A man has spent almost 30 years of his life bent over, due to a rare bone condition.
Li Hua has suffered from a form of ankylosing spondylitis, a form of spinal arthritis most commonly found in young males, that causes immobility of vertebral and sacroiliac joints due to the fusion of bones.
As his condition worsened over the years, his upper body folded onto his thighs and he has effectively been 'folded' ever since.
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His chin is folded on to his chest, his breastbone is folded to his pubic bone, and his face to his thigh.
Since he was 18, the Chinese national has suffered with the condition, and his family have not been able to afford the medical procedure, until 2020.
Following to a visit to Shenzhen University General Hospital, Doctor Tao Huiren began to formulate a medical plan for the man, highlighting that the operation could cause paraplegia or death.
After pointing out just how hard the surgeries would be, the medical expert compared it to 'scaling Mount Everest', taking two weeks to get a plan mapped out.
Ultimately, the plan was to undergo four surgeries that would break and reconstruct Li Hua's bones, so that he could stand up straight once again.
His mother, who has cared for him since the condition rose, was by his side while they explained the risk of the procedures, emotionally saying: "What if I die, but he's still sick? Who will take care of my son?"
The first surgery was a femoral osteotomy, which would break and reconstruct his thigh bones, in order to expand the space between his face and thigh bone for the following operations.
Crucially, they needed to insert the tube into his windpipe for anaesthesia, which would be the most important part, as without it, none of the surgeries could proceed.
They succeeded, and after three hours, step one of four was complete.
Operation two was a cervical osteotomy, where his cervical spine would be broken and reconstructed, which took six hours, after which Li Hua could lift his head for the first time since his teen years.
His mother, who said that her heart was aching for him, was overjoyed when she saw him looking directly at her.
The third step was a lumbar spine osteotomy, where his lumbar spine would be broken and reconstructed, with Doctor Tao explaining that it was groundbreaking to combine all of these surgeries in such a short space of time.
It proved successful, as he could sit up straight.
Despite getting a fever after it, it was found that the inflammation was not serious, so Li Hua was ready for the final surgery.
This would involve replacing his hip joints so he could stand up straight.
After seven gruelling hours, Li Hua came out of the operation successfully, and able to stand up straight for the first time in 28 years.
He emotionally said: "I could finally take a closer look at my mum. She has grown old and her hair has turned grey. I hope I can recover soon, so that she can be relieved of this burden."
Due to his shrunken muscles, he had to stay in the hospital's care as he learned to walk again and complete everyday tasks, before being released from the hospital the following summer.
Li Hua and his mother tearfully thanked the hospital for their help, as the video closes on a shot of Li Hua finally being able to look up at the sky for the first time in almost three decades.
Topics: Health, Science, World News, Parenting, China
Joshua Nair