For more than four decades, Wang Shoudao has brought medical care to the villagers of Tangyang, Jiangsu Province. Despite losing an arm and living with a leg disability, the 60-year-old village doctor still makes house calls, rain or shine.

One rainy day during summer vacation, Wang climbed onto his specially adapted tricycle and headed out for his rounds of house calls. His first stop was for 70-year-old villager Yang Dingliang. A month earlier, Yang had called Wang complaining of dizziness after working in the fields. It was already 8 pm, but Wang immediately rushed to his home.

Wang Shoudao sets out to visit a patient. (Photo: Sihong County Media Convergence Center)

Knowing Yang had a history of hypertension, Wang asked about his symptoms, conducted a careful examination and prescribed medication.

Now, Wang was back for a scheduled one-month follow-up. The check-up showed that Yang's blood pressure had improved. Wang reminded him to continue taking his medication regularly and maintain a healthy diet.

After leaving Yang's home, Wang made two more house calls.

Born in 1966, Wang has spent 42 years caring for the health of villagers in Tangyang.

Becoming a doctor had been Wang's dream since childhood. However, he lost his left hand in an accident when he was young and permanently injured his leg after falling from a height.

Wang Shoudao walks to see a patient. (Photo: Sihong County Media Convergence Center)

But adversity did not stop him. Despite the challenges, Wang became a village doctor in 1984.

Tangyang village covers 16 square kilometers and has nearly 3,000 residents. Villagers live in scattered settlements, with older people and children making up more than half the population.

To make medical care more accessible to elderly villagers, Wang regularly makes house calls. But as he grew older, Wang noticed that his legs were becoming increasingly unsteady. In 2020, he made a pair of crutches from branches.

He has more than 400 villagers' phone numbers saved in his phone, along with a thick notebook containing their medical histories and treatments.

Wang's wife lost her ability to work because of illness while their two children were still in school. Wang became the sole breadwinner. Relatives and friends urged him to find a different job, and one person recommended a position as a factory doctor in Jiangsu Province that paid more than 6,000 yuan a month.

Wang flatly declined.

"As a member of the Communist Party of China, I will never neglect the health of the villagers under any circumstances," he said.

"Conditions at the village clinic have improved greatly in recent years. Medicines for common illnesses, especially chronic diseases, are well-stocked," Wang added.

Wang Shoudao (third from the right) educates villagers on health issues. (Photo: Sihong County Media Convergence Center)

Though Wang is getting close to retirement, he remains deeply concerned about the villagers' health. "As long as I can still walk, I'll keep serving the villagers until the day I can't carry on anymore," he said.

(Compiled by Ge Weiqin; Edited by Yang Yang)