Recently, South China Morning Post published the video of this fascinating story, which primarily is a huge tribute to motherhood, even though the feat of the medical team and the man at the center of it all, Li Hua, deservedly receive considerable attention.
71-year-old Tang Dongchen was in her forties when misfortune struck her son, Li Hua and he began the painful journey to wearing the title of ‘folded man.’ For 28 years in which her son suffered the condition, Mama Tang’s life was a bag filled with pain and despair. “What if I die but he is still sick? Who will take care of my son?” That was an expression of despair.
Thankfully, her reserve of faith was not completely depleted. She believed medicine would help her son’s condition even though the doctors knew the task was more than ‘climbing Mount Everest.’
She imbued the medical team with enough faith to take on the elaborate and extremely tasking assignment of reconstructing Li Hua’s folded body so that not only could he lift his head again but be able to look at the sky and have another perspective after almost three decades of looking down perpetually.
Therein lies the significance of her contribution to motherhood, forever cementing the case for her to be commended by the rest of us. Despite everything, she gave him a chance to look up once more.
Please can we give it up for Mama Tang.