Zhang Haichao (left), who recovered from pneumoconiosis, talks with Chen Jingyu, the doctor who successfully operated on him to cure his lung disease, at a seminar in Beijing this month. Zhu Xingxin / China Daily Four years after undergoing a transplant to replace his lungs, which were destroyed by pneumoconiosis, Zhang Haichao now lives a healthy and normal life. I feel fine. My lung functions are back to normal, he said. Before the surgery, I could barely walk 50 meters, but now I can even climb mountains. Zhang, 37, began displaying symptoms of pneumoconiosis, such as harsh coughing, in 2007 while working at a dusty workshop producing fireproof materials in Xinmi, Henan province. The condition is caused by the inhalation of dust. He traveled to the provincial capital, Zhengzhou, for a checkup and was diagnosed with tuberculosis by the Zhengzhou Occupational Disease Control and Prevention Institute. However, after seeking a second opinion at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, one of the city's top hospitals, doctors ruled out TB and diagnosed pneumoconiosis. I went to many hospitals after that, including in Beijing. All the hospitals agreed that I didn't have TB, he said. Yet the feedback from those hospitals had no legal effect in allowing Zhang to claim compensation from his employer. Of all his local clinics, only the Zhengzhou institute is certified to diagnose occupational diseases such as pneumoconiosis, yet Zhang said it has refused to confirm his diagnosis. He underwent exploratory chest surgery at the Zhengzhou University hospital in June 2009, and it showed without doubt he had the disease. But the institute still refused to back the results. Eventually, Zhang's story was picked up by local and national media, which prompted public outrage and applied pressure on the institute and local authorities to accept the diagnosis. He went on to receive 1.2 million yuan ($190,000) in compensation from his employer, and in mid-2013, he underwent a lung transplant at Wuxi People's Hospital in Jiangsu province. After two years of recovery, Zhang found work as a bus driver in Xinmi. I don't really want to be a driver, as my doctor told me to stay away from crowds to prevent infection, he said. But I have to make a living. I get up at 5 am, even in temperatures as low as - 13 C in winter. I'm really afraid of catching a cold. Zhang's wife left him in 2012, and now he lives with his 13-year-old daughter, who studies at primary school. As a pneumoconiosis patient, I know I'm very lucky because I got compensation that covered my treatment, he said. Most migrant workers with the disease I know can't get compensation, either because their employers didn't buy insurance for them or they didn't sign an employment contract. Fortunately, local governments have attached more importance to the prevention and control of the disease, and are improving support for patients. Migrant workers in some places can even have their medical bills completely reimbursed, Zhang added. I hope those working in hazardous environments can learn to protect themselves and stay healthy. custom goyard braceletpurple rubber braceletrainbow rubber braceletswhere can you buy wristbandscustom silicone wristbands
A male lion in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. [Photo by Zheng Yang/Provided to China Daily] BEIJING -- Increasing public awareness of wildlife protection among Chinese people and their participation will make a difference in the global cause of wildlife conservation, a famed Chinese conservationist told Xinhua in a recent interview. Zhuo Qiang, also known and aliased as Simba, said China, as a major developing country with an earnest sense of responsibility towards the shared destiny of humankind, is actively participating in the global pursuit of an ecological civilization, and this has brought hope and progress to the cause. Over the weekend, a few hundred attendees from home and abroad joined Zhuo in the Run for Wildlife, a charitable event held on the western outskirts of Beijing. While running up and down a 5-km hilly path across the forest park, participants vowed to reject wildlife products and do what they can to protect endangered species and defend the world ecosystem. It is delightful to see more and more Chinese people become aware and join the cause to protect wildlife, Zhuo said, who flew back from Kenya to support the event organized by Nature Guardian, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting habitat conservation, public education and international exchange between China and Africa. In 2011, Zhuo traveled to Mara-Serengeti savannah, where he has been staying with the indigenous Maasai people and working with local conservationists at Ol Kinyei Conservancy, a sanctuary for wildlife covering 260,000 hectares of wilderness. In recent years, Zhuo and his team have welcomed many Chinese visitors including children who offered to volunteer for the project. Coming back from Kenya, Chinese volunteers shared their experience and called for an immediate end to the consumption of wildlife products, such as ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales and big cat bones.
