Zhao Sen is receiving treatment in the intensive care unit of Zhejiang First Hospital.
â–¡Reporter of this newspaper: Chen Siyin (text and photos)
No one would have thought that Zhao Sen, a handsome young man of 27 years old, would be brought down by a tiny mosquito. A month ago, he was diagnosed with encephalitis B and was admitted to the intensive care unit of Zhejiang First Hospital (hereinafter referred to as "Zhe Yi"). Before that, he and his family thought it was just a common cold.
Now, although he has awakened from a deep coma, he is unable to move or speak. To treat his illness, his family and colleagues have already spent over 160,000 yuan on medical expenses.
After visiting four hospitals, he was finally diagnosed with encephalitis B.
Yesterday afternoon, I met Zhao Sen in the intensive care unit at Zhe Yi. The once tall and handsome man now lies helplessly on the hospital bed, relying on a tracheal tube and respirator to sustain his life.
A month ago, he was diagnosed with encephalitis B, and he has just awakened from a deep coma. Due to brain nerve damage, his muscle tone is too low, preventing him from moving his limbs or speaking. His newlywed wife, Ms. Deng, stays by his side every day, and his parents have also come from their hometown in Heilongjiang.
Zhao Sen is 27 years old and works as a designer for a decoration engineering company in Hangzhou. Previously, he had several years of work experience at the headquarters in Beijing.
His wife, Ms. Deng, is his colleague. Two years ago, the couple transferred together from Beijing to work at the Hangzhou branch. Ms. Deng told reporters that her husband first started showing symptoms on July 7th.
"That noon, he went to the construction site to check the design drawings and came back at around two in the afternoon. His complexion was a bit off, and he said he felt unwell. My colleagues and I let him rest. By evening, he started to run a fever," Ms. Deng recalled.
That night, she took him to the Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province for treatment, where they did blood tests. "The thermometer showed that he had a fever of 37.3 degrees Celsius. The doctor said it was viral flu, prescribed some medicine, and advised him to rest well; he would get better soon."
In the following two or three days, Zhao Sen's condition didn't improve; he continued to have low-grade fevers and felt weak all over. Ms. Deng took him to a nearby clinic but still couldn't find any clear diagnosis.
By the morning of July 10th, Zhao Sen, who had been conscious until then, suddenly experienced a sharp rise in body temperature and couldn't even speak properly due to his tongue curling. Ms. Deng took him to the Green Town Hospital, where the doctors said it didn't seem like a common cold and suggested further examination.
At this point, Ms. Deng heard about the complications of encephalitis B and thought her husband's symptoms matched. They went to Zhe Yi, and after preliminary evaluation by the doctors, Zhao Sen was found to have symptoms of encephalitis.
On the morning of July 11th, Zhao Sen suffered from respiratory failure and was sent to the intensive care unit. After thorough diagnosis by the attending physician, it was finally confirmed that Zhao Sen had contracted encephalitis B.
More than a month in intensive care, costing over 160,000 yuan
For more than a month since entering the intensive care unit, Zhao Sen, due to brain nerve infection, hovered near death multiple times but ultimately survived through sheer willpower.
Despite this, the family has already spent over 160,000 yuan on medical expenses. Most of it comes from the savings accumulated over the years by Zhao Sen and Ms. Deng, along with donations from colleagues in the company.
"Upon learning about my husband's illness, colleagues from both Beijing and Hangzhou came to see him and voluntarily organized donations, gathering around 40,000 to 50,000 yuan," Ms. Deng said gratefully. For the young couple just starting their careers, this was truly a case of snow in June (a rare blessing).
Since experiencing respiratory failure symptoms on July 11th, Zhao Sen was in a deep coma for more than a week due to high intracranial pressure.
"At the time, the hospital asked me to sign a critical illness notification form. It was really hard to accept and very painful," Ms. Deng said.
Intensive care patients only have a one-hour visitation period each day. Ms. Deng moved out of her home in Sandun and stayed in a hotel near the hospital. Eventually, she and Zhao Sen persevered through this difficult period.
Opening Ms. Deng's phone, the screen shows an old photo of Zhao Sen. He looks tall and handsome, without a trace of illness.
"He usually has a good physique and often plays basketball. He hasn't had any serious illnesses. We originally planned to have a child next year during the Year of the Tiger..." Speaking of having a child, Ms. Deng's eyes welled up with tears.
The strong man contracting encephalitis B might be due to being overly tired.
The attending physician and director of the intensive care unit at Zhe Yi, Zhang Yuntao, told reporters that the encephalitis B Zhao Sen contracted is mainly transmitted through mosquito bites, but its incidence in adults is very low. Zhao Sen is only in his twenties, and it is quite rare for a tall young man to contract encephalitis B. This may be related to his weakened immune system.
When a person is bitten by a mosquito carrying the encephalitis B virus, the virus has a latent period of one to two weeks in the human body. Most adults, due to their inherent resistance, do not develop the disease.
"Only a very small number of people with weaker resistance will contract encephalitis B, generally newborns or children. Zhao Sen might have been working too hard during the time he was bitten, leading to a weakened immune system and thus getting infected," the doctor explained.
"In late June, my husband and I went on a business trip to Beijing. After returning to Hangzhou, he was busy with new projects, frequently running between the company and the construction site," Ms. Deng recalled. "He always worked very hard and set high standards for himself. Because his health was always good, we didn't think much of it."
Upon learning that her husband's illness was caused by mosquito bites, Ms. Deng specifically checked his hands and feet. Several mosquito bites had almost completely faded.
"After returning from Beijing, my colleagues and I were often bitten by mosquitoes. There were also many mosquitoes at the construction site he visited. Encephalitis B also has a latent period, so it's unclear exactly when he was infected," Ms. Deng said.
According to the Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there is currently no large-scale outbreak of encephalitis B in Hangzhou. The prevalence of encephalitis B depends on the density of the main transmission vectors, the number of the main diffusion hosts, and the susceptibility of the population. Preventing encephalitis B involves enhancing one's own resistance and avoiding excessive fatigue.
Currently, Zhao Sen has entered the recovery phase. His respiratory function, intelligence, and muscle tone are slowly recovering, but it will still take a long time. At the same time, due to prolonged bed rest, he may also face the risk of infection.
Although Zhao Sen cannot yet speak and can only slightly lift his hands and feet, he is already able to respond through blinking and nodding.
What makes his family happy is that Zhao Sen can write and recognize words, knows his wife, parents, and colleagues. The doctor said that his intelligence should have recovered well.
"A young man in his twenties inherently has strong vitality. Among patients with viral encephalitis, he is considered one of the best recoveries," nurse Xiao Zhu told reporters.
To take care of her husband and help him recover sooner, Ms. Deng has applied for resignation because staying in a hotel is too expensive. She found a place to live near the hospital and goes to the hospital every day to help Zhao Sen lift his hands and feet, talk to him, and assist with rehabilitation.
Yesterday, I got in touch with Zhao Sen's supervisor and client manager, Ms. Li, in Beijing. She stated that Zhao Sen had worked in Beijing for four or five years and had always performed well and worked hard. "After arriving in Hangzhou, possibly due to facing a new environment, he set even higher standards for himself, and the work pressure was also significant," Ms. Li said.
Last month, when she and her colleagues from Beijing visited him in the hospital, Zhao Sen was still in a coma. Now, hearing about his good recovery, she and her other colleagues are all delighted for him.
Zhao Sen's intelligence is currently recovering, but he still faces the risk of infection.