(Minghui.org) I am a female Falun Dafa practitioner who is 76 years old. I would like to share how I recovered from disability in both my legs.
Disability in Both Legs
From childhood till youth, I was very healthy and enjoyed sports such as basketball and volleyball. I also won some awards in sports games. After entering my 30s, I began to experience discomfort after working or physical exercise. That included fatigue, leg pain, and sciatica. An examination at the provincial hospital showed congenital bilateral hip subluxation. Because my hip socket was shallow, the ligaments loosened over time and the femoral head moved up and could not reset. With no other option, I needed a hip replacement surgery.
With technology at the time, such a prosthetic joint could last 20 years. As a single mother who was only 40, this was a heavy blow for me. My son just entered elementary school so I had to postpone the surgery hoping for better technologies. But the illness deteriorated quickly. My activity was restricted and the joints were deformed. The traumatic osteoarthritis from joint friction led to pain. Because my legs could not carry my body weight, I moved slowly in pain. As time continued, fan-shaped bone spurs grew on the prolapsed femoral head. The pain was beyond description.
As a result, my body was severely deformed with an S-shaped spine. When standing, I had to stretch my chest and stiffen my joints. My legs could not squat or cross and I could not lie on my side. When sitting, I could not bend my legs 90 degrees. When putting on socks, I could not reach my feet. Due to muscle atrophy, my toes shrank and I was unable to lift my legs when stepping forward. Even during summer, I had to wear thick long johns and tuck in my quilt tightly when sleeping. I felt my body had died from the waist down. With my legs as stiff as wood boards, my lower body was basically disabled.
With no other choice, I had left hip replacement surgery at the 202 Military Hospital in Shenyang of Liaoning Province in May 1992. The doctor said it could last up to 20 years and recommended hip replacement surgery on the right side the following year. The result was not so good since the weight-bearing capacity and range of motion of the leg did not improve much. Plus, my feet turned purplish, my heel was painful when sitting or lying, and my legs could not coordinate well. The doctor said the left leg was a little longer than the right one, so I had to balance them well when walking. Because of the poor result of this surgery, I did not have my right hip replaced.
My miserable existence was frustrating and hopeless. But because of my teenage son, I had to carry on. I tried several qigong systems and went to temples to pray, but nothing improved. I was hoping an angel could help me, but I did not know how.
Life Changed
My aunt recommended Falun Dafa to me in February 1999. I read the main teachings, Zhuan Falun, in two days and I was thrilled. This is the book I was waiting for and the divine does exist, I thought. I learned a lot, including why one suffers and how enduring hardship can repay karmic debts. I learned that “good is rewarded with good and evil meets with evil.” I also decided to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to return to my origin.
At a nearby group practice site, I obtained a copy of all the Falun Dafa books. I could not wait to read them. This completely changed my view of the world – I knew Master Li (the founder of Falun Dafa) would take care of me and I would no longer be lonely. While learning the five exercises, I was unable to squat to do the fourth exercise. I couldn't cross my legs, so I had to do the sitting meditation with my legs separated. But I had confidence. Gradually I could cross my legs, and within two months, I could sit in the full lotus position.
In the beginning, I worried that I would break my legs while bending them. Then I read Master’s words:
“If you’re saying that you have an illness, I never acknowledge the concept of “illness” since it’s caused by karma; and some illnesses are caused by foreign intelligent beings. If you’re saying that you’ve been injured, I think that as long as you treat yourself as a true cultivator, unexpected miracles will occur. We’ve had people who even had nails and steel plates mounted in them, yet eventually they were able to sit in the full-lotus position. Nails and steel plates are only mounted to the body that’s made of the largest particles. Of course, I’d say that none of those things are problems in cultivation.” (Teachings at the Conference in Europe)
This gave me more confidence and I had no worries anymore. When sitting in the full lotus position for the first time, I could barely hold it for one minute since the pain was unbearable. My body was shaking and I had difficulty breathing. But every time, I tried to push myself and it improved significantly day by day. My goal was to extend the time from 10 minutes to one hour, and I would not take my legs down no matter how much it hurt. In my mind, I recited Master’s words of “Nothing is truly unbearable or impossible.” (The Ninth Talk, Zhuan Falun) With support from Master, I quickly overcame this and could do all five exercises a few months later.
My body also made a big change. The osteoarthritis that gave me pain all the time was gone. New muscle grew in both of my legs and the misaligned tailbone became normal again. My spine also became straight and my legs could move around with no problem.
From Disability to Health
Because my karma was so much, it took a long time to eliminate it and I sometimes considered it an illness. Especially for my right hip joint, it was still displaced and protruding outward. Sometimes, I pushed on it, hoping it would go back in place. But the hip joint still had problems occasionally and I then realized this was due to my attachment to illness.
In fact, my right hip joint already went inward after I began to practice Dafa. But I was not enlightened to it. As a result, I suffered from insomnia and was sleepy when studying Falun Dafa teachings or sending forth righteous thoughts. I thought the right hip probably would not recover. So I began to do exercises twice a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. But there was no progress. When reading experience-sharing articles from other practitioners, I saw they talked about fundamental attachments. I began to look within to see what loopholes I had. All my actions showed I was attached to my illness.
As a practitioner, I knew this was not sickness. Rather, it was a process of eliminating karma. In fact, I did not have deep faith in Dafa. The more I was attached to it, the more urgent it was that I let it go. I decided to forget about this and just give myself to Master. So every day, I continued to study the teachings, do the exercises, and listen to experience-sharing articles from Minghui Radio.
At the same time, I felt my right hip joint moving back and upward. I paid no attention to it, but it got better and better. The entire joint was restored. In the past, there was a big lump both in the front and in the back, and it did not look good. Now, this joint is completely normal. The hip bone groove at the base of my leg was also visible. The pain caused by joint dislocation when I walked was finally over.
In addition, the left hip joint (the one with surgery) also improved. New muscle formed on both thighs and buttocks. My legs lined up well. My back was also straight and the swelling area on my knees disappeared. This was a miracle from Dafa – Master gave me a pair of healthy legs.
After taking an X-ray image in the hospital on March 21 this year, I have included the conclusion and image here.
X-ray image of Pelvic IR on March 21, 2023
The image shows that the acetabulum of the right hip joint becomes shallower and denser, and the femoral head is displaced upward to form a pseudarthrosis. The femoral head is flat and wide, and the density is higher. After the artificial joint replacement of the left hip joint, the remaining bone structure was good, the trabecular bone was clear, the joint space was normal, and the articular surface was smooth.
I am thankful to Master Li and Falun Dafa for everything. Although the doctor said the left hip joint replacement could last 20 years, 31 years have passed and it is doing better than ever. The bone spurs in my right hip joint also disappeared without surgery.
This is my personal experience which I share as a testimony to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day. Words cannot express my gratitude to Falun Dafa and Master Li.
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Category: Health Benefits
