The man lived 28 years folded in half due to a rare disease

There are tens of thousands of different diseases in the world: some are already familiar to us and easily curable, others are rare, extremely dangerous and still not fully understood.

It was with such a disease that the Chinese Li Hua faced at the time. Ankylosing spondylitis — such a diagnosis was made to him by doctors — was the reason that the man spent 28 years of his life in a folded position.

Li Hua is a 46—year-old resident of China, who was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (an aggressive form of arthritis) back in 1991. The disease progressed rapidly, and soon the man's spine was deformed so much that his head was pressed against his knees.

Li Hua could not move independently, raise his head, sit or lie flat. The man completely relied on his elderly mother, who supported him all these years.

At first, all the doctors refused Hua, claiming that any intervention would entail a fatal outcome. But in May 2019, there was still a "savior" who agreed to operate on him — Professor Tao Huiren, who heads the Department of Spine surgery and Orthopedics at the Shenzhen University General Hospital.

Professor Huiren had to operate on "folded patients" before, but he admitted that such a neglected case was the first time in his practice. Nevertheless, the doctor agreed to perform a risky operation on the spine, which with a high probability could result in complete paralysis.The operation was carried out in four stages. During each of them, the doctors broke and reassembled the man's spine. Fortunately, everything went well! Now Li Hua has an even spine, which allows him to sit and lie down, raise his head and eat normally.

Dr. Huiren says that after a few months of physical therapy Li Hua will be able to move around normally and engage in household activities. Natural, extreme loads, like boxing or skiing, are contraindicated for him.