Wed, Aug 17, 2011 at 2:00 PM
In life we keep complaining about what or why we don't have.
Half the time we seem dissatisfied, though full-bodied and free to choose.
Fat people say, "I want to be slim."
Skinny people say,” I want to be fatter."
Poor people want to be rich and the rich are never satisfied with what they have.
Peng Shuilin is 78 centimetres high.
He was born in Hunan Province, China.
In 1995, in Shenzhen, a freight truck sliced his body in half.
His lower body and legs were beyond repair.
Surgeons sewed up his torso.
Peng, 37, spent nearly two years in hospital in Shenzhen, in southern China, undergoing a series of operations to re-route nearly every major organ or system inside his body.
He kept exercising his arms, building up strength, washing his face, and brushing his teeth.
He survived all odds.
Now Peng has astounded doctors by learning to walk again after a decade.
Considering Peng's plight, doctors at the China Rehabilitation Research Centre in Beijing devised an ingenious way to allow him to walk on his own, creating a sophisticated egg-like casing to hold his body, with two bionic legs attached.
It took careful consideration, skilled measurement and technical expertise.
Peng has been walking the corridors of Beijing Rehabilitation Centre with the aid of his specially adapted legs and a re-sized walking frame.
RGO or recipicating gait orthosis is attached to a prosthetic socket bucket.
There is a cable attached to both legs so when one goes forward, the other goes backwards.
Rock to the side, add a bit of a twist and the leg without the weight on it advances, while the other one stays still, giving a highly inefficient way of ambulation.
Oh so satisfying to 'walk' again after ten years with half a body, says Peng.
Hospital vice-president Lin Liu said: "We've just given him a checkup; he is fitter than most men his age."
Peng Shuilin has opened his own bargain supermarket, called the Half Man-Half Price Store.
The inspirational 37-year-old has become a businessman and is used as a role model for other amputees.
At just 2 feet 7 inches tall, he moves around in a wheelchair giving lectures on recovery from disability.
His attitude is amazing, he doesn't complain.
"He had good care, but his secret is cheerfulness. Nothing ever gets him down."
You have a whole body.
You have feet.
Now you have met a man who has no feet.
His life is a feat of endurance, a triumph of the human spirit in overcoming extreme adversity.
Next time you want to complain about something trivial, don't.
Remember Peng Shulin instead.
Life is a Gift
Today before you say an unkind word, think of someone who can't speak.
Before you complain about the taste of your food, think of someone who has nothing to eat.
Before you complain about your husband or wife, think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion.
Today before you complain about life, think of someone who went too early.
Before whining about the distance you drive, think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.
And when you are tired and complain about your job, think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.
And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down, put a smile on your face and think: you’re alive and still around.
