WUHAN, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Perhaps there is no Superman coming to save Zhang Dingyu, a 57-year-old doctor with an incurable disease. But over the past month, he has become a Superman for many people in Wuhan, the center of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Zhang knows his clock is ticking. Having amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), he will progressively lose muscle strength, eventually becoming paralyzed and unable to speak, move, swallow or breathe. His legs have recently been rendered powerless. He has to clutch at the handrail as he slowly makes his way up and down the stairs.
As president of Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, one of the major battlefields of the epidemic, Zhang and his hundreds of colleagues have been on the frontlines fighting the novel coronavirus, which has claimed hundreds of lives nationwide, and racing against time to treat critically ill patients.
"I have never encountered such pressure as today," Zhang said. "For me, ALS is like a sword hanging in the air. I want to make a contribution with what limited time I have left. I try to outrun death, saving time and indeed more patients."
On Dec. 29, it was a foggy day in Wuhan, a megacity with a population of over 10 million in central China's Hubei Province. The first batch of seven infected patients were transferred to Zhang's hospital, which immediately set up a separate area to handle them.
Zhang remained on high alert as some cases of pneumonia with an unknown cause began to be gradually reported in the city's hospitals.
However, the situation was even worse than he imagined. On the second day, he decided to allocate more medical resources and separate wards to receive more infected patients.
Jinyintan, a once little-known hospital in Wuhan, has been scented with the odor of disinfectant and undercurrent of uneasiness. The sound of call bells never stopped.
The sense of urgency made Zhang even more short-tempered than usual. He demanded doctors and nurses answer his questions regarding patients quickly and accurately.
"Otherwise he will scold you without mercy," said Zhang Li, head of a ward in the hospital. "But thanks to his resolute and daring action, medical staff in our hospital are willing to turn to him whenever they face challenges because short-tempered Zhang will figure out a solution."
On Jan. 23, China locked down Wuhan in an unprecedented effort to curb the spread of the new infectious disease. The city has been at the center of a storm sweeping across the nation.
As one of Wuhan's designated hospitals to admit patients infected with the new virus, Jinyintan mainly accepts critically ill patients. By 10 a.m. Sunday, the hospital had 581 novel coronavirus patients including more than 200 in severe and critical condition.
Zhang never revealed the state of his own illness to his colleagues after he was diagnosed with ALS in 2018. He lied to them, saying he had undergone a knee operation. However, more and more colleagues noticed his strange way of walking down the stairs. He finally admitted his illness after constant inquiries.
"When I first came to know I was a rare disease patient, I was very scared," Zhang said. "You love life, but imagine one day being told that you don't have long to live."
Zhang has researched medical materials about ALS. "I will live another five to 10 years, perhaps. Nobody knows. This is why I especially cherish every minute I have, taking a walk, soaking myself in the sunshine or working along with my colleagues," he said.
Zhang's illness has touched a nerve for many colleagues. Jia Chunmin, a head nurse in the hospital, cannot believe it.
"He actually walks very fast," she said, recalling Zhang once called her to arrive in a new ward in five minutes. Hanging up the phone, Jia ran fast to the ward, only to find Zhang was already there although his office was farther than hers.
"No one can keep up with him in the battle against the new virus," Jia said.
Going to bed at about 1 a.m. and getting up at about 6 a.m. has become Zhang's daily routine. In many cases, he sleeps no more than two hours before being woken amid a stream of emergency calls.
After working around the clock for 22 days, Zhang received the bad news that his wife was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus while working at another hospital in Wuhan.
Only after three days of his wife being hospitalized did Zhang find time to visit her, and he only stayed for 30 minutes.
"I feel very guilty. Perhaps I am a good doctor, but not a good husband," Zhang said. "We have been married for 28 years. I was afraid of losing her."
Luckily, after medical treatment, Zhang's wife has now recovered.
It was not the first time for Zhang to stand on the frontlines over the past 33 years.
In 2008, he led a medical team from Hubei to help victims in southwest China's Sichuan Province after the devastating Wenchuan earthquake. He was once a member of a Chinese medical team assisting Algeria. In 2011, he worked in a hospital in Pakistan to help local patients.
After the interview, he turns around and hobbles toward the isolation wards, slowly but surely, hoping to outpace the spread of the new virus while he is still able to move.
"Every life has a destination, it is a normal thing. We should accept it and bravely face the reality." This is what he always says to his family.
