Hospital train brings hope via surgery

Long-held ambition

Feng first heard about the project a decade ago when she was studying at a top medical school in Beijing. After, she had looked for any opportunity to get on the train, earning herself a nickname — the Lifeline Express chaser — in the process.

"I feel like all the outstanding seniors in college and top surgeons at the hospital who excel at performing cataract surgery have been on the train at least once," the 35-year-old said. "So Lifeline Express is like an academy."

She grabbed any opportunity to get closer to the project, including interpreting for foreign experts who visited regularly, and giving lectures for a program under the project that teaches grassroots medical workers to conduct screenings for diabetic retinopathy, a condition that can cause blindness.

"Lifeline Express is like a totem, a lighthouse, in my eyes," Feng said. "A decade passed before I finally got a chance to join."

She was not the only one who waited more than 10 years to get on the train. One of the most memorable operations she carried out was on a 30-something patient from the Uygur ethnic group in June.

"He had a traumatic injury to his left eye about 15 years ago and, to be honest, we were unsure of the possible success of surgery," Feng said.

"After communicating with the patient several times, he said that it might be the last opportunity for him to regain his sight, so he decided to take a chance."

The operation was a complete success. "The patient said that he has already made plans to obtain a driver's license and earn more money to raise his children well," Feng said.

"I think the project means more than just bringing sight back to the blind. It not only changes the patient's life, but also their entire family's fate."

Contact the writer at wangxiaoyu@chinadaily.com.cn