One of the most stressful days of Susan McFrederick’s life was watching her son get wheeled away for surgery hours after he was born in 2011.

But after the operation, Susan burst into tears for a different reason: across the cut on their newborn sons back was a sweet winter scene, hand-drawn on his bandages（绷带）.

“There were rolling hills of snow, a pine tree and a snowman with a hat and broom, she recalled. It was extremely touching and comforting to know that somebody had taken the time to do that for my family. It was a moment I'll never forget.”

Susan soon learned the artist was her sons surgeon, Robert Parry, who discovered another way to use his hands in the mid-1980 s during his internship（实习期）at children's medical center. where he saw one of his colleagues cut out heart and shark shapes to decorate children’s bandages.

“My first reaction was, 'What is he doing? Hey, that’s kind of neat,’ ” Parry recalled. “I especially liked the reactions of the parents and the patients when they saw his artwork. The smiles took everyone's attention from the surgery. Then I decided to follow suit.”

Parry quickly graduated from his early hearts and sharks, and started to surprise families with drawings that captured young patients' personalities. From Snoopy to Spider-Man and bears to butterflies, there isn’t much he hasn’t drawn. Most kids want superheroes sports team logos or princesses, while babies often receive scenes with flowers trees and sea creatures During the last 30 years, Parry estimates he has left examples of his handiwork over the stitches（伤口缝线） of more than 10, 000 children.

“During a time of stress for families, it's nice to be able to help them smile and laugh," Parry said. This is something positive that I can do for them, which is what I like most about it.”

For Parry, the reward is knowing he hopefully made a difference in a child’s life, and except for his drawings on bandages, they can go on and live their lives and never know I was in it.” he said.

He's not ready to retire, but he's found a new hobby to keep his hands skillful in the years to come.

“I've taken up knitting（编织）,” Parry said. “Hats, sweaters, gloves---I enjoy it all. But mostly, I enjoy giving everything away.”

When Central Bucks South became one of the first Philadelphia-area high schools to close due to fear of novel coronavirus exposure in early March, 16-year-old sophomore Andrew knew that things were not going to return to normal as quickly as some of his peers hoped. But still, he disliked the uncomfortable feeling from seeing his friends on the swim team during daily practices to learning alone at home. “I only have three years here at South, and it pains me to see one of them being wasted,” he said.

The coronavirus has affected everyone’s life, especially for students. Schools closed and graduation ceremonies were canceled. Summer plans, like camps and internships (实习)are up in the air. And for recent college graduates, entering the job market in a time of unprecedented (空前的) unemployment rates is no easy task.

Josh Harycki, 17, a senior student at the Shipley School in Philadelphia, who created a “social distancing pledge” for young people. “I saw a lot of younger generations not paying attention, he said. “They were still going out, hanging out with people. I thought that there had to be a way to reach younger people, who were probably not watching the news.”

Harycki launched a call to action on social media and then built a website with a map that tracked the locations of people who’d signed the pledge. The site also shares links to accurate sources of information like the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “ Going from being around with friends for eight hours a day at school to being isolated at home all day wasn’t easy, said Harycki.

We’ve definitely had times when we feel kind of bored at home,” he said. “We are very social beings and we are used to having that school experience. “

Harycki knows that his peers are worried they can’t connect with their friends in the same way, so he created the social distancing pledge to stress that while everyone might be physically distant they are still connected. “Part of what we are highlighting is that you might feel like you are the only one taking this seriously, but our map shows that you’re not alone,” he said.

A girl became a volunteer in the activities of Deathbed Care, which meant visiting and taking care of a patient suffering from an incurable disease with days numbered.

The girl was assigned to look after an old man suffering from cancer whose children lived abroad. Their living conditions were not satisfactory while the old man had a lot of savings. She was expected to comfort him and keep up his spirits.

Every Saturday the girl came on time to keep him company, telling him stories. When he was having an intravenous drip (静脉滴注), she would help massage his arms. The doctor found the patient much improved mentally. The old man began to involve himself actively in the medical treatment and he seldom shouted at others.

But something that happened made the doctor uneasy and puzzled. Each time the girl left, the old man would give her some money. The doctor did nothing to interfere (干涉), unwilling to offend the old man. A month later the old man showed evident signs of decline after suffering coma (昏迷) a few times.

When rescued from the latest coma, the old man told the doctor his last wish, “I have deep sympathy for the girl. Will you be kind enough to help her finish her studies？”

But the doctor knew that her family was well­off and she had no difficulty pursuing her studies.   Sometimes she even came to the hospital in her father's car.

When the girl came at the weekend after the death of the old man, the doctor told her the bad news. She was very sad and burst into tears. Then she handed $ 500 to the doctor, saying, “The old man had all along thought I came to do the job because of poverty. He gave me money so that I could continue my schooling.” Now he got the answer to the puzzle. In the last period of his life, the old man found it a real pleasure to be able to help a girl badly in need.