Medical assistance
Plymire's father provided basic medical care and performed minor surgical procedures for local residents.
One day, a man was taking his horse to get some water when the animal became spooked and the reins badly injured his thumb.
He came to Victor Plymire and asked if he could cut the thumb off. Victor told him he had no anesthetic and that it would hurt. The man said that was fine.
Young Plymire watched as his father took out a small knife he kept sharp and filled a basin with disinfectant. He cut around the thumb, and it dropped into the basin.
The man thanked him and went home.
Medical resources in the area had long been limited.
Plymire returned to Huangyuan in 1987 after nearly four decades away. The following year, he met Wang Shikang, then director of the Huangyuan County People's Hospital. The two soon became friends.
One evening, Plymire called Wang and learned that the doctor was out riding his bicycle to see an elderly patient who couldn't make it to the hospital.
"That was unusual," Plymire recalled.
He was impressed by the local doctors, but noticed how little medical equipment they had.
"They were well trained, and all they needed was the tools," the 95-year-old said.
Plymire began raising money for medical equipment for Huangyuan. For over three decades, he helped provide the hospital with more than 30 pieces of medical equipment worth a total of 6 million yuan ($900,000).
He had to convince American donors and local organizations why such expensive equipment should go to a small town in northwestern China. He also had nagging questions. Would the doctors know how to use it? Would the hospital be able to maintain it?
