(Minghui.org) I am a 65-year-old resident of a village in northeastern China. After surviving over two decades of life-threatening illness and severe emotional trauma, I finally discovered Falun Gong. The spiritual and physical renewal I experienced was beyond my imagination.
At the age of 21 in 1970, I was infected with tuberculosis, which was incurable at the time. My mother-in-law did not allow me to get treatment and my husband did not want to spend money on treatment for me either. Within three months, the disease had already begun to spread. I was very thin, while my abdomen was bloated. My uncle sold some of his valuables to pay for my treatment. I survived, but I had to depend on antibiotics.
I suffered severe lower back pain when I was 25 and the bloating in my abdomen worsened. Giving in to pressure from my family, my husband took me to the hospital. I was told that the tuberculosis had spread throughout my body and there was nothing that could be done for me. With this grim news, I decided to stay with my own family.
I became paralyzed and bedridden for two years and nine months. My back also became hunched. Just as I began to get a little better and could walk with a cane at age 28, my eight-year-old son died of an unknown illness with no warning signs. My husband divorced me the same year. It seemed I had nothing to live for, but I did not give up. I felt somehow that I was waiting for something.
I remarried in 1979. When I was 37, I suffered pneumonia, but I survived. Eight years later, I suddenly felt weak in the legs and could not walk many steps without taking a rest. I was extremely worried and decided that I would end my life if I were to become permanently paralyzed.
My nephew visited me one day the same year. He said: “My mother asked if you'd like to learn Falun Gong. She felt great after just one day of learning the practice. And it is free.” I was instantly excited at the news. I replied, “Yes. I'll go there with your mother tomorrow!”
I woke up unusually early the next morning. I was in great spirits. I did some household chores and even cooked breakfast, which I had not done for over six months. I was very happy and did not feel tired after walking three miles with my sister-in-law to the exercises site. Looking back, I believe that Master Li Hongzhi (founder of Falun Gong) had already started taking of me as soon as I had the wish to cultivate.
Four days into learning the practice, I started experiencing some of the symptoms of body-purification described in the teachings. I had severe diarrhea that lasted for two days. I did not eat anything, but I did not feel hungry or uncomfortable at all. My hard, bloated abdomen that had bothered me for 25 years finally shrank and became soft! Gradually, my hunched back became straight without my even noticing it happening.
Falun Gong gave me a second life. I deeply thank Master from the bottom of my heart!