Bethune's last words Give money to his ex-wife
I have to travel to China because I am needed there! "In 1937, when the "Lugou Bridge" incident broke out in Japan's full-scale invasion of China, Dr. Bethune, a member of the Communist Party of Canada, said firmly.
Bethune did not have any selfish considerations, he just wanted to support the "anti-fascist" cause, and this international friend tried his best to form a medical team and traveled thousands of miles to China.
More than a year later, Bethune unfortunately suffered from sepsis, and before his death, he wrote a letter to ***, distributing his only remaining inheritance to comrades in need, and at the same time had a personal request: I hope that the International Committee for Aid to China can give his ex-wife a living allowance.
Bethune divorced his wife Francis twice, and each time he took the initiative to propose it, and he did not remarry after the last divorce, so at the last moment of his life, why did he think about the person who was "abandoned" twice by himself?
Bethune and his wife Francis were born on March 4, 1890 in Ontario, Canada, to a family of pastors, and his full name was Henry Norman Bethune.
Bethune was very unique and adventurous from an early age, and he loved to swim, while his grandfather was a surgeon, which gave him a keen interest in medicine and anatomy.
In his youth, Bethune was admitted to the University of Toronto's medical school with honors, where he earned a bachelor's degree in medicine and began his career in the medical field.
In 1922, the Royal Society of Surgeons admitted Bethune as a Fellow, and the following year he became a clinical graduate of the Royal College of Surgeons. Despite being 33 years old, Bethune remained single and devoted himself to a career in medicine.
In the same year, he sat for membership in the Society of Surgeons in Edinburgh, where he met the love of his life, Francis.
Francis, who was only 22 years old, was very different in age from Bethune. She came from a famous family, but she was very different from the capitalist class of high society. She is a compassionate woman who has compassion for the underprivileged.
Bethune was passionate about medical care and wanted to save more people. After she met Bethune, she was deeply attracted by his lofty ideals and extraordinary conversation. As a rich girl, Francis has never had a shortage of suitors, but in her eyes, those so-called "right" rich children seem too superficial.
It wasn't until she met Bethune that she fell in love.
They tied the knot in the same year, and their married life was harmonious and happy. In pursuit of their lofty ideal, to save the world, they traveled to Detroit, USA, and opened a clinic, which was run by Bethune himself.
In Bethune's view, medical care is not only a career, but also a responsibility to save the world. Compared to his wife, Francis, he has a deeper compassion for the poor at the bottom.
In the clinic, most of the patients were poor, Bethune never refused to be treated, he devoted himself to his work and had little time to spend with his wife. In addition, since many poor people could not afford medical expenses, Bethune always tried his best to help them, but this increased the financial pressure to maintain the clinic.
Bethune devoted himself to the operation of the clinic in order to earn more money. However, due to overwork, his body gradually became weakened and he eventually suffered from tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis was unstoppable at the time and was considered terminal. Despite this, Bethune did not want his wife to bear this pain, so he forced her to divorce him on the grounds of refusal.
Although Francis eventually left him with grief, he did not give up because of this, but independently researched and created an advanced "artificial pneumothorax**" to successfully ** his own tuberculosis, which attracted widespread attention.
This feat of his made him prominence in the field of thoracic surgery, and the famous MD Edward Archibald even hired him as his assistant.
With Edward's assistance, Bethune improved twelve medical devices and published several articles**, making him famous in Canada. Although he successfully overcame his illness and achieved success in his career, he still felt guilty about his wife who was forced to leave home because of him.
Therefore, he took the initiative to contact Francis, and the love between the two was rekindled, and they remarried in Montreal in 1929. However, the reason for the second divorce of the two was related to Bethune's lofty ambitions.
In that era of medical backwardness, Bethune would see countless patients every day, and he always spent most of his time working with the determination to save the world and help others.
For every extra moment of work, it is possible to save one more person's life.
Bethune's work was enthusiastic, but his wife, Francis, could not understand his dedication to his work. She believes that although work is important, the family also needs him to take care of it.
The two men clashed in philosophy, and over time, this contradiction intensified. Bethune felt deeply ashamed of his wife, but he could not give up his inner pursuit of career and ideals.
So, four years after remarriage, he chose to divorce his wife and go to China. Bethune had a decadent life, he had a pre-eminent position in the medical field of his time, and he was not short of money as a famous surgeon.
In addition to curing diseases and saving people, he often appeared in bars during that time, getting drunk. Sometimes, Bethune returned to his lodgings drunk, and if he met a homeless man or a beggar on the way, he would take off his coat and give it to them, or give them the only money he had.
During that time, Bethune experienced inner struggles and confusion, and he began to be full of doubts and pessimism about the world. He found that no matter how hard he tried, he could not change the injustice of the world, and that the suffering of the sick and the suffering of the poor remained.
