A MAN dubbed the “folded man” has had life changing surgery after spending years hunched over.
Li Hua, from China, lived with the autoimmune disease ankylosing spondylitis for nearly 30 years before the op.
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He first started experiencing symptoms of the rare arthritis at the age of 19 and was unable to stand up straight, eat or walk properly for more than 25 years.
But thanks to the surgery he is now able to move around and life a more normal life, he said.
Li told the South China Morning Post: “I’ve been doing the rehabilitation exercises at home in the past few months.
“Now I can walk slowly with the walking frame, go to the sink, brush my teeth and wash my face. I can hold a bowl and eat like anyone else, sitting at the table.
“I’m happy — I have hope.”
Ankylosing spondylitis is a rare condition that affects around 200,000 Brits.
It can cause bones to fuse together, sometimes leading to the spine curving forwards, and can also result in back pain and stiffness, pain in other parts of the body and fatigue.
Experts are not sure what causes it exactly but thought it may be linked with a particular gene variant known as HLA-B27.
There is no cure but treatment usually involves exercises to reduce pain and stiffness, physiotherapy and pain-relief and anti-inflammatory drugs.
Surgery may be needed in rare cases where there are severe bends in the spine or significant joint damage.
Li first started experiencing symptoms in his late teens but was unable to get treatment because his poor family in rural China could not afford the medical fees.
He had to rely on his elderly mother Tang Dongchen to take care of him.
She said: “I wasn’t going to give up on my son.
“I gave birth to him, so I had to try my best to find a way to make him better. Otherwise, when I die, who will look after him?”
I hadn’t slept on my back for more than 20 years
Li Hua
He received surgery at the Shenzhen University General Hospital in 2020, undergoing four procedures to break and reconstruct his bones.
His surgeon Dr Tao Hurien described the operations as like “scaling Mount Everest” and now Li has 20 pins in his neck and cannot move it.
But he is able to stand up straight and has regained a lot of movement in his body thanks to rehab after the surgeries.
He told Ergeng TV: “I’m just very happy to be able to sleep lying flat again. I hadn’t slept on my back for more than 20 years.
“The first time I saw my mother after surgery, I suddenly realised how much she had aged while taking care of me all these years.
“She couldn’t take care of me forever, so I wanted to cure this disease and reduce her burden.
“To me, Professor Tao is my saviour. There would’ve been no cure for me without him.”
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What is ankylosing spondylitis?
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a long-term condition in which the spine and other areas of the body become inflamed.
AS tends to first develop in teenagers and young adults.
It is twice as common in men as women, according to the NHS.
The symptoms of AS can vary, but usually involve:
- back pain and stiffness
- pain and swelling in other parts of the body – caused by inflammation of the joints (arthritis) and inflammation where a tendon joins a bone (enthesitis)
- extreme tiredness (fatigue)
These symptoms tend to develop gradually, usually over several months or years, and may come and go over time.
In some people the condition gets better with time, but for others it can get slowly worse.
There’s no cure for AS and it’s not possible to reverse the damage caused by the condition.
However, treatment is available to relieve the symptoms and help prevent or delay its progression.
Surgery is sometimes needed to repair significantly damaged joints or correct severe bends in the spine