A Chinese man nicknamed the “Bent Man” underwent life-changing surgery after spending years bent over.
Li Hua lived with the autoimmune disease ankylosing spondylitis for nearly three decades before the operation. He began experiencing symptoms of the rare arthritis at age 19 and was unable to stand, eat or walk properly for more than 28 years.
But thanks to a “liberating” surgery carried out at Shenzhen University General Hospital (China) he is now able to move around and live a “more normal” life.
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“I have been doing rehabilitation exercises at home for the past few months,” Li told the “South China Morning Post.” “Now I can walk slowly with the walker, go to the sink, brush my teeth and wash my face. I can hold a bowl and eat like anyone else, sitting at the table”, she celebrated.
In the complex surgery, carried out in 2020, Li underwent four procedures to break and rebuild his bones. Surgeon Tao Hurien described the operations as “climbing Mount Everest” and said Li now has 20 screws in his neck and cannot move it.
But he can stand and has recovered a lot of body movement thanks to the slow rehabilitation after surgery.
“I’m very happy to be able to sleep lying down again. I haven’t slept on my back for over 20 years,” he told Ergeng TV. “The first time I saw my mother after surgery, I suddenly realized how much she had aged while taking care of me all these years,” he added.
