“If only she hadn’t left early that day, or had gone out with me, maybe the car accident would never have happened,” Chen Jialin sometimes thought. But such a “what if” could never come to pass. Just last September, his wife, Pan Mingxiang, was struck by a refrigerated van as she turned at an intersection on her electric scooter, and from then on, the family’s peaceful little life was turned upside down.

　　Pan Mingxiang, once preoccupied with the myriad matters of her household, lay unconscious on her hospital bed, as one critical‑condition notice after another was issued. Chen Jialin resigned from his job and spent each day by her bedside, softly talking to her. Over the course of more than a month, he finally saw a glimmer of light return to her eyes.

　　At Nanjing Zijin Hospital, after regaining consciousness, Pan Mingxiang walked along the road to recovery, her steps trembling. By her side, her husband, Chen Jialin, never left her side.

　　In a car accident, she became a “first-year student” at Zijin Hospital.

　　In the rehabilitation hall of Nanjing Zijin Hospital, Pan Mingxiang is pedaling on a rehabilitation exercise bike, with Chen Jialin sitting beside her, never taking his eyes off her. Her husband provides close‑by assistance with every movement, constantly monitoring for any deviations from proper form—and at times even pointing out subtle details that even the doctors had missed. Pan Mingxiang’s movements are somewhat slow; while the patient training in the next bay has already completed two revolutions, she hasn’t even finished one.

　　On the handlebar of the bicycle hung a non-woven bag, containing a water bottle, a towel, and Pan Mingxiang’s notebook, its cover reading “First Grade, Zijin Hospital.” Flipping open the notebook, every page was filled with crooked little squares, each with a tiny dot in the center. “Look—those circles are much rounder than on the first page. See how much she’s improved?” Chen Jialin said, sounding like a parent praising their own child.

　　This non-woven tote bag is the daily “essential” for husband and wife Pan Mingxiang and Chen Jialin. With it in hand, they shuttle back and forth between two small buildings—the ward and the rehabilitation hall—at Nanjing Zijin Hospital, barely a hundred paces apart.

　　A car accident turned Pan Mingxiang into a “first‑year student” at Zijin Hospital, which has since become the couple’s temporary home. As the old saying goes, “Spouses are like birds in the same tree—when disaster strikes, each flies off on its own.” With their little family in trouble, Chen Jialin has been left to guard what remains of their home.

　　Qi Yuliang, head of the Rehabilitation Center at Nanjing Zijin Hospital, also holds this couple in high regard: “We’ve seen far too many people who entrust their loved ones entirely to the doctors; it’s truly rare to find someone who stays by their side every step of the way during rehabilitation, just as he does.”

　　The “red eyes” that won’t go away reveal a more serious underlying issue.

　　Over the course of nearly a year, there were countless moments that Chen Jialin could never forget: the frantic, clumsy first time he administered tube‑feeding; the night when, lying in bed, his wife cried out in agony yet couldn’t bring herself to shed a single tear; and the simple New Year’s Eve dinner in the hospital room, prepared with just a quick reheating of leftovers—so many scenes, one after another. Yet etched most deeply in his mind is the moment when his wife was involved in the accident.

　　“We live near the horse herd. It was a Sunday, and we’d agreed to head into town together to take care of something, but she didn’t even say goodbye—she just hopped on her electric scooter and rode off first,” Chen Jialin recalled. By the time he saw his wife again, she had already been knocked down at the intersection, bike and all. “Her head was facing downward, and there was a pool of blood all around her.”

　　Pan Mingxiang was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment. While undergoing a CT scan at the emergency center, she vomited a large amount of blood, prompting the doctors to recommend transferring her to another top-tier Grade‑III hospital. Imaging studies showed that her brain was relatively stable, with only scattered hemorrhages; once her vital signs stabilized, she was moved out of the intensive care unit, where the primary focus was on managing her fractures. More than a month after undergoing minimally invasive surgery for the fractures, Pan Mingxiang was transferred to Nanjing Zijin Hospital for fracture rehabilitation, while the cerebral hemorrhage was left to resolve on its own.

