By Yang Xiaolin, Lou Sijia and Liu Shaowei
Berylna boards the hospital ship with her husband.
BEIJING, Aug. 29 -- The Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark, which is on the Mission Harmony-2024, has been visiting Cape Town, South Africa and providing medical service there in recent days. During the ship's stay in Cape Town, a special patient named Berylna Joan Larue, came from Seychelles, a country thousands of kilometers away, arrived there, to seek help from the Chinese hospital ship.
Two years ago, Berylna was diagnosed with uterine fibroids, and the local hospital came up with a surgical plan requiring the removal of her uterus. However, since they haven't had any child after marriage, Berylna and her husband want a baby of their own, so she has been unwilling to accept this plan.
Berylna receives various examinations on the hospital ship.
After seeking medical solutions by every means in the past two years, she heard the news about the visit of the Chinese hospital ship Peace Ark. When the hospital ship visited Seychelles in July this year, Berylna boarded the ship for medical consultation. In the gynecology and obstetrics department of the hospital ship, based on a series of detailed examinations, doctors Sun Jian and Li Qin presented a surgical plan to her satisfaction–an open abdominal myomectomy.
The Chinese military doctor Li Qin provides consultation for Berylna.
Unfortunately, they didn't have enough time for medical observation and surgery because the ship was to leave Seychelles in two days. In addition, Berylna has moderate anemia, posing the risk of delayed healing after surgery. Therefore, it was impossible for the Chinese doctors to conduct the operation.
Although she missed the chance of surgery in Seychelles, Berylna was sure that the Chinese military doctors could help her. Two days before the Peace Ark's scheduled arrival in South Africa on August 22, Berylna and her husband travelled from Seychelles to South Africa without any hesitation, waiting for the hospital ship in Cape Town.
On the evening of August 23, doctors Sun Jian and Li Qin successfully completed the surgery for Berylna with the assistance of several other medical staff.
Chinese military doctors conduct surgery for Berylna.
