou with an ECMO successfully.
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