View source for A Chinese Farmer Dubbed The folding Man Can Finally Walk Again After Spending Six Months Recovering From Four Consecutive High-risk Operations To Fix His Hunched Back

A Chinese farmer dubbed the 'folding man' can finally walk again after spending six months recovering from four consecutive,  [https://www.kynghidongduong.vn/tours/tour-trung-quoc-nam-ninh-truong-gia-gioi-phuong-hoang-co-tran-6-ngay.html tour phượng hoàng cổ trấn] high-risk operations to fix his hunched back.<br>Li Hua, 46, was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a rare type of arthritis, at the age of 19.<br><br>But his impoverished family from rural [/news/china/index.html China] could not afford to treat him.<br>He had been unable to stand upright, eat or walk properly for more than 25 years before the life-changing surgery, and had had to rely on his elderly mother to look after him.<br>                     Li Hua (left, pictured at the age of 18) was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis,  [https://www.kynghidongduong.vn/tours/tour-trung-quoc-nam-ninh-truong-gia-gioi-phuong-hoang-co-tran-6-ngay.html tour trương gia giới] a rare type of arthritis, when he was 19.<br><br>His had lived with his face pressed tightly against his thighs - with just a 0.7 inches gap in between - due to his severe illness (right, pictured before the surgery)<br>   RELATED ARTICLES  [# Previous] [# 1] [# Next]     [/news/article-8529323/China-says-stick-U-S-trade-deal-respond-bullying.html  Donald Trump's administration draws up plan for travel ban...] [/news/article-8529257/Taiwan-practices-fighting-Chinese-invasion-huge-annual-military-exercise.html  Taiwan practices fighting off a Chinese invasion in huge...] [/news/article-8529021/China-takes-swipe-Australia-accuses-politicians-spreading-11-fabricated-lies.html  China accuses Australia's politicians of spreading 11...] [/news/article-8528455/Chinas-economy-rebounds-Q2-steep-slump-consumption-investment-weak.html  China AVOIDS coronavirus economic recession as its...]    <br><br><br><br>Share this article<br>Share<br>1.4k shares<br><br><br>In the decade before the treatment, Mr Li's condition had been so severe he had lived with his face pressed tightly against his thighs - with just a 1.86 centimetre (0.7 inches) gap in between.<br>Surgeons performed the series of surgical procedures from June to December last year to 'open up' Mr Li's body, said the Shenzhen University General Hospital in southern China.<br>Accompanied by his 71-tear-old mother, Mr Li had travelled nearly 500 miles from his home village in Yongzhou, southern China's Hunan Province, to cosmopolitan Shenzhen to seek medical attention.<br>A team of specialists at the hospital came up with a sophisticated, four-step plan to help Mr Li to stand up straight, and eventually walk again.<br>              Mr Li had been unable to stand upright, eat or walk properly for more than 25 years before the life-changing surgery (left). Surgeons in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen performed the series of surgical procedures from June to December last year to 'open up' his body (right)<br>              Prof Tao Huiren, Director of the Department of Spine Diseases at the Shenzhen University General Hospital, headed Mr Li's surgery (left).<br><br>The patient received recovery treatment (right) for six months following the operations and was discharged from the hospital last month<br>Medics had to remove the dead part of Mr Li's thigh bones before breaking up and straightening up different sections of his spines - around the neck, chest and waist - to help him raise his head and correct his posture.<br>At the end of the third procedure in September, he was able to lie down flat and look at his beloved mother properly for the first time in 26 years.<br>Surgeons then gave Mr Li a total hip replacement in the final operation to enable him to learn to walk again.<br>              Li Hua is now able to walk slowly with the help of a walking frame and do gentle exercises with his arms. He has largely recovered from the medical procedures, according to Prof Tao<br>In the following six months, Mr Li remained in the hospital for recovery treatment.<br>One video supplied to MailOnline by the patient shows him training to lift his right leg while holding on to a walking frame after tying the limb to his hospital bed.<br>Another recent clip from the man shows him walking slowly outdoors, also with the help of a walking frame, and doing [http://search.usa.gov/search?affiliate=usagov&query=gentle%20exercises gentle exercises] with his arms.<br>Prof Tao Huiren, Director of the Department of Spine Diseases,  [https://www.kynghidongduong.vn/tours/tour-trung-quoc-nam-ninh-truong-gia-gioi-phuong-hoang-co-tran-6-ngay.html kynghidongduong.vn] told MailOnline that Mr Li was discharged from the hospital last month after mainly recovering from the surgery.<br>He has returned to his home village and even opened up a small shop there to make a living while continuing with his recovery.<br><div class="art-ins mol-factbox news" data-version="2" id="mol-c19d4df0-c759-11ea-9582-7f41e9201c29" website &apos;folding man&apos;, 46, is finally able to walk again