Walking Happiness

Life had given Little Hai Na a deformed body, but she was brave and strong-minded. She had always dreamed that one day she would wear beautiful shoes, just like other children, and run and play freely. But every time she tried to stand up, she would get her palms, arms and knees injured. Because of the deformed feet, she was not able to wear shoes. She bandaged her feet with cloth and then started to practice. Her soles kept hurting but she continued to practice. Once she practiced so hard that the bones of her feet were injured, but she didn’t get prompt treatment. Finally part of the bones of her left foot was removed in hospital. From then on, her mother tried to limit her practice.

It was time for her to go to school. Watching other children happily go to school, Little Hai Na cried bitterly with tears streaming down her face. Her mother was sad and heartbroken to see all these and then, in order to make little Hai Na’s dream come true, she said to Hai Na, “Let’s  go to school. I will carry you on my back to school.” From then on , her mother carried her to and fro between her home and school every day. During the breaks, her mother went to school to help her use the toilets. As time went by, Little Hai Na began to understand the hardship her mother went through and started to drink less water every day.

Hai Na has grown up day by day, and six years has passed since her mother started carrying her on her back to school. Hai Na is now in Grade 6, and she is now 1.65 meters tall and her weight is now 45 Kilograms. Her mother’s  back now slightly bends down and she can’t carry her upstairs or downstairs as easily as she did years ago.

“Our daughter Hai Na likes to go to school, so I will not only carry her on my back to the middle school, but carry her on my back to the university as well. Our family, however, is too poor. We spend almost all the money we have and also owe others 100 thousand yuan. It will be much better if someone helps cure her feet. It will be great if she can merely walk herself for a few yards”,  said Hai Na’s  mother when she came to the Community Children’s Development Center in Pingquan county.

The staff of the Community Children’s Development Center visited Hai Na’s family and learned about her story, and then worked out the treatment plan with hospitals in Beijing. In May, 2016，the center provided Hai Na’s family with 35 thousand yuan.  Accompanied by her family, Hai Na went to Beijing to receive the operation of feet corrective surgery. It was the tenth operation she had ever received since she was only 3 months old in the cradle. Under the shadowless lamp on the operation bed, Hai Na thought about was to face the operation bravely. The operation was a great success. After returning from Beijing, Hai Na wanted to recovery as soon as possible, thus continuing her study in the new semester in autumn. She stayed at home to restore health, practiced her handwriting and asked her mother to prepare the necessary things for school.

Watching Hai Na push the walker and practice walking step by step bravely, Hai Na’s mother smiled happily.

(Written by Chen Guangwei)