深藏于捐赠书中的爱

文/许紫莹

杭州国家版本馆开馆前，许多海外友人捐赠的书籍无疑为杭州馆增添了不少文化的世界性。在杭州馆筹备工作的采访中，工作人员特别提到了来自一位英国友人的捐赠。

这位友人是Therese Hesketh，中文名“何丽莎”，是全球卫生研究领域专家、伦敦大学学院全球卫生研究所共同创始人、英国公共卫生局顾问，曾在联合国儿童基金会、英国国际发展部、欧盟等组织机构担任顾问，目前担任浙江大学医学院全球卫生中心负责人。

何丽莎于1986年第一次来到杭州，在此工作已近36年。这些年来，她几乎每年都会在中国工作9个月，在英国工作3个月，早已把中国视为第二故乡。她对杭州的爱，全部深藏在她向杭州馆捐献的书籍里。

44本，从英国“背”来的原版书

2021年11月的一天，刚从英国归来并结束隔离的何丽莎踏入办公室时，她的助理吴叶平对她说 ：“杭州国家版本馆开馆在即，正进行海外版本的征集工作，外国专家局托我向您询问，是否愿意捐献海外出版物？”

何丽莎听后，丝毫没有犹豫地说：“我有好多书呢，很乐意捐给杭州馆。你直接去我的书架上挑选吧，要多选一些。”

后来确认捐赠的44本海外书籍是何丽莎万里迢迢从英国“背”来的，可称得上是她的珍藏。

作为一名爱书之人，何丽莎尤其偏爱纸质书，她闲来无事就喜欢在英国伦敦当地的慈善书店淘书，基本上每个星期就要买上四五本。经年累月下来，家里的书房已经有成千上万本书了，“书架根本放不下”。每次来中国工作，她都会带上一些未看过的书，以供闲暇时赏阅。“这些都是很好的书，很多甚至是我十几年前买的。有些是我精心挑选过才买的，有些是我朋友读完后觉得很好赠送给我的，所以我也乐意把这些书分享给他人，我相信将来读到这些书的人一定不会失望。”何丽莎笃定地说。

2018年10月，何丽莎荣获“西湖友谊奖”。（资料图片）In October 2018, Therese Hesketh received the West Lake Friendship Award. File photo.

这些海外出版物大多是历史小说和经典小说，何丽莎表示，她读小说时可以在想象中体验不同人群的生活，加深对人性的了解。其中，她最爱的一本是马修 · 尼尔的《英国旅人》，其主题是1857年一位牧师对澳洲塔斯马尼亚伊甸园的可笑探险。而与此同时，在塔斯马尼亚本土，英国定居者正交替地试图“文明化”和消灭原住民。“很少有当代作家有如此想象力或耐力来写就这种小说。”

何丽莎认为，她所捐赠的这些原版书大多是基于西方文化背景创作的，中国读者在阅读时可以感受不同国家的文化、见识不同的社会、了解不同人的心理特点，这是一场深入的跨文化体验与交流。

谈及捐赠海外出版物给杭州国家版本馆的初衷，何丽莎说 ：“我带了很多书来中国，因为实在太多、太重，又不可能再把它们全部带回英国。这些书我已经看完，放在我这儿也很可惜，如果捐出去，能让更多的人享受这些书给他们带来的惊奇、感动和叹惋，这是一件很好的事。”

2018年9月和10月，何丽莎分别获得了“杭州市荣誉市民”“西湖友谊奖”，当记者问到“捐献海外书籍是否为一种履行责任的表现”时，何丽莎笑道 ：“不是，我当时根本没想这么多，况且捐书也并不能称作是履行责任或义务，这是每一个人都能做的事情。我手里正好有这些书，所以就捐出去了，如此而已。”

36年，为公共卫生事业初心不改

1986年，一家美国医疗机构想在中国的一些省市建立新生儿和儿童专用的重症监护病房，基地就设立在杭州。当年29岁的何丽莎受聘于这个医疗机构，于是来到杭州市儿童医院担任儿科医生。

那时候，中国才实行改革开放不到10年，杭州的一切基础设施都有待完善。“1986年物资相对短缺，儿童死亡率很高。如果有人在那时候告诉我，杭州会发展成如今这样，我是绝不会相信的。”

到杭州后，她和美国同事一起建立了全中国第一家规范化的新生儿重症监护中心，并制定了11个省的新生儿基础护理规范，还开展免疫接种、疟疾控制、安全孕产等其他项目。

何丽莎告诉笔者，她印象最深刻的一件事是成功看护了杭州市的第一例四胞胎。

1988年，杭州市儿童医院入住了四个特殊的病人—当时中国国内罕见的单卵四胞胎姐妹，其他医院的医护们没有护理如此孱弱小婴儿的经验，所以把她们送到了何丽莎手上。何丽莎第一次看见这四胞胎时吃了一惊 ：“真的都是好小好小的一个个生命，像四条小鱼儿。”

