Nursing workers take care of Li Jinxin, a 26-year-old Chinese woman, at the Medical City hospital in Pasig City, the Philippines, Dec. 13, 2021. Li Jinxin has found her dream of returning home come true after battling a devastating illness for almost two and a half years in the Philippines that nearly cost her life.(Photo: Xinhua)

 

Li Jinxin, a 26-year-old Chinese woman, is attended to by her nurse Sherricka Mae Navalta (1st R) and neurologist Kim Alfred Inting (1st L) in the Medical City hospital in Pasig City, the Philippines on Dec. 13, 2021. Li Jinxin has found her dream of returning home come true after battling a devastating illness for almost two and a half years in the Philippines that nearly cost her life.(Photo: Xinhua)

 

Li Jinxin, a 26-year-old Chinese woman, writes her name assisted by her nurse Sherricka Mae Navalta at the Medical City hospital in Pasig City, the Philippines, Dec. 13, 2021. Li Jinxin has found her dream of returning home come true after battling a devastating illness for almost two and a half years in the Philippines that nearly cost her life.(Photo: Xinhua)

 

Li Jinxin, a 26-year-old Chinese woman, is seen reflected in a mirror as she is attended to by her nurse Sherricka Mae Navalta inside her room at the Medical City hospital in Pasig City, the Philippines, Dec. 13, 2021. Li Jinxin has found her dream of returning home come true after battling a devastating illness for almost two and a half years in the Philippines that nearly cost her life.(Photo: Xinhua)

 
Li Jinxin, a 26-year-old Chinese woman, has found her dream of returning home come true after battling a devastating illness for almost two and a half years in the Philippines that nearly cost her life.

Li spent 904 days bedridden in Medical City in Metro Manila due to a brain hemorrhage.

Her neurologist, Kim Alfred Inting, said Li was admitted to the hospital on July 16, 2019 due to severe headaches, weakness, and paralysis of the left arm and leg.

"After CT scan, we found a blood clot on the right side of the brain, so we did surgery on her," Inting said.

After staying in the intensive care unit for several months, Li, whose vital signs gradually became stable, was transferred to a general ward and had since been taken care of by Sherricka Mae Navalta, one of the nurses in the hospital.

Recalling the days spent with Li, Navalta, who prefers to call Li's English name "Coco", said the Chinese patient is the longest hospitalized patient she had cared for as a nurse. There were too many touching and unforgettable moments while taking care of Li, Navalta added.

"Coco is away from her family, so we treat her as one of our young relatives or sisters. I feed her, clean her body, check her temperature, diaper, and vital signs whenever I'm on duty. On her birthday last July, I posted a happy birthday greeting. Even though she can't speak, there's a smile on her face," Navalta said.

Navalta said she was concerned and distraught when they found out that Li tested positive for COVID-19 in October last year while at the hospital despite the strict coronavirus restrictions.

"We were worried when she had to be transferred to an isolated unit because we were not allowed to take care of her in the COVID-19 ward," Navalta told Xinhua. "We were concerned about Li's condition at the time because of many COVID-19 patients dying."

Thanks to the treatment and care of Filipino medics, Li woke up last summer after spending almost two years bedridden and finally recovered from COVID-19.

Li can now interact and communicate with the doctors and nurses by nodding and shaking her head, frowning, and even making a finger heart to express her gratitude.

As Li's health improved, she was advised to be discharged from the hospital and allowed to travel back home to China to be reunited with her family. A mixed feeling struck Navalta.

"I had mixed emotions. On the one hand, we are sad that Coco is leaving the hospital. But on the other hand, we are happy that she has recovered and will be reunited with her family in China," Navalta said.

"I know that she is eager to be with her family in China because when we ask her if she wants to go back to China, she always gives a positive answer," Navalta added.

As planned, Li will be accompanied by attending physician Jenina Paculan to fly to north China's Tianjin Municipality to undergo medical observation in quarantine at first, and then travel back home to central China's Hubei province.

"We are not expecting anything unusual during the trip. We just want her to be back home safe," Paculan said.