A Special Salad

By Xu Kuang

Redtomato , greencucumber,yellow banana...

On the morning of April 4, in a pediatric ward of Tongji Hospital,a group of blonde-haired blueeyed foreigners, both mothers and children, were working with Chinese child patients to make fruit salad.

“It is the Cold Food Festival in China today. It’s a tradition to shun cooked food and just eat cold food on this day. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. So we’re making a salad, a cold food in our country, and sharing the experience with the children.”said Ms. Joanna from America,“Making salad takes cooperation and effort, during which time the children are responsible for their duties within the team.”

With the help of the mothers,the children were busily washing tomatoes, peeling bananas,cutting apples, adding crème, and working together to make the first fruit salad of their life. At times,some of the more mischievous kids secretly ate the ingredients;which was quite a sight. Children are more likely to eat the salad they make themselves while they were feeling good.

Ms. Yao Ying, professor of Tongji Hospital suggested that diet management plays a key role in the treatment of pediatric kidney disease. Eating the right foods helps with the recovery process. On the contrary,eating the wrong foods leads to malnutrition and exacerbates the condition.

Accompanying children and playing with them are the most effective treatment for child patients. After sharing the salad,child patients played games with foreign children in the activity room while foreign mothers communicated with them via gesture. They burst into laughter and chased each other now and then. It is this kind of love that removes linguistic and cultural barriers.

Most child patients in Tongji Hospital suffer from some form of chronic disease. In September 2016, Tongji Hospital established a Future Children’s School. Its classrooms are placed in wards,and teachers are volunteers with hearts full of care. With the help of those teachers, children can read books, watch movies and play games together.

红色小番茄、绿色小黄瓜、黄色小香蕉……

2018年4月4日上午，同济医院儿科病房里，一群黄头发、蓝眼睛的外国妈妈、小朋友正和中国患童一起做水果沙拉。

“今天是中国的寒食节，听说这天有禁烟火、吃冷食的传统，入乡随俗，就想做我们国家的冷食沙拉，和孩子们一起分享。”来自美国的乔安娜女士说：“做沙拉需要分工协作，希望在这个过程中，让孩子感受到自己在团队中所承担的责任。”

洗番茄，剥香蕉，分苹果，放沙拉酱，在妈妈们的帮助下，小患儿们分工协作，完成自己人生中的第一份水果沙拉。偶尔会有一俩个小调皮偷吃做沙拉的食材，十分可爱。小患儿们吃着自己做的沙拉，特别开心。

同济医院的姚颖教授介绍，饮食管理在孩子肾病的治疗中，起着非常关键的作用。吃对了，肾病就好得快；吃错了，会营养不良，病情加重。

走进孩子们的心里，陪伴玩耍是最好的交流。分享完沙拉，小患儿与外国孩子在活动室玩起互动游戏，外国妈妈配合手势和小患儿们交流，他们一会儿捧腹大笑，一会儿追逐打闹。这里没有言语的隔阂、没有文化的差异，只有爱的传递。

同济医院的住院患儿大多是慢性病。 2016年9月，同济医院成立同济未来儿童学校，教室设在病房，老师由社会爱心人士组成。在志愿者老师的陪伴下，患儿们可以一起读书、看电影、做游戏。

这些志愿者妈妈由在武汉生活的各国女性组成，分别来自美国、英国、法国、西班牙、俄罗斯和巴西。从 2013年开始，每年她们都会到同济医院儿科看望住院的孩子，给孩子们送礼物，陪孩子们一起做游戏，今后还将定期给住院孩子们上英语课，为小患儿打开一扇认识不同国家文化的窗口。◆

These volunteers are now living in Wuhan. They come from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Russia,and Brazil. Since 2013, they have been visiting hospitalized children in pediatric ward. Every year,Tongji Hospital presents children gifts and plays games with them.In the future, they will arrange regular English classes for them,in the hope of opening a window for them, through which the children would be able to witness different cultures.◆