There was a paraplegia patient after crashing from high at our unit. He came to us from a remote rural area. His middle-aged parents were there for him. Yet the three just sat there in silence with sad faces. Our nurses felt sorry for them and tried to provide the best care and the patient replied with a cold attitude and impatient tone. What's more, the three seemed never take baths and their goods were put everywhere. The smell of sweat, food, and other unknowns made the room very uncomfortable.
Gong Yaping, the charge nurse of the unit, was not scared away. Instead, she touched his hands, turned him around, and talked to him with a smile. She taught the patient to drink plenty of water and to do rehabilitation exercises. She cleaned his body with nurse aids and kept the ward tidy. The patient did not talk to Yaping but he did not refuse her help.
One day, Yaping felt extra pain on the patient's face and noticed that he did not have his breakfast. His mother told her that her son felt abdominal distension because of constipation. After evaluation, Yaping decided to do an enema. But the patient refused with a blush. Yaping said: "Don't be shy. It is a professional operation. And I have a son who is your age. You will feel much better after enema." The patient agreed. After the enema, he thanked Yaping, who was so happy and told him to eat more vegetables and fruit and drink more water to prevent constipation.
This is Gong Yaping, a nurse at the orthopedics unit with 25 years' working experience. She cares for her patients and feels genuinely happy seeing her patients recover.