A doctor in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality received a surprise thank-you from a stranger, who traveled all the way from Malaysia to express his appreciation and gratitude after seeing how the doctor saved a fainted passenger at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport in May.

On the morning of May 18, a passenger suddenly collapsed on the shuttle bus at the airport, causing a stir in the crowd. A woman pushed her way through, speaking aloud, "Please let me through. I'm a doctor."

Soon, the passenger was carried off the bus under her request. And the volunteered female doctor conducted cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the sick passenger, on her knees.

When other passengers were to take the airport shuttle bus for their flight to Shanghai, some asked the doctor to go with them, not to miss the flight. 

Knowing that an ambulance was on its way, she taught the patient's companion ways to perform CPR, before getting on board the shuttle bus. But in no time, she decided to get back to the sick passenger, with her baggage left behind. "I can't leave him behind like this," she said.

The ambulance came in ten minutes, and the doctor stayed around to assist the medical workers. 

She took a later shuttle bus for her flight, when the ambulance took away the sick man away from the airport. More than 20 minutes' first-aid practice made her wet with sweat and panting, with knees swollen. The crowd in the bus applauded her for appreciation and some approached and asked if she needed help. She declined the offer and said, "It's okay. I'm fine."

Yao Wei, from east China's Jiangsu Province, was among the crowd witnessing what happened. When he returned to work in Malaysia, he told this story to a lot of people and decided to find this doctor.

"I think such a selfless doctor deserves praise and we need to spread such positive energy in our society," said Yao.

At the time, many passengers wanted to know the doctor's name, but she refused to tell. The only information Yao had is that the female doctor is working at Chongqing Daping Hospital. One month later, he arrived in Chongqing once again and went straight to the hospital. He showed to the medical staff a picture he took on the shuttle bus. Hospital staff recognized the woman pictured as Liu Hua, an ophthalmologist in the hospital.

"I didn't expect someone would come to me to say thank you," said Liu. She was surprised. "Any doctor would have done the same if they were in my place."

She said she was taking the flight to attend an academic conference in Shanghai. She stepped off the shuttle bus to rescue the passenger, willing to give up boarding because nothing matters more than a human's life.

"On the afternoon of May 18, I received a call from the airport. They told me that the passenger didn't make it. I hanged up the phone and cried."

After the incident, Liu went back to work as usual and kept this a secret. 

It was not until Yao came that Liu's colleagues learned about her behavior. In her colleagues' eyes, the 40-year-old doctor does not talk much at work, but has always been ready to help. She offers all she owns to patients in need.