　　“But later I noticed that the whites of her eyes were all red—very, very red—and they never faded. She also kept having headaches,” Chen Jialin said.

　　“This patient is in serious condition!” Doctors at Nanjing Zijin Hospital also noticed problems with Pan Mingxiang. After more than 40 days of hospitalization, she began vomiting again, showed signs of hemiplegia, and developed a drooping corner of one side of her mouth—symptoms that were worsening. Dr. Chen Jialin promptly transferred her to a general tertiary hospital for further evaluation, and upon arrival, she was once again admitted to the intensive care unit.

　 　Waking his wife, the usually silent husband turned into a chatty “talkative chatterbox.”

　　Carotid–cavernous fistula—such a tongue‑twisting name that Chen Jialin can now pronounce it without a single mistake. He can even explain to reporters that this condition arises from a vascular problem in the neck, leading to his wife’s most severe brainstem infarction. At the time, he knew nothing about the disease; all he knew was that his wife’s life hung by a thread, she had been admitted to the ICU, and one critical‑condition notice followed another.

　　After Pan Mingxiang was first hospitalized in the ICU following her car accident, Chen Jialin quit his job as a delivery driver to devote himself entirely to caring for his wife. Though their family was far from well-off, with his wife’s condition growing increasingly worrisome, Chen Jialin couldn’t bear the thought of adding to his son’s financial burden. So he chose to step down from work and see them through this difficult period.

　　This time, the hospital successfully treated the carotid–cavernous fistula, saving Pan Mingxiang’s life. However, damage to the brainstem left her with more severe residual symptoms: right-sided hemiplegia, complete dependence on others for daily living, speech difficulties, and an inability to swallow, among other issues. By the time she returned to Zijin Hospital in November, she was still largely unconscious.

　　“I kept recounting to her, over and over, the entire sequence of the accident, as well as the little everyday incidents that had happened at home in the past, not to mention my son’s work and his life—trying to reassure her and ease her worries. Whenever I saw on my phone what had transpired that day, I would gently share it with her, bit by bit.” Chen Jialin told reporters that he is not a particularly talkative person, but the doctors had advised that keeping up frequent communication with his wife would help her recover. So, while giving her massages, he talked to her; when washing her face and body, he spoke to her; even as he prepared her nasogastric feed, he kept talking—gradually turning himself into something of a “chatterbox.”

　　The relentless efforts gradually began to bear fruit. At first, Pan Mingxiang’s responses were faint, but over time they grew stronger and more pronounced. It took more than a month for her consciousness to slowly return—by then, the Lunar New Year was just around the corner. “When I spoke to her, I knew she was awake; there was light in her eyes,” Chen Jialin said.

　　She spent a month and a half learning to use a spoon, yet her recovery has already been nothing short of a “miracle.”

　　Her talkative husband’s constant chatter isn’t the only thing that keeps Pan Mingxiang from staying clear-headed.

　　“Brainstem injuries can impair a wide range of functions, and patients often present with severe symptoms,” Deputy Chief Physician Qi Yuliang told reporters. After Pan Mingxiang’s second hospitalization, the hospital conducted a comprehensive rehabilitation assessment; at that time, she was in a minimally conscious state—just one step away from a vegetative state—and the prognosis for recovery was not promising. The first priority was to promote arousal; otherwise, it would be difficult to proceed with rehabilitation of language and motor functions. To facilitate arousal in patients with disorders of consciousness, Nanjing Zijin Hospital has developed a multidisciplinary protocol that includes hyperbaric oxygen therapy and neuromodulation techniques.

