Ten Years: 3,650 Days, 87,600 Hours

Time flows quietly amid the tick of stethoscopes. Over the ten years since Beijing Jingdu Children’s Hospital was founded, it has walked hand in hand with countless families. It safeguards children’s health with expertise and warms their growth with compassion. The laughter in hospital wards, heartfelt conversations in consulting rooms, and tears of joy during recovery have all turned into precious memories, etched deep in the corridor of time.

Today, let this album of memories be opened, and a story shared by a patient’s family be read.

This is an ordinary family. Their son was just like any other child — innocent, lovely and well-behaved. They had no grand wishes, only hoping he would stay healthy and grow up quickly. Yet fate took their happiness away.

In October 2022, their nine-year-old son was diagnosed with very severe aplastic anemia. The family plunged into despair, teetering on the brink of loss. After his diagnosis, they traveled back and forth between Tianjin and Harbin. He received ATG therapy and traditional Chinese medicine treatment, requiring constant transfusions of red blood cells and platelets. Sometimes they rushed from hospital to hospital just to secure platelet transfusions. Seeing the bleeding spots all over his body while unable to get platelets, the parents felt as if their hearts were being cut with a knife. They wished they could take his suffering upon themselves. Back then, they felt helpless, with nowhere to turn.

More than a year passed, yet the son’s condition did not improve — it grew worse. His platelet count would drop to single digits every four or five days. Transfused platelets triggered severe allergic reactions: his whole body broke out in an itchy rash accompanied by fever. Bone marrow transplantation became the only option. Through a friend’s recommendation, they came to Beijing Jingdu Children’s Hospital.

They chose Jingdu Children’s Hospital for two reasons: it had an excellent reputation and skilled medical team, plus available isolation beds. Their son could enter the transplant unit just one week after admission, which was critical for his urgent transplant. They were admitted to Ward 8. Dr. Gao Chongfeng, a young and approachable male doctor, received them. Their attending physician was Dr. Lü Linlin, a kind and accomplished female doctor. Their brief interactions with them greatly boosted their confidence that the transplant would succeed. They always spoke gently and cared deeply about how the family felt.

The family was terrified about bone marrow transplantation. Before their son entered the transplant unit, the parents went to see Director Liu Zhouyang. Director Liu patiently explained why transplantation was necessary, what complications might arise during treatment and how they would be managed. He explained everything in great detail and answered all their questions tirelessly, completely easing their fears. They had never received such thorough care at other hospitals. It was remembered how fortunate they were to meet such a thoughtful doctor.

Pre-transplant examinations for the son and the father went smoothly. The son entered the transplant unit with his mother by his side, while the father began preparations to donate bone marrow. He received two mobilization injections and one blood test every day. Over more than a year of anxiety and stress, his weight dropped from over 80 kilograms to 70 kilograms. He barely slept each night. On the day of the bone marrow donation, he fainted at the nurses’ station, startling the nurses. Thankfully, he regained consciousness quickly. All he could think about was not delaying the donation for his son. When Dr. Lü learned he had fainted, she checked on him with great concern. During the bone marrow collection procedure, she suggested the anesthesiologist put him under general anesthesia. He slept through the whole process and woke up when the collection was finished. The family remains deeply grateful to Dr. Lü for her thoughtfulness and care for family caregivers. To be honest, they had grown accustomed to poor attitudes from medical staff at other hospitals while seeking treatment. But here at Jingdu, every doctor and nurse they met was kind and courteous. This is the humanistic care of Jingdu Children’s Hospital.

While in the transplant unit, their son received meticulous care from the nurses. They were highly professional and thorough. They sorted out all his medications and handed them directly to the mother, leaving the family with no extra worries. After transplantation, their son recovered well. His blood cell counts gradually rose. They no longer had to scramble from hospital to hospital begging for blood transfusions. The feeling was indescribable — a joy of surviving a disaster.

More than a month after entering the unit, their son was discharged from the transplant unit and moved to a regular room in Ward 8. As they counted down to their homecoming and imagined family reunion, he developed a complication: thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA). His blood cell counts plummeted again, and he needed blood and platelet transfusions once more. It felt like the sky had fallen. The parents could barely eat for days. At this difficult time, Director Liu and Dr. Lü explained the complication and treatment plan to them, encouraging them not to lose hope and telling them their son would recover.

President Sun Yuan led directors and doctors on ward rounds every Tuesday. She checked on every child’s condition, discussed treatment plans with the medical team and closely monitored disease progress. For their son’s case, President Sun, Director Liu and Dr. Lü developed an effective treatment plan. As treatment continued, their son’s condition improved. Bleeding spots on his body faded away. Dr. Lü, their attending physician, and Dr. Meng Shuangshuang, the resident doctor, kept a close eye on him. The boy often had nosebleeds, and the two doctors would rush to the ward immediately. They used gelatin sponges to stop the bleeding and pressed his nasal alae nonstop, sometimes for over twenty minutes until bleeding fully stopped, even when their arms grew sore. The family felt guilty for troubling them, yet they never complained or showed impatience. Under the dedicated care of the medical team, their son kept getting better. Seeing him recover, the president, directors, attending and resident doctors all wore relieved smiles.

It has been over a year since the transplant. Their son’s blood work is mostly normal, and his physical strength continues to improve.

The medical staff at Jingdu Children’s Hospital are the saviors of this family. They gave their son a second life. This hospital boasts not only outstanding medical expertise but also heartfelt service. The family feels so lucky to have met such a wonderful medical team and grateful that they chose Jingdu Children’s Hospital.