Caring for the earthquake victims

Dr Law Sheung-wai is an orthopedic surgeon. In the wake of the Sichuan earthquake in 2008, large numbers of injured children were rushed to different orthopedic hospitals in Guangzhou for treatment. This inspired Dr Law to join the “StandTALL Project” initiated by Professor Chan Kai-ming and together with their team members, set off to Guangzhou to offer medical consultations for the quake victims. In the ensuing five months, Dr Law travelled to the mainland every week to offer clinical consultations and rehabilitative treatments, as many patients needed these services on a long-term basis. During this period, he also recruited volunteers and trained local healthcare personnel. Now that the “StandTALL Project” is entering its ninth year, Dr Law still visits Chengdu every half a year, to follow up on the rehabilitation progress of his medical service recipients.

Introducing advanced rehabilitation technologies

According to Dr Law, the earthquake had a significant impact on the injured victims, physically and mentally, and that a long period of rehabilitation was ahead of them. If they were provided with early rehabilitation intervention, it could help reduce the side effects of trauma they faced. Dr Law could not bear to see the earthquake victims, especially young children with their limbs amputated, to be limited by their physical disabilities and live a lifetime of regret. Therefore, he strives to offer them the rehabilitative and other medical services.

Dr Law also helps mainland hospitals to bring in smart prosthetics and other advanced rehabilitation technology, while actively training local rehabilitation personnel, to ensure the injured quake victims receive optimal support and more people could benefit from it. Presently, the “StandTALL Project” has trained more than 2,000 rehabilitation workers on the mainland, including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, doctors and nurses.

Dr Law hopes to pass on the humanitarian work and spirit. For this reason, he has led many Hong Kong medical students to the mainland to offer orthopedic clinical consultations and apart from teaching them ways of treating diseases, he attaches greater importance to the cultivation of their medical ethics and humanitarian mindset.