Li's anxiety was gradually relieved through the good care she received from medical workers and encouragement from other patients.

"The doctors and nurses took very good care of us, wearing those thick protective suits," she said. "I was touched, and I thought maybe I could record these moments with cartoons."

Li was very weak because of the illness. However, she insisted on drawing every single touching moment that she experienced at the hospital.

Her favorite cartoon is the one she drew of her doctor, Chen Baoqing, from Xi'an Fourth Hospital, Shaanxi province, who traveled to Wuhan to join the fight against the epidemic.

In the first week of her hospitalization, Li was cared for by Wuhan medical staff members. Later, 137 medical workers from Shaanxi took over the job of looking after patients.

"Doctor Chen gave me the inspiration and courage to beat the coronavirus," Li said. "He always comforted me and told me it was OK to be afraid, and the most important task was to eat well and sleep to improve the body's resistance to the disease, which made me feel relaxed," she said.

"I wrote 'I will always be a fan of Doctor Chen' on the cartoon, but he joked that I better not, and wished me a healthy life," she said, laughing.

Li said that she later became well-known at the hospital for her cartoons.

"The medical workers gave thumbs-up for my work and encouraged me to continue drawing, even if I'm discharged from the hospital," she said. "I had a group picture with the other patients and medical workers holding my cartoons when I left the hospital in late February."

She said she wants to turn the cartoons she drew during her 23 days in the hospital into a book, and present copies to the medical workers who helped her and her fellow patients.

"I'm thankful to all the medical workers who raced against the clock to help our city, and my compatriots who lent a hand during the epidemic."

Li said she believes that the "devil" coronavirus will be ultimately defeated.