Baby born in military hospital named 'peace'
Inside a green tent of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) frontline hospital in Qingchuan county, Sichuan province, Yang Chunbo held her 2-day-old daughter in her arms.
Yang's husband, Chen Bin, sat by the bed and patted the baby's rosy, chubby face.
"We are grateful to everyone who has been busy in the past 11 hours, making sure mother and daughter are safe," Chen said last Tuesday.
The couple comes from Qingshi village in Qiaolou township of Qingchuan.
Yang was scheduled to deliver on May 15 and had been staying in the county hospital since April to prepare for childbirth.
But the hospital was seriously hit by the quake that struck the province and nearby area on May 12.
Facing food and water shortages, Chen decided to take his wife home.
At about 7:30 am on May 13, Yang's water had broken. Chen sent his wife by motorbike to a clinic in neighboring Sanguoshi township.
The doctor there told Chen that his wife had lost too much amniotic fluid. The clinic could not handle the difficult delivery.
At about 2 pm, an ambulance sent the couple to the Qingchuan county hospital. But doctors at the severely damaged hospital could not carry out an operation. They suggested that the couple head for Guangyuan city instead.
Constant aftershocks threatened to obstruct mountain paths at any moment.
Chen said he almost lost all hope.
At the same time, a troop of army soldiers hurrying to the frontline to rescue quake victims passed by the area and heard about the couple's plight. They contacted Qingchuan county's relief headquarters.
Fortunately, a medical team from the No 153 Hospital of the PLA, said they could carry out the operation and dispatched an ambulance immediately.
At 6:09 pm, Yang lay on the operating bed after being anesthetized. Suddenly, the lights went out from a power failure. Yang was frightened.
In darkness, someone reached for her hand and held it firmly.
A dozen doctors and nurses hurried to help start up the power generator. Power soon resumed.
The operation was completed in less than half an hour. Both mother and daughter were safe.
Chen Bin held the hands of Wang Bingnan, president of the hospital, and asked him to name the child.
"Call her 'Zhenping' (earthquake peace) - we all hope that the earthquake will cease soon, that everyone can return to a normal life and that the people can live in peace from now on," Wang said.
(China Daily 05/27/2008 page20)
