Air ambulance saves time and lives

By Zhu Xingxin | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-10-13 13:15

The air ambulance carrying Sun Xiaoming prepares to land at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing on March 26. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

Sun Xiaoming, 35, had never left ground until being loaded into a medical helicopter on March 26.

The air ambulance transported Sun, who had been in a coma for five days, to the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, and the noise of the chopper was so loud that patients and their relatives came out to watch it land.

If Sun had been transported to Beijing from his home in Raoyang county of Hengshui, Hebei province, via an ambulance instead of a helicopter, it would have taken at least three hours to cover the distance of more than 250 kilometers. However, with the medical helicopter, the trip took only around 40 minutes.

Last winter, Sun started to have difficulty breathing but didn't think twice about it. However, his symptoms worsened and, in the week before flying to Beijing for treatment, he was treated at a local hospital. But Sun had a high fever and fell into a coma.

"I am usually busy at work and often stay up late. And I also like drinking and smoking," Sun said. "Maybe the unhealthy eating and living habits made me fatter and fatter."

Medical workers transfer Sun Xiaoming to receive emergency treatment at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing on March 26. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

At China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Sun underwent two major operations, including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and heart valve replacement. He spent more than 80 days at the hospital and lost about 60 kilograms - down from 230.

"Since we had to perform his surgery while preventing him from severe infection and high fever, the time saved by the helicopter-based medical evacuation mattered a lot," said Liu Peng, the hospital's vice-president.

With the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, air rescue has emerged as part of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development plan. Though the service in China is in early stages of development, it has had rapid development.

On June 15, Sun recovered and was discharged from the hospital. He was the first patient in Hengshui to use the helicopter ambulance service.

"Thanks to everyone, including my wife and doctors. It's you who gave me a second chance," he said.

Qiu Yuqing contributed to this story.

Doctor Lin Fan disinfects Sun Xiaoming before operating him at the hospital on May 22. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

Liu Peng, vice-president of China-Japan Friendship Hospital, performs the operation on May 22. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

Doctor Sun Guang monitors the extracorporeal circulation equipment to ensure Sun Xiaoming's vital organs are working normally during the operation at the hospital on May 22. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

Nurses wipe blood from the face of Doctor Lin Fan, left, at the hospital on May 22. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

Sun Xiaoming checks his chest X-rays at the hospital on June 3. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

Sun Xiaoming's wife, Wang Juan, observes his urine at the hospital on June 3. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

Sun Xiaoming (left) and his wife Wang Juan (center) talk with Wang Chen, president of China-Japan Friendship Hospital, on June 14, 2017. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

Sun Xiaoming undergoes checkup when he returns to the hospital on July 19. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]