As dazzling sunshine filtered through a camouflage-like mesh that serves as a makeshift roof for a piece of lawn connecting ward tents, Xu Zhaoxia checked her first-aid kit after visiting patients in her area of responsibility, eager to join a task force to serve quake victims in parts of Kathmandu who are not able to come to the battlefield- style hospital, or simply a combination of tents, with vehicles and shabby bungalows just meters away from the official seat of the Nepalese government-- Singha Durbar, or Lion Palace, which, with visible cracks on its white walls and pillars, had been cordoned off.[Special coverage]
It was a typical working scene lately for Xu, 42, head nurse of emergency department of China's Chengdu Military Region Medical Team, which landed in Kathmandu on April 27, two days after the 7. 9-magnitude quake that ravaged the Himalayan nation claiming over 8,000 lives and causing massive devastation.
For Xu, to come to help quake-stricken Nepalese people was not an easy decision to make. Her husband, who is also a military medical professional, came back to China from Liberia on April 23, after completing his two-month mission to battle the Ebola outbreak in the African country.
"Temporary separation due to work is quite common for us, and I definitely miss him when we are not together, but we're both military people, therefore we should just follow the orders, which is our responsibility," Xu told Xinhua.
"When my superior called me to ask if I could go to Nepal, I agreed without hesitation."
Since her arrival in Nepal, Xu and her colleagues have virtually been working round the clock, taking care of patients that kept flowing in. Every day, she got up at around 6 a.m. and worked straight into the night, or even the next morning.
For Xu, a brief chat with her husband and her 15-year-old son by telephone or via Weixin has become a daily routine since she came to Nepal, the first foreign trip for her, so that her family can make sure that she is safe and sound abroad.
An Hong, 49, head nurse of anesthesia department, was deployed to Nepal due to a sudden change of command, replacing a younger colleague who was not able to make the trip due to family reasons.
"I feel very honored to be here abroad to help the Nepalese people, and this trip is very inspiring," said An, who may retire next year.
As a veteran nurse, An has participated in numerous disaster relief missions in China. However, she only worked in concrete- walled hospitals in those tasks, which she described as not close enough to the "frontline".
"Being able to grab this opportunity to go to the real disaster relief frontline, I feel really delighted, although in our initial days here, conditions were poor, with no water or electricity," An said.
When asked about their plan to mark the International Nurses Day, which falls on May 12, answers from Xu, An and their colleagues were almost same -- to keep working and helping the local people.
In contrast to their typical International Nurses Day events back in China, which often features activities such as skill competition, what they do in Nepal this year is just a group photo, which they have already taken.
Since the arrival, the Chengdu Military Region Medical Team, the only foreign aid team capable of performing full-spectrum bone- related surgical operations, has treated over 200 patients, conducted more than 100 surgical operations, including 34 major ones.
The team has also provided psychological counseling to nearly 500 people, and has disinfected a total area of over 850,000 square meters.
Bodhraj Ghimire, 38, a secondary school teacher from northeastern Kathmandu, had his left leg injured in the quake. He is among those that have received surgical operations or other treatment at the battlefield-style hospital set up by the Chinese military surgeons and nurses.
"After five days, I was brought to this camp, Chinese camp. After that, I got treatment...All the doctors and nurses are very nice, very cooperative and they're treating patients very well, understanding their pains...No words can be used to describe -- there's no limit of their service -- to explain the service they provided to the patients, earthquake victims," Ghimire told Xinhua.
"Thank you, medical team of Chinese military, because you are giving new life to the earthquake victims of Nepal...I wish the nurses who have helped us a happy International Nurses Day," he said.
