88-year-old’s musical tribute to doctors who saved him

On Wednesday, China’s Medical Workers’ Day, Wang Xin, an 88-year-old resident of Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, had a special gift for doctors who had treated him for COVID-19. In a video that went viral on social networking sites, Wang was seen playing the Radetzky March on his violin in tribute.

The video also showcases the by-now famous photograph of a doctor accompanying Wang to see the sunset.

Wang’s condition was serious when he was wheeled into a hospital in Wuhan on Feb 9. On March 5, Liu Kai, a doctor who had arrived from Zhongshan Hospital, affiliated to Fudan University in Shanghai, sent him for a CT scan and then accompanied him to view the sunset. Wang had not seen sunlight for almost a month.

While they stood there, hospital volunteer Gan Junchao captured the moment on his phone. The photograph was to later become “the most touching moment of 2020”, offering hope to many at a time when the virus was raging in China.

The sudden outbreak of the novel coronavirus drastically changed many Wuhan residents’ lives, as well as the lives of doctors from across the country who rushed there.

The doctors not only took care of Wang and countless other patients but were an inspiration for society in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

Wang called the doctors who saved his life “angels” and played the piece — originally composed by Johann Strauss Sr. and dedicated to Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz in Vienna in 1848 to commemorate his victory in the Battle of Custoza — to express his gratitude to medical workers.

Like the iconic sunset photograph, Wang’s video also has warmed many hearts.

Good doctor-patient relations are crucial for any society. Also, it is hoped that society will remember doctors’ contributions at all times, and not just during the Chinese Medical Workers’ Day.