如此小、如此孱弱的四胞胎，要过喂养、吸氧等多道“关卡”，以当时的医疗条件，稍有不慎就很可能一个也保不住。由于情况特殊，何丽莎持续观察监护了孩子们一个月，才放心让她们出院。四胞胎父亲一手两个娃，欢欢喜喜地把她们抱出院的画面，何丽莎至今记忆犹新。现在这四胞胎已经长成了四个健康漂亮的姑娘，她由衷地感到欣喜与慰藉。

除了在城市行医，何丽莎还会去最艰苦的农村地区，向乡村医生普及基础的儿童护理、新生儿急救知识，开展项目引导医生规范用药。何丽莎和她当时的同事们还与联合国儿童基金会一起推动了浙江等13个中国省份的乡村医院新生儿急救培训项目的建立，并将先进的医疗设备赠送给当地，致力于改善新生儿健康情况与医护水平。这是她最骄傲、最有成就感的一项工作，因为确确实实拯救了不少中国婴幼儿的生命。

“现在，杭州的儿童死亡率已经和美国城市的死亡率很接近了，甚至比美国很多城市都还要优秀，中国在提高人口基本生存方面做得非常好。现在是提高居民生活质量和健康水平的时候了。”何丽莎说。

因此，何丽莎团队着重加强关于人口迁移与健康、儿童保护、抗生素耐药性、医疗制度改革等领域研究，并积极探索中外医学交流，开展与共建“一带一路”沿线国家和地区的科研学术交流。2019年，何丽莎与中国医疗专家一同前往西非国家马里，发挥自己所长，将中国和英国的先进医疗经验介绍到非洲，助力中国援非医疗队工作。

1990年，何丽莎在浙江温岭与农村孩子们交流。（资料图片）In 1990, Therese Hesketh went to Wenling city, Zhejiang province. In this file photo, she is seen talking with local children.

何丽莎捐赠的海外出版物。The books donated by Therese Hesketh.

2019年，何丽莎在中国援建的马里医院与医护人员合影。（资料图片）Therese Hesketh takes a photo with medical workers at a hospital in Mali, which China helped build, in 2019. File photo.

“36年过去了，但我在这里的初心始终没变。我的目标一直是帮助中国发展，帮助中国的公共卫生事业做得更好。尽管取得了一些成就，但是我们需要去做的事情还有很多。”何丽莎表示。

无数次，畅游西湖深感美不胜收

这几十年里，何丽莎因工作原因，几乎跑遍了中国的大江南北，北京、上海、深圳、昆明、西藏、黑龙江等省市都去过，但是，她最爱的还是杭州。

她去过无数次西湖、灵隐寺，爬过无数次北高峰，热爱杭州四季皆有的绿色。“杭州真的很美，和大多数中国城市相比更具魅力和吸引力。我觉得杭州有些地方当属中国最美，像西湖周围还保持着几十年前原汁原味的风情，这在大城市中可不多见。”何丽莎丝毫不吝于对杭州的赞美，“除了炎热的夏天让我有点不适应之外，杭州的确是个宜居的城市”。

作为一个土生土长的英国人，何丽莎的家人都在伦敦，她平日里一个人待在中国，偶尔会生出孤单之感。但是每当工作任务重、事情繁多时，她忙起来也就什么都顾不得了，因此，何丽莎在中国一向以“工作狂”的面目示人，持续不断地接一个又一个的医疗项目。2016年，她来到浙江大学任教，带领学生们从事各项课题研究，继续为中国乃至全球的公共卫生事业服务。

何丽莎最开心的日子是2000年至2004年，这几年她的丈夫和两个男孩来到中国陪伴她。她的小儿子当时只有三岁，所以何丽莎把他送入了杭州的幼儿园接受教育，她自己也作为英语志愿老师，偶尔去教一教孩子们简单的英语。“小朋友在中国四年，打下了良好的数学基础。”何丽莎笑称。

最后，何丽莎总结自己这些年的工作目标说：“作为一名医生，我希望可以救治每一个患者，让更多的人生活得更好；作为一名老师，我希望能让中国学生对这个世界更感兴趣，保持好奇心，去探索他们喜欢的领域。”

From Donated Books, with Love

By Xu Ziying

For the China National Archives of Publications and Culture(Hangzhou), the books donated by overseas friends undoubtedly add cultural diversity to enrich it. A British friend’s donation is especially laudable.

Therese Hesketh is an expert in the field of global health research, co-founder of the Institute of Global Health at University College London, and consultant to Public Health England. She used to be a consultant to UNICEF, the UK Department for International Development and the European Union. Now she is the leader of the Global Health Center at School of Medicine,Zhejiang University. Therese has been working in Hangzhou for nearly 36 years ever since her first visit in 1986. She has been in the habit of spending three quarters of the year in China and one quarter in the UK, regarding Hangzhou as her second hometown.Her love for Hangzhou is all hidden in the books she has donated to the China National Archives of Publications and Culture(Hangzhou).

