A grandmother in China who was a nurse inspired her family in Los Angeles to support frontline medical workers in Wuhan, Guangzhou and at Keck Medicine of USC.

HuiQun Wang

Eagle Shi read the news about the spreading coronavirus with rising apprehension, anxiety and confusion. She called her mother, HuiQun Wang, who grew up in Wuhan and was a nurse her whole life in China. Eagle said, “She shared with us with tears the condition of the frontline medical workers in Wuhan. In the earlier stages of the virus outbreak, medical workers experienced shortages of equipment that protect them from the virus, but they stayed and did their job despite the hardships. My mother told us, if the country needs her as a retired nurse, she would go to the front line in Wuhan without a second thought.”

Her mother’s words sparked Eagle to act. She learned that USC was short of personal protective equipment

Eagle’s mother, HuiQun Wang, (third from left) was a nurse in China

(PPE) for health care workers. Eagle already knew some people at USC, so she thought it would be an excellent way to help. She made a generous gift to help supply PPEs to caregivers at USC who “are doing God’s work,” she said. “Having the opportunity to do something for them is an honor for our whole family.”

Eagle, her mother and their family feel that countries should work together to face the pandemic, not fight each other. Eagle said, “It breaks my heart how Asian communities have been attacked. Regardless of whose fault it was, hatred should not exist. The virus holds no passport. It runs around infecting people regardless of their race, country or group. We are praying for this disaster to pass. Humanity needs to face this crisis together.”