People with Lupus Healed after Practicing Falun Dafa (Part 2)

(Minghui.org) Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease for which there is no known cure. The disease causes the immune system to produce auto-antibodies that attack its own cells and tissues, leading to the damage of one’s internal organs and subsequent complications.

Regardless of age, those with lupus face life-threatening conditions and will have to take medication for the rest of their lives.

Some people with lupus, however, have been lucky enough to recover from the disease after practicing Falun Dafa, a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline for mind and body. Below are their stories.

(Continued from Part 1.)

Woman Paralyzed with Lupus Fully Recovers

Ms. Cai Ming (left) and her caregiver Ms. Lai

Ms. Cai Ming was diagnosed with lupus when she was 57 in 2008 and almost all of her organs were affected. There were no effective treatments, and she had to use steroids to control her symptoms. However, the steroids caused many side effects. 

The most serious side effect was bone loss. She developed a hunchback, which worsened over time. She was 12 cm (4.7 inches) shorter than before. To strengthen her bones, her doctors injected bone clay into the first section of her lumbar vertebrae, and bone stabilization on both sides of her thighs and abdomen on a daily basis.

Once when she turned her back, she heard a “pop,” and her tendon snapped. She couldn’t walk after that. When the doctor told her that she would have to use a wheelchair for the rest of her life, she felt as if she had been plunged into an abyss.

Lupus also caused kidney lesions, resulting in edema. She couldn't wear shoes and her face was always puffy and round. She dared not look at herself in the mirror.

Constipation, stomach ulcers, dry eyes, and no saliva—one symptom after another appeared as the treatment continued. Ms. Cai had to see specialists in rheumatology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, colorectal medicine, neurology, nephrology, urology, and gastroenterology to alleviate her pain. 

She said, “I was so depressed about having to take so many medications. My stomach was like a jar of medicine.” And she had to avoid taking certain medicines together to prevent interactions. Once her urologist shook his head and said, “I don't know which medicine to prescribe for you.”

Ms. Cai said, “It’s hard to endure the suffering of the disease.” But seeing no hope of getting cured was what made her most hopeless about life. Eventually, she developed depression. She suffered memory loss and her eyes were dull.

Turning Point 

Five years of treatment didn’t lessen her pain. One day, as she was pondering which specialist she should see, she suddenly thought of seeking a fortuneteller. She asked her caregiver, Ms. Lai, “Do you know where I can find a fortuneteller?” Ms. Lai replied, “How about you read the book Zhuan Falun?”

Ms. Lai and her husband Mr. Lin are both Falun Dafa practitioners. Mr. Lin had encouraged Ms. Cai to learn Falun Dafa several times in the past. This time, Ms. Cai decided to give it a try.

On September 1, 2013, Ms. Lai accompanied Ms. Cai in her wheelchair to a nine-day seminar that includes watching Falun Dafa lectures on video. On the fourth day, Ms. Lai was surprised to find that Ms. Cai’s dull eyes were now clear!

After finishing the lectures, Ms. Cai joined the group exercises. Doing the exercises made her feel very comfortable and since then, she has been doing the exercises every day.

On the fifth day of practicing, her bowel movements became normal; one month later, she gradually stopped taking medication, one after another. She stopped visiting doctors since she felt good. After four or five months of practicing, her fingernails and toenails, which were originally gray and black, were as clean and beautiful as if they were newly grown.

Seven months later, Ms. Cai could not only walk on her own but also go up the stairs by herself, from the first floor to the fourth floor. Now she was no different from a healthy person.

The manager of the company across the street from Ms. Cai’s house witnessed her change and felt happy for her, “Why do you look so good recently? Have you been exercising?” She replied, “I have been practicing Falun Dafa!” She was a little sorry that she didn’t take any pictures when she was sick, but at that time she did not even dare to look in the mirror.

She recalled that when she first joined the group exercises, those in their 80s thought she was their age. It was Falun Dafa that brought color to her dismal life.

