Anxiously awaiting her policeman husband’s return for the traditional family reunion during the national Dragon Boat Festival, a doctor surnamed Lou from Taizhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province got a call she never expected. She was told her husband was being treated in the emergency room of the hospital where she works, after being seriously injured in a traffic accident. 

Xu's car was seriously damaged by the truck./ Dushi Kuaibao Photo

Traffic police officer Xu Bin was sent to the Tiantai People’s Hospital early on Sunday morning, after his patrol car was hit by a truck while he was working overtime to help ease traffic congestion on a local highway. 

According to Wang Bin, a traffic station deputy, Xu volunteered to remain in his post due to staff shortages during the holiday period. 

Traffic officers rescued Xu after he became trapped in his vehicle. /Dushi Kuaibao Photo 

When his colleagues came to the rescue, they found Xu in a coma and trapped in his crumpled patrol car after a drowsy truck driver rammed into it. 

The truck driver, surnamed Tang, confessed later that he had not noticed Xu until his truck suddenly crashed into the central reservation where the police car stood.

Rushed to hospital, Xu was diagnosed with a serious fracture along with severe visceral injuries.

On receiving the phone call about her husband's critical condition, Lou rushed to the hospital to help treat Xu. 

“Lou really surprised me. I thought she might break down, and I didn’t expect her to help treat her husband,” one of Xu's colleagues told Dushi Kuaibao (City Express).

Lou also served as assistant during the surgery although she was later advised by a doctor named Chen to wait outside. 

“As soon as I saw she started to cry, I told her to wait outside and try not to worry too much,” Chen added. “It was really hard for her to see her husband's spleen removed." 

Xu received medical treatment at a local hospital. /Dushi Kuaibao Photo 

“We made an appointment that our family would go for an outing the day after his night shift. I really didn’t expect this,” said Lou. To save her family from distress, Lou lied to her son, telling him that Xu was still at work and she had to do overtime in the hospital. 

The Dushi Kuaibao paper reported that Xu's condition is now stable although he has yet to regain consciousness following the surgery. 

Since the story broke online, thousands of web users have praised Xu's dedication to his job as well as the level-headed response from his wife. 

Screenshot of social media post

“It's really hard to imagine how it feels to rescue your own husband as a doctor,” one user with the name @Yanyan posted on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter.

Screenshot of social media post

“One is a defender of security, while the other is a guardian of health. I would like to pay my respect and hope he gets well soon,” @RockxiaoMing said.