(Minghui.org) Paralysis is the loss of ability to move part or all of one’s body. Most paralyzed people have to depend on wheelchairs for the rest of their lives. Paralysis causes tremendous pain not only for the sufferers but also for their families.
Thanks to Falun Dafa, an ancient spiritual discipline also known as Falun Gong, a number of paralyzed people have been able to walk again and now live renewed lives.
Below are several such stories of recovery.
(Continued from Part II)
Ann Teurlings, from Belgium, is a mother of six children. Thirty-five years ago, she almost died in a serious car accident. Although she survived, she could barely walk and she had pain throughout her body. Despite the suffering, she still had to take care of her children, which made her life very difficult. She said, “I couldn’t run to catch a bus or play with my children.”
Her youngest daughter, Elly, made a new friend, Lucia, after starting grade school. Lucia’s mother is a Falun Dafa practitioner, who, upon learning of Ann’s situation, introduced Falun Dafa to her. Ann declined at first. When she recalled it years later, she said, “At that time, after so many years of illness, I no longer believed in anything that could heal me, and I was losing my trust in people.”
However, Lucia’s mother didn’t give up. She tried to contact Ann many times and Ann rejected her each time. About three years later, Ann finally accepted Lucia’s invitation and visited her home. Lucia's mother gave Ann a copy of Zhuan Falun, the main teachings of Falun Dafa.
Ann said, “I started reading the book. Immediately I realized that this is what I needed! I couldn’t stop reading. When Lucia’s mother advised me to read it over and over again, I had already read it several times. Four months later, all my pain and illness disappeared.”
In 2016, Ann joined other Falun Dafa practitioners for a parade in Berlin. She walked ten kilometers without realizing it. “I was shocked! I couldn’t believe I made it. Next I participated in the Falun Dafa parade in Munich. After that, I was able to run! My 11-year-old daughter Elly exclaimed, ‘My mother can run!’ She had never seen me run before!”
Ann added, “In fact, my oldest daughter, 28, has never seen me run either. She was very happy and surprised, ‘What happened? How?’ I told her it was because I practice Falun Dafa. She was amazed.”
Seeing the changes in her, many of her friends also started to practice Falun Dafa. “I am so lucky to have encountered Falun Dafa. I am grateful to Master Li (Falun Dafa’s founder) for everything he has given me!”
Ann regretted that she didn’t practice Falun Dafa earlier. She said, “I know that some people, like me in the past, rejected Falun Dafa because they weren’t familiar with it. But I believe that anyone who reads Falun Dafa books will find hope.”
Artwork by Ann when she volunteered for the Minghui Summer Camp in the U.K. in 2017
Photos of the car accident that injured Ann more than 30 years ago
For 25 years, Renee Levison spent her days curled up in a wheelchair, watching others do things that were impossible for her.
Renee lives in Adelaide, South Australia. She was diagnosed with a mental disability and a spinal deformity when she was 5. The deformed spine caused severe pain throughout her body. She could not stand at all, much less walk.
In 2003, when Renee’s mother, Ms. Jesse LeCotte, started to practice Falun Dafa, Renee also joined her. Four weeks later, Renee was able to do the full-hour standing exercises, followed by the one-hour sitting meditation. Jesse was moved to tears. She could hardly believe Renee had changed so much in just four weeks.
Nine months later, Renee’s back became straight and she was 3 inches taller. She joined an art class and started to work in a coffee shop. She is now fully capable of living on her own.
Renee Levison and her mother Jesse LeCotte
Renee doing the Falun Dafa meditation
(Continued in Part IV)