(Minghui.org) Maria Josefe immigrated to Germany from Spain 10 years ago. The first time I met her was at a German airport. We were both traveling to New York and were very excited about making the trip.
Maria Josefe celebrates World Falun Dafa Day at Union Square in New York City on May 12, 2016.
“Without Falun Dafa, I would be in a wheelchair,” Maria said, as we went through the security check after walking a long way to get to the gate.
“Really?” I thought. She walked briskly and looked perfectly healthy to me.
When Maria saw my doubt she slowly pulled up her left trouser. There was a long ugly scar that looked like a wide zipper on her left thigh.
“The cut was 18 centimeters long and 8 centimeters deep,” she said calmly.
On May 12 last year, Maria was trimming trees with an electric saw. Suddenly, her hand slipped, and the engaged saw fell and cut deeply into her thigh.
“Blood flew everywhere,” Maria recalled. She put her hands on the cut to stop the bleeding and walked to a neighbor for help. The neighbor called an ambulance.
She was in surgery for 7 hours. When it was over, Maria told the doctors that she wanted to go home. They thought she did not understand the extent of her injury and called in a counselor to talk to her.
The counselor said anyone with an injury like hers was expected to stay in the hospital for six months. But Maria was determined to go home, and finally the hospital released her after she signed a form that waived the hospital's responsibility.
I asked her what convinced her to challenge medical experts and that she would be fine. How did she have the energy to argue with the doctors after being in surgery for 7 hours?
Maria said that she started practicing Falun Dafa in 2013, and she had strong faith in this ancient cultivation practice.
As soon as she returned home she did the exercises. She did the first four standing exercises. For the fifth exercise, the meditation, she did her best to pull her legs up. She watched the Falun Dafa lecture videos and read the books.
Three days later, she had a strong feeling that she could walk. So she opened the door and walked out.
Her neighbors, who were very worried about her after they heard what had happened, were amazed to see her walking so soon. Maria told them that Falun Dafa saved her. They didn't understand. She explained that Falun Dafa is truly amazing, and if she did not practice it she might have ended up crippled and in a wheelchair.
Seven days later, Maria went to the hospital for a check up. When she found the doctor, she did a 360-degree turn in front of him and teasingly said, “Can I invite you to dance a flamenco with me?”
The doctor couldn't believe his eyes.
Maria told him that Falun Dafa is miraculous. “I’m not crazy. I just went home and did the exercises. I didn't take any pills. I am fully recovered!” she said.
The doctor said he had never seen anything like it in his 40 years in medicine.
A year later, Maria joined other practitioners from all over the world to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day at Union Square in New York City. The next day, she participated in a three and a half hour parade across Manhattan along with nearly 10,000 practitioners.
But the most exciting moment for her was when Master Li Hongzhi walked onto the stage at the Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference in New York.
“When Master walked to the podium, I saw a beam of light shoot straight up to the sky, and I felt a strong energy field,” Maris recalled.
Maria says she is very happy and feels very fortunate that she practices Falun Dafa. She wishes more people knew about Falun Dafa - especially people in mainland China.
