Now the grandson's grandmother also comes to help. She sleeps on the patient-care bed at night, while Mr. Wang spends the night on the staircase landing of the hospital. For 10 months, over 300 nights, every day was like this. "At first, the doctor didn't allow sleeping on the stairs, but after much persuasion, they agreed. We are so grateful," Mr. Wang said shyly with a smile.
"What are your future plans?" the reporter asked. "No plans. As long as the child gets better." This 50-year-old man wiped away his tears and firmly said.
On the morning of November 11th, the reporter came to one of the "snail kitchens" courtyards. It was about 30 square meters, with six simple stoves set up. Gu Xiufang from Pizhou City was boiling water and cooking shrimp. Her 8-year-old daughter Zheng Xuanxuan had been hospitalized in Suzhou Children's Hospital for leukemia five months ago. "Fellow patients said shrimp has high protein, so I bought some today to supplement the child's nutrition," she explained.
Next to Gu Xiufang was Wang Shou Nian's stove. On February 13th of this year, which was New Year's Eve, his 3-year-old grandson was diagnosed with leukemia! The next day, on the Spring Festival, the whole family rushed from their hometown of Lianshui in Huai'an to Suzhou. "We only went back home once, to save on travel expenses, and because the child couldn't be left unattended," he said.
In the alley near Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, there is also a group of people choosing to "live compactly" in the city corners with the sole purpose of: "having a child."
The alley has many kindergartens and other institutions related to children, attracting many locals who come for blessings. A community worker surnamed Wang told the reporter: "Wearing cotton pajamas, slippers, walking boldly, usually supported by family members are them, but no one wants to be interviewed. Not long ago, during the community's population census, they were unwilling to say much, and some even wouldn't let us in!"
Wu Qin, a neighbor from Anhui, similarly faced infertility. To conceive a child, she and her husband have traveled countless cities and hospitals, even going to Beijing, but failed to achieve her dream of becoming a mother. "The preliminary tests are quite troublesome, requiring weekly visits, each time taking a 5-hour train ride to Nanjing," she showed a large stack of train tickets, and the reporter counted about 30 tickets, amounting to over 5000 yuan. "Our family has already spent over 30,000 yuan on this, and we're deeply in debt. However, my husband loves me very much and keeps encouraging me, which makes me particularly moved."
Yuan Sheng Lane is an ordinary lane in Nanjing's Drum Tower district. In this lane, the two words seen most frequently are "daily rent", hanging on tree trunks, written on walls, printed on glass... A staff member of Yunnan Road Community told the reporter that many infertile couples from all over the province and beyond come here to seek treatment. They live here long-term, creating a boom in the local fertility-related lodging and rental industry, forming a well-known "New Life Lane".
Pretending to be an infertile person seeking advice, the reporter finally managed to knock on two doors. In the "home" of Zhang Li and her husband from Ma'anshan, there was only one bed and a bedside cabinet, with the room window facing north, making it hard for sunlight to enter. "As long as it's not cold, it's fine. We'll just make do..." Every day, they need to go to the Reproductive Medicine Center of Drum Tower Hospital for blood tests. Due to the large number of patients, they have to queue for the entire morning, and during the rest of the time, except for occasional walks in the alley, the couple mostly stays in their narrow room.
Why do people gather in "Snail Kitchen Villages" and "New Life Alleys"? In the eyes of sociologist Wu Lin Sen, it's because they still have a hope to pursue. They are full of hope for the future, and their dictionaries are always filled with "struggle."
However, from another perspective, the long-term existence of "medical tribes" reflects the extreme imbalance of current medical resource distribution, as well as the inadequacy of medical insurance and medical support systems. Social policy researcher Hu Xiao Wu from Nanjing University's School of Sociology believes that to alleviate the survival pressure of this group, first, the government should have mandatory balancing measures to encourage private capital to enter the medical market, allowing both visible and invisible hands to jointly achieve dynamic balance of medical resources; second, a better and broader medical insurance system should be established, while improving China's charity and public welfare system, thereby alleviating the phenomenon of "poverty due to illness"; furthermore, medical institutions themselves should act with integrity, striving to reduce the difficulty of medical treatment for patients, which can at least ease the pain of patients and their families!
"This is the cheapest place, saving a bit where we can. Medical treatment has already cost 150,000 yuan, and there are still eight more treatments to go, each costing 20,000-30,000 yuan." Speaking of money, Gu Xiufang's voice became much lower, and her eyes were moist.
Next week, Wu Qin will be able to undergo in vitro fertilization. She pointed to a fellow patient walking nearby and said, "Look, that person succeeded, and it was twins!" Her eyes revealed an uncontrollable envy...
The dishes were quickly reheated, and Gu Xiufang neatly stacked several plastic boxes in a large cloth bag, tightened it, and then cleaned the stove. What is called a stove is actually an old writing desk plus a single-pot gas stove. The monthly rent is 170 yuan, but the pots, pans, and even the gas cylinder must be provided by oneself. Despite such rudimentary conditions, at its peak, more than ten parents "snail-cooked" here.
Director Sun of the Reproductive Medicine Center at Drum Tower Hospital told the reporter that just the "child-seeking" cluster alone sees at least tens of thousands of people temporarily residing in Nanjing each year. "Behind every child-seeking family is a heart-wrenching story untold to outsiders, and a touching true story!"
In cities like Nanjing and Suzhou, every year, tens of thousands of locals come for medical treatment. Over time, around large hospitals, various sizes of "medical tribes" have formed. They come to the city with hope, experiencing the bittersweet life that others cannot understand.
On the west side of Suzhou Children's Hospital, on Xueshi Street Fangu Bridge Lane, there is a lesser-known "snail kitchen" group. They come from all directions, gathering here for one reason: treating their children with leukemia. To save costs, during the day they cook on rented stoves, and at night they sleep on the patient-care beds in the hospital. Such a lifestyle lasts from several months to several years.
To take care of his grandson, Mr. Wang, who never cooked before, now cooks skillfully. "I spend about ten yuan on groceries every day. To increase nutrition, this cost cannot be spared." To treat his child, the whole family has already spent 270,000 yuan, borrowing 160,000 yuan.