The experience left him depressed and even questioned his existence, believing that he could not change the world on his own. He also felt lost and helpless because of his divorce from his wife, which took a toll on his reputation in Canada.
He was considered a man who could not take responsibility, and his dissatisfaction and helplessness with society reverberated among the public.
In 1935, Bethune attended a medical conference in Moscow, and the course of his life took a turn for the worse. In Moscow, where communism was pervasive, he came into contact with and understood communist ideas, recognized that it was in line with his long-standing philosophy of saving the world, and the unique socialist medical system of the Soviet Union also brought him many inspirations.
Therefore, after returning to China, Bethune applied for the Communist Party of Canada and successfully became a member of the Communist Party. However, Canada is a capitalist country, and the Communist Party adheres to the socialist line and propagates socialist ideas, so Bethune and other Communists were ostracized in Canada, and finally had no choice but to leave and go to the United States.
At that time, Spain was fighting against fascism, and Bethune was enthusiastic and decided to go to Spain to help. However, he was not welcomed in Spain, a capitalist country, and he was forced to return to the United States after spending more than a year in Spain.
For a moment, Bethune did not know where to go, and he fell into deep thought. However, on July 7, 1937, the "Lugou Bridge Incident" broke out, and Japan launched a full-scale war of aggression against China.
When Bethune learned of the situation in China, he immediately had the idea of going to China to support the war of resistance. He knew that there was a war going on there, and his medical skills would definitely come in handy!
So, he decided to give up his life in the United States and go to China. He went to the front to provide medical support to the fighters on the front. In December 1937, Bethune rushed to New York to apply to the National Committee for China Aid to China for support, and asked the committee members to support him in forming a medical team.
Thanks to his efforts, in early 1938, he finally scraped together a batch of medical drugs and equipment, and led the medical team from Vancouver, passing through Hong Kong, and then arriving in Wuhan.
He devoted all his energy to China and made important contributions to China's War of Resistance Against Japan.
In Wuhan, Smedley interviewed and greeted him, and the International Red Cross warmly welcomed him. Soon, ** personally met with Bethune at the office of the Eighth Route Army, hoping that he would stay in the rear to improve the medical institutions.
However, Bethune's answer was rock-solid: "The post of a military doctor is at the front." He insisted on going to Yan'an and joining the front. In March, Bethune finally arrived in Yan'an.
He spoke highly of Yan'an, saying that it was "full of vigor" and that he felt that he had come to the right place and that it gave him a "sense of belonging".
When *** learned of Bethune's arrival, he personally met and talked with him for hours, as if they had known each other for a long time. Although he hoped that Bethune would stay in the rear, Bethune resolutely refused: "I am here to save people, not to be taken care of." ”
In April 1938, Bethune arrived at the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region for the first time, and after inspection, he found that the medical facilities here were extremely rudimentary, and many of the equipment were self-made, which did not meet the standards, and could only be used reluctantly, and there were no regular operating rooms, disinfection rooms, storage rooms, etc.
He reported these situations to his superiors, hoping that Commander *** would help the Ministry of Health to establish a regular medical facility. Despite the difficult environment, ** tried his best to meet Bethune's request, but the operating room and other places built were still somewhat rudimentary.
Bethune and *** once when the enemy was sweeping, the Eighth Route Army often carried out guerrilla warfare, constantly changing positions and maneuvering with the enemy, so that the operating room was forced to abandon soon after it was established.
This made Bethune realize that he had to adapt to the combat style of the Eighth Route Army and design a series of surgical equipment and facilities that would facilitate the treatment of more people. As a result, he successively invented the "simple blood transfusion set" and the "Lugou Bridge", an extremely convenient surgical equipment transportation equipment that can meet the needs of the army.
At that time, blood transfusion technology was not yet widely available, and for most people, blood transfusion was a novelty, and it was even more difficult to imagine that it could be done under field medical conditions.
1.The close-up shots of Bethune's surgery are impressive, and his innovation is incredible. The simple blood transfusion device he invented only requires the patient and the transfuse person to lie down with their heads and feet opposite each other to complete the blood transfusion process.
This method was not only simple and easy to implement, but also unique at the time of the advanced state of the art. 2. "Lugou Bridge"It is a special surgical transport equipment, it is a bridge-shaped wooden frame, which is equipped with medicines and instruments at both ends, which can be put on the back of a horse to facilitate movement.
With the help of"Lugou Bridge"Dr. Bethune could carry the equipment with him at any time and follow the troops. 3.Dr. Bethune persistently completed one operation after another by using these improvised equipment in an environment under intense artillery fire.
His work ethos is just like his"Lugou Bridge"All the same, no matter when and where, you can help him complete the task, and if the fight does not stop, he will not stop working. 4.Dr. Bethune's medical equipment is simple, but his innovation and spirit are admirable.
