2011 SU Update: Young Reporter discovers Universiade Clinic from the Inside

AIPS Young Reporter Zilvinas Petkus surrounded by hospital staff

SHENZHEN – They say that even the most perfectly laid plans can sometimes go awry when you travel to exotic lands in the far reaches of the globe.

AIPS Young Reporter Zilvinas Petkus experienced that first-hand this week after falling ill two days into his stay in the glittering southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen.

The camera operator fromLithuania, who has worked for two years straight without taking a break, admitted he arrived in China on the back of a particularly hectic work schedule.

Having just returned home from a two-week stay in Russia where he had worked around the clock to film a documentary on a swimmer from his country, Petkus was told by a doctor to cancel his plans to travel to Asia where he was scheduled to take part in the AIPS Young Reporters’

Programme.

But rather than heed the advice, the hard-working 23-year-old bravely decided to try his luck and boarded yet another flight, this time bound for Shenzhen and the Universiade Games.

Two days into the trip, he realized his mistake and was so badly struck down by illness he ended up in the local hospital.

But the nightmare start to his China experience quickly faded thanks to the wonderful hospitality he received from the local medical staff in Shenzhen, who even offered to buy him McDonald’s.

“I was very upset and didn’t want to go. But your health is the most important thing in your life, you know,” Petkus said.

“So I went to the hospital and the doctors and nurses there were so amazing. If I needed anything I just had to ask and they were right there for me. They were by my side 24/7. That gave me a really warm feeling; I love those people for everything they did for me.

A couple of times an hour they would come to my room and ask if I needed something.

The next day I felt like a star because so many different Chinese people came in to my hospital room to ask how I was doing and they all wanted to take pictures with me.

They were so interested in me. They asked where I was from and when I said Lithuania they said: ‘Is that a country?’”

Petkus suffers from a disease called vegetodystonia, which he says can cause his body to “shut down” when he works too hard, leading to severe bouts of dizziness.

Six months ago, he suffered a similar setback to this week’s in China while at home in Europe.

He is expecting to return home within the next two days and while disappointed to miss the rest of the Young Reporters’ Program, realizes now, he says, the importance of getting some rest.

After being confined to his hotel room, he spent Tuesday in Shenzhen at the local market with two of his colleagues on the program.

“I feel like I still need some rest. I’m a little bit dizzy but I’m better than I was before,” he said.

“I’m taking some medicine to help me calm down, recover from the stress and sleep better.”

(Source: Aaron Lawton, AIPS Young Reporter)