My name is Liu Tong, and I am a schwannoma patient in the Department of Neurosurgery of West China Hospital of Sichuan University.
I am from Ziyang, Sichuan. I was born in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province. At the age of five, I followed my parents on the green train to Guizhou and grew up in the beautiful waters of Guizhou. In September 1996, he started working at Wengfu Phosphate Mine, the largest phosphate mine base in Asia, and operated equipment, and four shifts and two flowns.
Although I have left my hometown, I often hear the name of West China . Whenever someone around me gets sick, I will hear this: "Then go to West China to have a look!"
In 2018, I felt that my mind was always drowsy and lacked in spirit. I thought it was because of the long-term shift in the mine that affected my sleep and did not have a good rest.
As time goes by, my mother realized something was wrong, so she accompanied me to a local hospital in Guizhou for an MRI examination on May 15th. During the examination, a huge lump was suddenly found on the right side of the brain. The doctor repeatedly checked and inferred that it was a tumor and indicated on the examination report: the right temporal meningioma. When I saw the report, my mind was blank and I couldn't believe that this disease would happen to me. The doctor said to me, "The tumor is too big, so it is recommended to transfer to the hospital for surgery as soon as possible."
Figure 1 On May 15, 2018, the tumor was detected by the MRI
. When I returned home, my mother picked up her mobile phone and dialed my uncle far away in Chengdu. My uncle asked me to send him the examination report and image information as soon as possible. He registered to find an expert from West China Hospital to take a look.
When I heard the word "Western China", my childhood memories came to my mind. When I was in the second year of junior high school in 1988, my father took me to West China Dental Hospital because of unevenness in my mouth. At that time, my father proudly said that West China Dental Hospital is the best in the country, where my teeth were corrected. I can trust the brand of West China.
"Liu Tong, where do you think you are going? Hospitals in Guizhou Province, or to Beijing or Shanghai..." My mother's concern and urgent words interrupted my memories of the past. I answered firmly without thinking: "Go to West China!"
On May 19, 2018, my mother and I boarded the high-speed train to Chengdu. My cousin picked us up at the station and immediately took the subway to West China Hospital to apply for a medical card at the self-service machine. In the open space outside the outpatient building of West China Hospital, I saw a bustling crowd. My cousin said that West China doctors are very hard and tiring, and have to face hundreds of people every day and reply hundreds of sentences.
Figure 2 I was admitted to the Neurosurgery Ward on May 28, 2018
On May 28, I received a notice of hospitalization and officially stayed in the Neurosurgery Ward No. 37, Guoxue Lane, and became one of them.
At first, my attending doctor was Professor Jiang Shu. When I saw him in the ward for the first time, I asked me to walk in front of him, observe my body and posture, and watch the MRI film I took in Guizhou. He smiled and said to me, "The person who came was not kind! It seems that I want to pull my teeth out of the tiger's mouth." Perhaps this sentence means that my surgery will be difficult and risky.
Later, the nurse came to my bed and said that because Professor Jiang Shu had temporary business operations, Professor Xu Jianguo would be my attending doctor. I was thinking in my heart what Professor Xu Jianguo looked like? How is your level? With these questions, I urgently hope to meet Professor Xu Jianguo. During the doctor's routine rounds in the morning, I saw a middle-aged doctor coming to my bed, wearing glasses, and in a strong body. There are also a few handsome little brothers around me, and I will find out their names in the future: Yang Xiang and Ding Chang.
After watching the movie, he frowned and said slowly, "It's too big, too big. Do you don't feel anything if you are so big?" When I heard this, I suddenly felt a little shocked, as if I felt something was wrong, and said, "I have been working on shifts, but I just felt dizzy, and I thought I was staying up late and I didn't have a good rest." The Dazhou patient on the bed next to me smiled and said to me, "It's okay, don't be afraid. Entering West China is like entering a safe, it's very safe." Then I learned that he is my attending doctor, Professor Xu Jianguo and a first-level expert.
During the hospitalization period, I felt more that whether it is a doctor or a nurse, their work requires not only a pair of busy hands, but also a kind heart of a doctor who faces patients with heart, love, and smile.
There is an old man on the bed next to me, with incontinence. Once, the patient's family whispered beside the medical staff: "Sorry, nurse, my dad accidentally got the bed sheet dirty. Can you please help me change it?" "Okay, just the bed sheet dirty? Are the quilt covers and pillowcases dirty? Do you need to change it?" The nurse replied with a smile. "Maybe...it seems...it's all...it's dirty, why don't you go over and take a look?" She scratched her head embarrassedly.
It turns out that the old man is a patient with meningioma , and his limb movements are not good, and it is difficult to turn over. The medical staff didn't say much. They first helped the elderly clean their bodies, then put on clean sheets and quilt covers, and put the patient on the bed sheets and urine pads. They also taught the elderly daughter about the patients' disease and nutrition.