Ms. Cai said with tears in her eyes, “I can’t thank Master enough for saving me from hell and giving me a second life.”

“What Magic Pill Brought You Back to Life”?

I was a factory worker in northern China. My family of four was not rich but it was happy and harmonious. 

In June 1994 when I was 27, I developed lupus. We knew it was a stubborn blood disease, a terminal disease. My husband took me to all the hospitals in the city but there were no effective treatments. The lupus attacked my internal organs, causing severe damage to both kidneys. My heart and my stomach were affected. I couldn’t urinate or have a bowel movement. My body swelled and my fever wouldn’t go away. Besides western medicine, I also tried Chinese medicine, but nothing worked. My condition worsened day by day, until finally I was bedridden. I spent all the family savings and borrowed money from everyone we could think of. However, even if we had money, money couldn’t save me.

During the Chinese New Year in 1995, while other families were enjoying the holiday, my family was filled with sadness. I thought of ending my life. My husband sensed it. He was worried, “Please don’t think that way! Please, don’t leave us!” I was in a dilemma of life and death.

In this difficult moment, my husband’s coworkers chipped in to help us have a good holiday. However, my husband didn’t buy food with the donation but bought thousands of yuan of herbal medicine, as if this was his last hope. Yet my illness was still not cured. Instead, I developed scleroderma (chronic hardening of the skin and connective tissue). 

I wanted to take a look at myself but my family hid the mirror. When I struggled to reach the mirror, I was stunned: Is this me?! I saw a skinny person with her mouth twitching, her eyes sunken, her gaze dull, and her almost bald head. It was really a mummy. No wonder people couldn’t bear to look at me. Once again, I thought of ending my life.

In February 1996, my neighbor Yan on the second floor brought me a tape of a Falun Gong practitioners’ experience-sharing conference. Actually she gave me the book of Zhuan Falun a few years ago, but I wasn’t interested and gave it back without reading it.

As I was listening to the sharing, I was a bit doubtful that those practitioners were indeed cured of their illnesses simply by practicing Falun Gong, but at the same time I also hoped to see miracles happen to me. So I borrowed the book Zhuan Falun. This time, I read the whole book. The more I read, the more I like it. I finished the book in three days and read it again. In one month, I read it more than ten times in a row.

Master said in the book:

“Buddhists talk about karmic relationship—we’re all what we are because of karmic relationship. So, if you obtain it, then maybe you’re supposed to obtain it. That’s why you should cherish it, and shouldn’t want things.”(The Second Talk, Zhuan Falun)

In the past, I often complained that I had bad luck and was an unfortunate person. Now I realized that I was truly blessed to have the chance to practice Falun Dafa at the critical moment in my life. I understood that cultivation would be the only way to change my life. Driven by the strong desire to cultivate, I got up and went downstairs to Yan’s home. I wanted to learn the exercises.

After I finished the first set of exercises, Yan walked me back home because I was panting heavily. I sat on the bed for a while, and borrowed a copy of Falun Gong. I started to learn all five exercises by myself according to the exercise pictures in the book.

Later Yan came to my home to correct my movements and encouraged me to join the group exercise in the park. With my husband’s help, I went to the park to do the exercises. Finally I became one of the many Falun Gong practitioners! I couldn’t describe how happy I was.

On the fourth day, I went to the park by myself. It was difficult to do the second movement (a standing exercise) but I increased the time little by little, from one minute in the beginning to ten minutes one month later.

Gradually, I could go shopping. At first I could only carry one or two pounds of groceries. Later I was able to carry a large watermelon. From then on, I had never taken a pill.

As I continued to cultivate, my character also improved, and my body was purified. My weight increased to 130 pounds, and my family regained the joy we once had. My neighbors said, “A dying person completely recovered. Falun Dafa is indeed great!”

When I went back to work on my bicycle on April 1, 1997, my colleagues were shocked. They gathered around me and asked, “What is the magic pill that brought you back to life?” I excitedly told them, “It is Falun Dafa.”

(To be continued.)