　　After successfully awakening her, therapists Sun Dingdong and Yang Meizhuan took over Pan Mingxiang’s rehabilitation training. Simple tasks that most people can accomplish with ease—sitting, standing, and walking—were once unimaginable for Pan Mingxiang, who had just regained consciousness. Her rehabilitation progressed one small step at a time: learning to dress herself, grasping a drinking cup, relearning how to walk… each milestone gradually clearing the way for her future life. “Take learning to use a spoon to eat, for example,” said Yang Meizhuan. “While an average patient might master it in little more than a week, she needed nearly a month and a half. Even so, this pace of recovery is nothing short of a miracle for her.”

　　As he accompanied Pan Mingxiang through her recovery, Chen Jialin’s days revolved almost entirely around his wife. In addition to staying by her side and helping with her rehabilitation, he took on every task—washing her body, giving her massages, assisting with her hygiene, and providing oral care. Each morning, noon, and evening, a therapist would come to massage Pan Mingxiang for half an hour at a time. Feeling that wasn’t enough, Chen Jialin would watch the therapist demonstrate the techniques and then practice them himself, repeating the routine once the session was over. He also committed the key principles of each exercise to memory, becoming something of a “half‑doctor.” With back-to-back sessions in the morning and afternoon, when Pan Mingxiang grew tired she would rest her head on Chen Jialin’s shoulder, leaning heavily on him—and their close bond even drew a few playful “dog‑food” comments from the medical staff.

　　“Being a couple means sharing both joy and hardship—I never once thought of giving up on her. Now, she’s slowly getting better!” Chen Jialin told reporters. They’ve been married for 28 years; in the past, it was Pan Mingxiang who took care of her, keeping the household running smoothly without him ever having to lift a finger. “Now, it’s my turn to look after her.”

　　Reminder:

　　Family‑centered caregiving is the “X” factor in awakening patients in a vegetative state.

　　“Last year, our hospital admitted approximately 1,500 patients,” said Ge Jiangping, president of Nanjing Zijin Hospital. Unlike many other specialized rehabilitation hospitals, Nanjing Zijin Hospital specializes in brain and neurological rehabilitation; accordingly, the majority of its patients have suffered brain injuries, with nearly 30 percent remaining in a vegetative state.

　　Ge Jiangping told reporters that Nanjing Zijin Hospital’s specialized hyperbaric oxygen therapy consistently ranks first in Jiangsu Province in terms of annual patient volume. In the past two years, transcranial magnetic stimulation—a relatively advanced technique for promoting consciousness recovery—has also been implemented clinically at Zijin Hospital. Moreover, the hospital’s hyperbaric oxygen chambers are equipped with ventilators and cardiac–cerebral monitors, enabling even patients without spontaneous breathing to undergo treatment, thereby offering them an additional chance at survival.

　　Nanjing Zijin Hospital has been dedicated to the treatment of brain injuries for more than 30 years. Regarding the arousal of patients in a vegetative state, Ge Jiangping advises initiating treatment as early as possible and selecting a scientifically sound therapeutic approach, while also placing special emphasis on the crucial role of family‑centered caregiving. “We have proposed a theory of ‘scientific treatment plus X’ for awakening patients in a vegetative state, where ‘X’ encompasses factors such as nutrition and emotional support from loved ones,” Ge Jiangping explains. For patients in a vegetative state, the hospital typically conducts a thorough assessment to develop an individualized treatment plan and allows for about three months of observation to gauge any improvement. However, this is not an absolute time limit. “We have even encountered cases where a mother, who had been in a coma for three years, was eventually awakened—her three‑year‑old son would often lie by her bedside, calling out ‘Mom’ and singing to her.”

　　Intern Sun Yuwei

　　Yangzi Evening News/Ziniu News reporter Yang Yan

　　Filmed by Yang Zehua

　　Proofread by Su Yun

　　Disclaimer: This article is reposted for the purpose of disseminating additional information. If there are errors in the source attribution or if your legitimate rights and interests have been infringed, please contact this website with proof of ownership; we will promptly correct or delete the content. Thank you.