I met him, a 55-year-old piano teacher, and witnessed a miracle of life that transcends illness and is filled with warmth.
As his primary nurse, our daily nursing interactions were never just about executing medical orders and completing procedures. Instead, they were about using professionalism, perseverance, and warmth to support a life in despair, and providing an unwavering shield against death through constant guardianship. Nursing is a responsibility on my shoulders; for him, it is the strength and courage to live on.
I first met him on December 24, 2025, Christmas Eve. The warmth of the holiday did not penetrate the world he was suffering from illness. As early as 2023, he was diagnosed with oropharyngeal malignant tumor. The long journey of fighting cancer had already drained most of his energy. When he was admitted to our department for radiotherapy, his body had reached the brink of collapse; the tumor had grown uncontrollably, blocking his airway, making every breath extremely difficult. Standing at 175 cm, he weighed less than 90 jin, reduced to a mere skeleton. Crouched on the hospital bed, his neck tumor had already ulcerated, leaving a gruesome wound. Even the slightest stretching of his body became a luxury. He could only half-lean against the bedside day and night, slowly enduring the suffering from breathing difficulties and severe pain...
At that time, his eyes were bleak and lifeless, filled with exhaustion and despair, completely lacking the warmth and radiance that a piano teacher should possess. His hands, which once danced gracefully on the keys, were now too weak to lift. The him who immersed himself in music to teach and educate was firmly trapped by illness, leaving only a sense of helplessness towards life. The road to treatment was full of thorns, but our nursing team was his strongest support.
At the beginning of radiotherapy, the severe side effects nearly drove him to collapse several times. After three sessions of rapid-knife therapy, although the neck tumor slowly subsided, the wound area became larger, making the nursing care more challenging. What was even more distressing was the lumbar metastasis, where severe bone pain often made him break out in a sweat and unbearable.
Facing the potential deterioration of his condition, we used professionalism to fortify the defense line of his life and companionship to dispel the haze of despair. We conducted bone radiotherapy specifically targeting the lumbar spine to fully alleviate his pain. Tracheotomy nursing brooked no nonsense, so we suctioned the sputum regularly, fixed it carefully, and firmly guarded his respiratory defense line; unable to eat through the mouth, we placed a gastric tube, precisely mixed nutritional solution, and fed it through the nose at a constant speed, gradually supplementing the energy for him to live; dressing the wound area on the neck was the most agonizing part. Every time we wiped and applied medicine, we slowed down our movements, being gentle and gentler, while operating and whispering soothing words to him, to distract him from the pain to a greater extent. With day-by-day meticulous care, he slowly progressed, and his condition also changed subtly ..
Once, when I was changing his wound dressing, he endured the pain and picked up a pen with a trembling hand, slowly writing on the paper: "Thank you, Nurse Xiao Zhang. I originally thought my days were numbered. I came for radiotherapy just to spend one last Spring Festival with my family. I hoped to prolong my life for a few days, but I didn't expect such good results. I thought I would die with this tumor. I'm so grateful to you all. It's your round-the-clock care that has pulled me out of pain time and time again, giving me the courage to live. When I have time, I can teach you to play the piano."
Putting down the pen, he looked up at me. His originally dull eyes shone with a light that couldn't be hidden - hope, joy of regaining new life, and even more, full trust and gratitude towards us. Looking at these sincere words, my eyes instantly moistened. All the fatigue and hardship melted into a full sense of strength at that moment. It turned out that every time we persevered, every bit of care, every word of encouragement, was the courage for patients to fight against death, the strength to reborn from despair.
Under the meticulous treatment and care provided by the medical team, a miracle finally occurred gradually: the pain from lumbar metastasis was completely controlled, and he was no longer plagued by severe pain. The ulcerated wound on his neck finally slowly scabbed over and healed completely.
The long-term gastric tube was successfully removed, and he once again tasted the flavor of food. His weight slowly increased, and his mental state became better and better. He was no longer the person who curled up by the bedside, looking desperate and helpless. He could finally have a peaceful and solid sleep.
As the pain gradually receded, the love in his heart slowly awakened. After his physical condition improved, he would always come to the lobby on the first floor of the hospital, sit in front of the piano, gently lift his hands that had been bound by illness but now regained strength, and let his fingertips fall down. The melody of "Tomorrow Will Be Better" slowly flowed, and the melodious and warm piano sound echoed in every corner of the hospital. This piano sound was gratitude, new life, and the most beautiful fruit of nursing care.
He always remained optimistic and transparent. In his free time, he would share his anti-cancer experience on WeChat Moments and Toutiao, without complaining about the unfairness of fate or the hardships of treatment. His words and lines revealed his concern for his family and gratitude to the medical staff. He used his personal experience to tell everyone that even in a desperate situation, as long as you don't give up hope and have the professional care and warm companionship of medical staff, you can always see a way out.
Having been engaged in nursing for many years, I have always understood that nursing is never simply about executing doctor's orders, administering injections, or dispensing medication. Instead, it is about using professionalism as a sharp blade to cut through the shackles of illness and pain, and using love as warmth to guard the light of life. We not only heal physical wounds but also serve as a support for patients in their despair, a beacon in the darkness, and a source of confidence on the path to survival. We exchange sincerity for sincerity, provide companionship to warm the rest of their lives, and use the power of nursing to lift every life on the brink of falling and make it bloom again.
We accompanied him through the darkest moments, fulfilled our wish to accompany our family members, and regained the love and courage for life. His perseverance in the face of adversity, optimism after regaining new life, and the warm piano music also healed each one of us. This makes me more convinced: nursing provides not only care but also the strength for rebirth and the light for moving forward.
Article/Voiceover: Zhang Jinghui
Video production: Ding Zhihua
Editor: Jia Jiguang
First instance: Huang Guifang
Second instance: Jiang Bei