Marvelous Medical Staff—A Cameroonian student shares his experience of recovering from novel coronavirus in China

By Zhong Fei

As the first African to contract the novel coronavirus in China, Kem Senou Pavel Daryl, a 20-year-old Cameroonian student living in Jingzhou, central China’s Hubei Province, had an unforgettable experience in China. He was hospitalized on January 30. After 12 days of treatment in a local hospital, he recovered and left the hospital on February 10.

“So long as we make joint efforts, the Chinese and foreigners, we can defeat any disease in the world,” he toldPeople’s Daily.

Daryl speaks fluent Chinese and has a Chinese name, Dong Qichen. He is now a student in the College of Agriculture of Yangtze University in Jingzhou. He went to Wuhan with his friends in January and was infected with the novel coronavirus.

“I got a fever of about 38 degrees Celsius,” he noted. “My teacher was worried about me and phoned me every two hours to know about my condition. I was deeply moved.”

After he was confirmed to have been infected with the virus, Daryl actively cooperated with the medical workers during the treatment. “The treatment process was orderly and full of care,” recalled Daryl. “Doctors and nurses were professional and diligent. They disinfected the wards, took our temperatures and did medical checks on us regularly. We were offered three meals a day and could watch TV.

“My doctor told me that I responded quite well to the treatment. My teachers and classmates phoned me every day, asking about my progress. I could feel I was getting better day by day.”

After he was tested negative on February 10, Daryl was discharged from the hospital. “Only when I stayed in the hospital did I realize how hard the doctors and nurses worked every day,” he said. “They were working under great pressure. I know their friends and relatives are also worried about their safety, but they are brave, determined and strong. I must give them a thumbs up.

“You know what? When the people in Cameroon knew that I recovered from the disease, I became the focus of all the media in my home country. The Cameroonian Embassy in China made an announcement about me. I became a ‘celebrity.’”There are nearly 3,000 African students currently living in Hubei, 70 of whom are from Cameroon.

“At the beginning, my friends and family members were worried about me very much,” said Daryl. “I had to explain to them that the disease could be controlled and cured. In the past, I also experienced malaria and typhoid fever in Cameroon, which were more painful. Confidence and smile is the best cure.”

Daryl has to stay in his dormitory in isolation for a period of time after leaving the hospital, but he is totally relaxed, “I have confidence in the Chinese government. So long as we remain patient and optimistic, we can eventually beat the disease with our joint efforts.”

(Source: chinafrica.cn. Translation: Ni Yanshuo)

Daryl reading on campus帕維勒在校園里看書(shū)

來(lái)自喀麥隆的留學(xué)生帕維勒是非洲首例在華確診的新冠肺炎患者。從1月30日確診到2月10日治愈出院，12 天的難忘經(jīng)歷，讓帕維勒感受最深的是——“不論是中國(guó)人，還是外國(guó)人，只要我們一起全力配合疫情防控工作，世界上所有的疫魔都不可怕。”

今年20 歲的帕維勒說(shuō)著一口流利的漢語(yǔ)，中文名字叫董其琛。他在喀麥隆的孔子學(xué)院以及溫州大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)了兩年中文后，現(xiàn)就讀于湖北省荊州市的長(zhǎng)江大學(xué)農(nóng)學(xué)院。1月份，他與朋友結(jié)伴到武漢游玩時(shí)，不幸感染上新冠肺炎。“回學(xué)校不久，我出現(xiàn)了發(fā)燒癥狀，體溫38℃左右。老師非常擔(dān)心，每隔一兩個(gè)小時(shí)就打電話詢問(wèn)病情。我非常感動(dòng)。”

在荊州市胸科醫(yī)院確診后，帕維勒積極配合醫(yī)護(hù)人員接受治療。“整個(gè)過(guò)程很有秩序，富有溫情。醫(yī)護(hù)人員專業(yè)、敬業(yè)，定時(shí)消毒、測(cè)體溫、做檢查；隔離病房干凈整潔，供應(yīng)一日三餐，有電視可以看。醫(yī)生告訴我，我恢復(fù)得很快，不用擔(dān)心。老師、同學(xué)們每天打電話噓寒問(wèn)暖，我自己也能感受到病情日漸好轉(zhuǎn)。”

經(jīng)核酸檢測(cè)轉(zhuǎn)陰后，2月10日，帕維勒拿到了出院記錄，上面密密麻麻地寫(xiě)著病情信息、診斷、醫(yī)囑。“當(dāng)我躺在病床時(shí)，我才了解到中國(guó)醫(yī)護(hù)人員的工作量有多大、承受的壓力有多重。他們的親友都在擔(dān)心他們的安危。但是，他們都很勇敢、堅(jiān)強(qiáng)、團(tuán)結(jié)。中國(guó)醫(yī)護(hù)人員，真的了不起！”帕維勒對(duì)中國(guó)醫(yī)護(hù)人員充滿感謝和敬佩。

“你知道嗎？我治愈的消息傳到了喀麥隆國(guó)內(nèi)，成了熱點(diǎn)新聞。喀麥隆駐華使館還發(fā)了公告，我成了‘名人’。”在湖北，來(lái)自非洲的留學(xué)生有近3000 人，其中喀麥隆留學(xué)生近70 人。親友們都十分牽掛帕維勒。“遠(yuǎn)在非洲的親友們最初也很擔(dān)心。我向他們反復(fù)解釋，新冠肺炎可控可治。其實(shí)，這次患病我沒(méi)有感受到太多痛苦。以前在非洲得過(guò)的瘧疾、傷寒更難熬一些。要相信，最好的醫(yī)生是自己，最好的良藥是笑容。”

出院后還在學(xué)校公寓里自我隔離的帕維勒，懸著的心早已放了下來(lái)。“我們都非常愛(ài)中國(guó)，一直堅(jiān)信中國(guó)政府。大家一定要保持耐心和樂(lè)觀，齊心協(xié)力應(yīng)對(duì)，疫情終將被打敗！”