One day in November 2021, when Therese, back from the UK and out of quarantine, stepped into her office, her assistant Wu Yeping told her, “The China National Archives of Publications and Culture (Hangzhou) is about to open, and the collection for overseas books is underway. The Bureau of Foreign Experts told me to inquire if you are willing to donate overseas publications?”Without hesitation Therese replied, “I have a lot of books which I am willing to donate. Go and pick them from my bookshelf. The more, the better.”

These 44 books of foreign editions, brought by Therese on her shoulders from the UK, are all her treasures. As a book lover, she prefers paper books. She likes to “pick and purchase” books in a local charity bookstore in London, when she is free. She generally purchases four to five books every week. Day after day, thousands of books have been accumulated in her study at home, and “the bookshelf can’t fit them at all”. Every time she came to work in China, she would bring some new books to read in her spare time.

“These are all great books, many of which were bought more than a decade ago. Some were carefully selected and bought, and some were given by my friends who thought they were good after reading them, so I am happy to share these books with others,and I believe that those who read these books in the future will not be disappointed,” Therese said. Most of these publications are historical and classic novels. She believes that Chinese readers can have an in-depth cross-cultural experience and exchange.

In September and October 2018, Therese won the titles of “Hangzhou Honorary Citizen” and “West Lake Friendship Award”. She said, “Donating books can’t be called fulfilling a responsibility or obligation; it’s just an ordinary move. I have them and donate them; that’s all.”

20世纪90 年代，何丽莎曾到杭州临安横畈镇一个小卫生院考察。（资料图片）In the 1990s, Therese Hesketh paid a visit to a local clinic in Hengfan township,Hangzhou’s Lin’an district.

In 1986, an American medical institution planned to establish a dedicated intensive care unit for newborns and children in cities in China, and it was based in Hangzhou. Employed by this institution, then 29-year-old Therese came to Hangzhou Children’s Hospital as a pediatrician.

At that time, the infrastructure in Hangzhou had a lot to be desired. After arriving in Hangzhou, she and her American colleagues established the first standard neonatal intensive care center in China and formulated basic neonatal nursing standards for 11 provinces. She also carried out immunizations, malaria control, safe motherhood and other programs. She explained that one of the most impressive things was the successful care of the first case of quadruplets in Hangzhou. In 1988,Hangzhou Children’s Hospital admitted four special patients —monozygotic quadruplets, which were rare in China at that time.The doctors and nurses in other hospitals had no experience in caring for such weak babies, so they sent them to Therese. She was shocked when she saw the quadruplets for the first time: “They are too small and they are just like four little fish.” Such small and weak quadruplets had to go through multiple “checkpoints”, such as feeding and oxygen inhalation. Therese continued to observe and monitor the babies for a month before they were discharged from the hospital.

Therese not only practiced in the urban area but also in the poor rural areas, popularizing basic childcare and neonatal firstaid knowledge to rural doctors, and carrying out projects to guide doctors to standardize medication. She and her colleagues also worked with UNICEF to promote neonatal first-aid training programs in rural hospitals in 13 Chinese provinces including Zhejiang, and donated advanced medical equipment to the local people. She is dedicated to improving neonatal health conditions and medical care, which is her most proud and ful filling job, as it has saved the lives of many Chinese infants and young children.

Therese’s team now focuses on research in population migration and health, children protection, antibiotic resistance,medical care system reform and medical exchanges between China and foreign countries, and conducts scientific research and academic exchanges with countries and regions along the “Belt and Road". In 2019, Therese and Chinese medical experts went to Mali, a Western African country, giving full play of her strengths,introducing the advanced medical experience of China and Britain to Africa, and assisting the Chinese medical team in Africa.

“Over 36 years have passed, but my original intention here has not changed. My goal is always to help China to develop and push China’s public health cause forward. Although some achievements have been made, there are still more to be done,”Therese said.

In the past decades, she has traveled a lot all over China,including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Kunming, Tibet,Heilongjiang, but her favorite city is Hangzhou. She has been to the West Lake, the Lingyin Temple, and the North Peak for countless times. “Hangzhou is really beautiful and I love its greenness in all seasons. Compared with other Chinese cities,Hangzhou is more charming and attractive. It is rare that the West Lake still maintains the original style of decades ago. Except for the hot sultry summer, Hangzhou is indeed a city suitable for living.”

As British, Therese’s other family members are in London.With herself in China, she occasionally feels lonely. But when she has lots of things to do, she will forget about it. Therefore, always a “workaholic” in China, she continues to do medical projects one after another. In 2016, she came to teach at Zhejiang University,leading students in various research projects and continuing to serve public health in China and around the world.

Therese’s happiest days were from 2000 to 2004, when her husband and two boys came to accompany her in China. Her youngest son was only three years old at the time, so she sent him to a kindergarten in Hangzhou. She herself also serves as a volunteer English teacher, occasionally teaching basic English to children. “My son has been in China for four years, laying a good foundation for mathematics,” Therese smiled.

For the future, Therese said, “As a doctor, I hope to treat every patient and make more people live better; as a teacher, I hope to inspire my Chinese students to be interested in the world, stay curious, and explore areas they love.”

何丽莎在浙江大学上公开课。Therese Hesketh teaches an open course at Zhejiang University.