Xu Furong, a head ICU nurse, helps a COVID-19 patient undergo rehabilitation in Huanggang, Hubei Province, in February 2020. [China Daily]

For Xu Furong, time runs in mere seconds in the Intensive Care Unit, as decisions made in just one or two seconds can mean life or death for a patient.

Xu, who is a delegate to the upcoming 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which is expected to convene in Beijing on Sunday, has been an ICU nurse at People's Hospital of Hunan Province for 13 years. She compares ICU nurses to scouts, always keeping an eye on the situation and even predicting patients' conditions.

"ICU nurses are always on high alert. When a patient's condition changes, we cannot wait for doctors but need to start working right away," she said.

"Most patients in the ICU are unconscious, and only the number readings on medical equipment reflect the patients' conditions," Xu said. "However, we also need to think for ourselves and make decisions based on experience to become professional ICU nurses."

When the COVID-19 epidemic hit Wuhan, Hubei Province, in early 2020, Xu volunteered to travel to Huanggang, Hubei, to assist the local fight against the epidemic. She and her colleagues set up a makeshift ICU ward in three days, and Xu was the head ICU nurse there, as she had the most seniority.

The more than 20 nurses were from different hospitals in Hunan, and many were not ICU nurses, so she was under great pressure to make sure that the team functioned smoothly, she said.

She spent over 10 hours each day in the ward, and the anxiety and pressure meant she had to rely on sleeping pills to fall asleep, she recalled.

However, as soon as she entered the ICU, she felt "pumped up" and did not feel tired at all, she said.

"We were treating the most critical patients in Huanggang, and as long as we won the fight, the city would win the fight against the epidemic," she said.

She was always the first one to take on the most difficult tasks and never complained about anything. Underneath the protective clothing and goggles, her own clothes were frequently soaked with sweat.

She stayed in Huanggang for 42 days, and her team treated 49 patients who were in critical condition. None of the medical workers became infected.

Shortly after she returned home, she and other medical experts in Hunan traveled to Africa to help medical workers there fight COVID-19 in May 2020.

In less than a month, they visited 72 medical institutions and hospitals, giving advice and experience to local medical workers and Chinese people working on the continent.

When asked why Chinese medical workers would volunteer to help other countries fight the pandemic, Xu said it is their duty and mission.

"Moreover, I am a member of the Communist Party of China. In China, whenever there are difficult situations, Party members are always on the front line, without considering rewards or even their own lives."

Her dedication to her work led to Xu being declared a national role model in the fight against COVID-19 and an honored Party member. She was also a torchbearer for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Xu still remembers vividly that on March 8, 2020, while she was in Hubei, her daughter sang her a song when they had a video chat.

"I immediately started to cry, as I knew she understood why I went there and was expressing her love for me in this way."

(Source: China Daily)