The types of tumor diseases vary, the condition changes rapidly, and there are many critically ill patients. Medical staff always race against time and fight against death, and try their best to save endangered lives. Years of medical work have allowed them to come into contact with many people and things, and they have a deep understanding of the pain of patients and the helplessness of their families. Only by using meticulous treatment and caring words to help them reduce the pain of patients; only by using more patience and serious attitude to exchange for the trust of patients and their families.
During the inspection of various indicators throughout my body, Professor Xu Jianguo and his team were also constantly studying and discussing and formulating various plans and steps for performing surgery on me.
On May 29, I had the last MRI before the operation. The image showed that there was an irregular and huge mass in the right frontal parietal temporal lobe, with clear boundaries, about 8.5×7.6×9.2cm in size. Summary opinion: The right side has huge communicating tumors in the inside and outside of the cranial tract, involving the right middle cranial fossa and right inferior temporal fossa. Professor Xu Jianguo's assistant Dr. Yang Xiang told me and my mother about the various accidents and consequences that may occur in the operation, such as blindness, deafness, hemiplegia , plants, death, etc., and asked if the operation was still done? If you do not do it, you can be discharged from the hospital. I smiled and said: "Since I'm here, do it. I believe you and believe in West China!"
Before the formal operation, Professor Xu Jianguo and his team also clarified the nature of my cranial and brain tumor. Through systematic neurological examinations and imaging examinations, the tumor was clarified and the main organ functions such as my heart function, lung function, liver and kidney function were understood. In order to check whether the blood vessels are unobstructed, I had an angiography surgery first. Later, in order to avoid major bleeding during the operation, I had a vascular embolization surgery.
On the day of the formal operation, I was pushed into the operating room. During the anesthesia process, I lay on the operating table and smiled and said to the doctors of Professor Xu Jianguo’s team: "After entering the West China Gate, I am from West China, I will leave it to you."
I can’t know the process of the surgery. When I opened my eyes, what caught my eye was my mother’s figure, and her voice came from my ears: “Son, are you awake”?
One day after transferring from intensive care unit into the general ward, Professor Xu Jianguo came to my bed, looked at me and said, "Liu Tong, lift your leg." I slowly lifted my right leg, and Professor Xu Jianguo said with a long-lost smile: "Yes, you finally survived."
Figure 3 Before the operation on the morning of June 8, 2018
After going through the dangerous postoperative period, on June 15, I was transferred to the Department of Neurosurgery at Wuye Hospital, West China Two-way Referral Hospital for rehabilitation treatment. Wang Shenzhi, former director of the hospital's neurosurgery, and Yu Yang, current director of the neurosurgery, watched the pre- and postoperative films and said: "The operation is very successful, the tumor is completely resected, and there is no nerve loss during the operation. Teacher Xu is amazing! Such a large tumor was not removed in stages and parts, but was cut cleanly with one knife! ”
Figure 4 2019 review and took a photo with Professor Xu Jianguo (first right) and
Former Director Wang Shenzhi of the Department of Neurosurgery of Wuye Hospital (first left)
Time flies like water, 4 years have passed unknowingly, and I have returned to my job. My colleagues around me can hardly imagine that I can recover so quickly and so good. From the outside, I can't tell that I have had surgery. Many people ask me which hospital I had the surgery, and I proudly answered in West China!
Figure 6 I am reborn
At the end of August and early September every year, I have to go to West China for a review. Before I go, I make an appointment to hang up Professor Xu Jianguo's account on the Huayitong APP. I want to see him every time because he gave me a second life and gave me a new life! No matter how the years change, his appearance has been engraved in the deepest part of my memory, and that time is the most unforgettable for me!
Figure 7 During the re-examination in September 2022, a photo with Professor Xu Jianguo
130 years of flowers blooming and fading, and 130 years of spring and autumn fruit. West China Hospital adheres to the medical concept of care and service, appreciates the medical spirit of people-oriented, advocating academic and pursuing excellence, upholds the hospital style of moral integrity, proficiency, and seeking practicality and innovation, and sings on a new journey. It is the right time to ride the wind and waves and set sail. Happy birthday to West China Hospital No. 37 Guoxue Lane!
(The photos in the article are provided by the patient and authorized to publish)
Dears ,
On the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the establishment of West China Hospital of Sichuan University, we continue to collect “My Story and No. 37 Guoxue Lane” for the "Stories of Me and No. 37 Guoxue Lane" . Welcome everyone to submit articles to the email address [email protected]. Once adopted, we will push it on the WeChat official account of West China Hospital one after another, and the author will also send exquisite gifts to West China cultural and creative products!
looks forward to your submission!
