SHENYANG, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Children under treatment at Xiangyang Central Hospital in central China's Hubei Province had a day full of surprises. Barbie dolls, stuffed toys, each and every kid received a new gift.
The toys came from pediatricians of a medical team with Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University who came to Xiangyang from northeast China's Liaoning Province to join the battle against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
"The children were overjoyed," recalled Xu Wei, a member of the team, in his daily log. "A seven-year-old boy who had barely talked to us even jumped to his feet and greeted us when he got the toy."
"At that moment, fear vanished from his eyes, and again he was as carefree and cheerful as a seven-year-old should be," Xu wrote.
Since arriving at the hospital on Feb. 19, the team consisting of 19 medics has been in charge of treating children infected with COVID-19. It was the first and so far the only team to fully take over the pediatric quarantine ward since the outbreak.
Unlike adult patients, children are less adaptive to medical treatment under quarantine.
"They are energetic, so it is quite hard for them to stay put in a 10-square-meter room," Xu said.
"Some children found us scary in protective suits, so we usually try to amuse them with funny gestures and words," said another team member Liu Yang, a head nurse at Shengjing Hospital, adding that it was to help the children ease their nerves.
It was, of course, not only the children that the team cared about. According to Chen Ning with the pediatric respiratory department of Shengjing Hospital, the team members were also striving to soothe anxious parents.
"When I first arrived at the quarantine ward, I talked to mothers who were accompanying their children and found that they were stressed out," Chen said, adding that they worried not only about their kids but the risk of being infected themselves.
Under such circumstances, the doctors and nurses had been busy keeping their young patients in high spirits.
In addition, the team paid special attention to what the children and their parents needed when staying at the hospital. Those without parents around were encouraged to participate in indoor sports activities or games, helping to prevent them from feeling depressed or bored.
In her diary, one team member Shan Lishen recalled her encounter with an old lady who was accompanying her grandson.
"She was so anxious and filled with guilt because her grandson contracted the virus while visiting her in Hubei," Shan wrote.
The old lady felt quite relieved when she was told that her grandson is in stable condition and will recover. "She sobbed and thanked us for our efforts, which brought tears to my eyes too," Shan said.
Yet Shan reminded herself not to shed tears that could make a mess and be hard to clean up under her protective goggles.
The dedication of the medical team had not been in vain. As of Feb. 27, 29 children had been discharged from hospital after recovery.
"As long as we put our minds and hearts in, we could overcome all difficulties," she said.