He invented the improvised blood transfusion apparatus and"Lugou Bridge"The surgical transport equipment is to better serve the wounded on the battlefield, and his actions reflect the professionalism and humanitarian spirit of medical workers.
Bethune, the great doctor, worked with such intensity that it was admirable and distressing. Despite the hard persuasion of his comrades, he refused to get off the operating table.
His dedication is touching and his talent is admirable. He has made great contributions to the party's medical cause, and the health and medical school he founded has cultivated batches of medical backbones.
However, the only personal request made by the great doctor on his deathbed was the desire to leave more teaching materials for the party's medical cause. His textbooks such as "Thirteen Disinfection Methods" and "Surgical Dressing Change Law" were undoubtedly a valuable asset for the Communist Party at that time.
Dr. Bethune's life was a life of dedication, and his spirit will always inspire us.
When treating the wounded, Bethune found that early surgery significantly improved. From November 1938, regardless of the danger, he resolutely went to the front line of Yanbei and Jizhong in Shanxi Province for battlefield treatment.
Although his actions were opposed by his comrades, who feared that Bethune's treatment of the wounded near the battlefield was too risky and vulnerable to enemy shells. However, Bethune persevered to the end with his unwavering determination, and his reasoning was: "Gone are the days when doctors waited for the wounded in the rear!" ”
During the years of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Dr. Bethune did his best to treat the wounded in China. With great tenacity, he overcame many difficulties, traveled 750 kilometers, established 13 operating rooms and bandaging rooms, and provided protection for more than 300 surgeries, and his heroic deeds were praised by the world.
Bethune believed that his time in China was the most precious period of his life, because he did not waste a single second. With his professional skills and humanitarian spirit, he made great contributions to the cause of the liberation of the Chinese people.
His story teaches us that true value can only be created by facing difficulties bravely. During the "sweep" of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, Bethune operated on the wounded in a small ruined temple less than four kilometers from the battlefield, and his behavior was extremely heroic.
His spirit and deeds inspire us to persevere and fight tirelessly for our goals, no matter what difficulties we face.
Dr. Bethune was operating on a patient when suddenly the enemy was under heavy fire, and the front line could be occupied at any time. The guards anxiously persuaded him to evacuate, but Dr. Bethune insisted: "Soldiers do not abandon their comrades, and doctors cannot abandon patients!" ”
There were still wounded people on the operating table who needed to be treated, and he insisted on waiting for the operation to be completed before leaving. Dr. Bethune insisted on his opinion, and the guards could not force him, so they could only wait from the sidelines.
During the operation, a stray bullet from the enemy even hit the door of the operating room, but Dr. Bethune ignored it and continued to concentrate on cleaning the wound. In order to remove the bone spurs from the wounded wound as soon as possible, he decisively took off his gloves, and although the bone spurs were successfully removed, his finger was unfortunately stabbed.
Bethune returned to the front soon after the operation, and although the wound contracted bacteria during the operation and turned into sepsis, he did not disclose his condition to anyone.
When his body began to have a fever, he insisted on the operation and finally fainted on the operating table. It was only at this moment that everyone realized that he was battling sepsis.
However, despite the limitations of medical technology, Bethune insisted on his duty to provide medical care to the wounded.
Bethune knew that his life was coming to an end, and he had no regrets, no complaints. He wrote in his diary that his time in China was very fulfilling, every minute was wasted, and he found the meaning of life here.
However, for his ex-wife Francis, Bethune was full of guilt, because he chose to divorce his wife in order to pursue his ideals. So, on his deathbed, he wrote a letter to Commander ***, in which he said that after his death, his daily necessities, clothing and shoes could be left for other comrades to use.
Finally, he has a personal request, that is, he hopes that the International Aid Committee can give his ex-wife some living expenses, even if it cannot be paid in a lump sum, in installments.
1.In the early morning of November 12, 1939, Bethune died of illness in Tang County, Hebei Province, at the age of 49.
The great communist, who devoted his life to the struggle for the poor, the sick and the revolution, even on his deathbed, his only private request was not for himself, but for his divorced wife.
Dr. Bethune was undoubtedly a great man with "great love", and his noble personality and noble qualities won the respect and love of countless people. Dr. Bethune's noble spirit was widely praised not only during his lifetime, but also recognized by the international community after his death.
His dedication and noble qualities make him a truly beneficial person for the people. His spirit will always inspire us and keep us in pursuit of higher and farther goals.
Bethune: A great Canadian medical celebrity, he was elected to the "Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Memorial" by China**; In 2004, he was voted "The Greatest Canadian".
His internationalist spirit was praised, and his actions earned him love. Even after many years, the Chinese people still remember the kindness of this Canadian friend, international communist fighter, and Dr. Bethune.