Sharing something inspirational...

[ZacK]

For those feeling down and out, hope this story inspires you to lift yourself up

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Fri, Aug 26, 2011
The New Paper
'I couldn't afford to lose any more'
by Alvin Lim

http://i55.tinypic.com/1zx2ntw.jpg\">

SHE watched her 11-month-old daughter, and then her 48-year-old mother-in-law, die before her eyes under the rubble.

And on that fateful day three years ago, she also lost her legs in the Sichuan earthquake in China.

But having escaped death, dancer Liao Zhi took a stand: She would share her passion for life and dance with the world.

Ms Liao, now 26, is in Singapore as a contestant and guest performer at this year's Singapore International Super Talents and Arts (Sistar) festival.

The opening ceremony was held yesterday morning at Nanyang Girls' High School. Ms Liao was also appointed ambassador for the two-day cultural festival.

The Chinese national told The New Paper yesterday that her world \"came crashing down\" after the earthquake.

At the time, the dance instructor and young mother was piecing her life back together after her husband was found to be having an affair.

The 8.0-magnitude earthquake left more than 80,000 people dead or missing and millions homeless.

Ms Liao said that they were in their home on the third level of a four-storey building when it collapsed.

Flung herself

Her daughter was killed instantly by the impact of the rubble. Ms Liao instinctively flung herself on top of her mother-in-law, who was carrying the dead toddler.

They were alive but their legs had been crushed by the debris and they could not move.

It was pitch black, but Ms Liao could hear the voices of rescuers. They shouted to alert the rescuers that they were alive.

She sang to her mother-in-law to keep their spirits up. But it took the rescuers 30 hours to finally reach them. By then, her mother-in-law was dead.

Ms Liao was taken to hospital, where she underwent a six-hour operation to amputate her lower limbs.

She recalled that she was awake during the operation because the overwhelmed hospital was low on supplies and could anaesthetise only the lower half of her body.

After the operation, her wound became infected and she was moved to a hospital in Chongqing for further treatment.

There, she found herself pining for her daughter.

\"Losing my daughter was the worst thing that ever happened to me. It hurts me much more than losing my legs,\" she said.

Ms Liao found herself drawn to the maternity wards on the second and third storeys of the hospital, where she would look at the newborn babies.

On Children's Day, which falls on June 1 in China, she sang a song dedicated to her dead daughter at a hospital function.

It did not bother her that she was the only adult performer at a children's show, but the pain she had bottled up finally hit her and she wept in front of the audience.

Ms Liao found solace in the kindness of an elderly stranger while she was recuperating in Chongqing hospital.

\"An old granny left me 12 yuan (S$2.25) and a few coins under my pillow,\" she said. \"I tried getting the hospital workers to find her.\"

Ms Liao said that she was touched by the woman's simple gesture and found renewed motivation to stay alive for her parents.

\"I started to look at things from a practical and realistic point of view. I had lost many things. I couldn't afford to lose any more,\" she said.

While Ms Liao was still recuperating in hospital, her relatives called her to ask if she could use her talent to cheer up her hometown of Hanwangzhen, where many people were mourning and homeless.

Two months after she had lost her legs, she did just this by performing in a Miss World event in Chongqing.

Ms Liao trained under the care of doctors and nurses for a month for her dance performance with a giant drum.

The drum serves as a platform for her to dance on, as she sits on it to prop up her body, she said.

It was a completely new dance to her, as she previously taught traditional Chinese folk dance, which she could no longer do without her legs.

She described the training as \"tough, painful and humbling\".

On the day of the performance, Ms Liao said that she had backstage jitters as she was still in bandages and \"a piece of bone was still jutting out of my flesh\".

But the moment she got on stage and picked up her drumsticks, the audience erupted in applause.

Not long after, she appeared in a public service broadcast and soon became a household name.

She was discharged from the Chongqing hospital in September 2008 with a pair of prosthetic limbs, which were fully paid for by the government.

Not one to forget her roots, Ms Liao started a troupe for disabled artistes in 2009, mentoring students between the ages of four and 12.

Her schedule this year is packed, with performances lined up in the US and Hong Kong.

She said: \"I've learnt how to not focus on my problems and look on the positive side of things. We live in a beautiful world.\"

This article was first published in The New Paper.

[growie]

Very moved by this story....thanks for sharing.

[corneyAmber]

The strength these people have is amazing, thanks for sharing. Recently I watched the "china got talent" past episodes, I was also inspired.

[ZacK]

There are times when we need to be like the coconut tree rooted along the coastline... Showing resilience and unwavering in spirit even when the weather gets rough and stormy. Of cos just hope we do not encounter a tsunami! :siam:


http://i54.tinypic.com/2rxgwwn.jpg\">
Compliments from Zack, titled \"Unwavering\"

[growie]

ZacK:

There are times when we need to be like the coconut tree rooted along the coastline... Showing resilience and unwavering in spirit even when the weather gets rough and stormy. Of cos just hope we do not encounter a tsunami! :siam:


http://i54.tinypic.com/2rxgwwn.jpg\">
Compliments from Zack, titled \"Unwavering\"

Nice picture too.

[ZacK]

growie:

ZacK:

There are times when we need to be like the coconut tree rooted along the coastline... Showing resilience and unwavering in spirit even when the weather gets rough and stormy. Of cos just hope we do not encounter a tsunami! :siam:


http://i54.tinypic.com/2rxgwwn.jpg\">
Compliments from Zack, titled \"Unwavering\"

Nice picture too.

Thanks growie

[corneyAmber]

ZacK:

There are times when we need to be like the coconut tree rooted along the coastline... Showing resilience and unwavering in spirit even when the weather gets rough and stormy. Of cos just hope we do not encounter a tsunami! :siam:


http://i54.tinypic.com/2rxgwwn.jpg\">
Compliments from Zack, titled \"Unwavering\"

Zack into photography? Nice shot of the coconut tree standing stoic.

[ChiefKiasu]

In any tragedy, amongst the casualties, there are victims, and there are survivors. Survivors are those that see themselves not as victims, but rather having been given a new challenge to be overcome. It is from survivors that we learn the highest human qualities that help to define the purpose of life.


Thanks, ZacK, for sharing this most inspirational story. There are many of us who see ourselves as having been beaten by life. We become victims to our own self-pity, and give up trying to make things better for ourselves. The pain and suffering of Ms Liao makes our own problems pale in comparison, and her courage to survive despite the tremendous hurdles is truly encouraging for the rest of us.

[ZacK]

ksi:

ZacK:

There are times when we need to be like the coconut tree rooted along the coastline... Showing resilience and unwavering in spirit even when the weather gets rough and stormy. Of cos just hope we do not encounter a tsunami! :siam:


http://i54.tinypic.com/2rxgwwn.jpg\">
Compliments from Zack, titled \"Unwavering\"

Zack into photography? Nice shot of the coconut tree standing stoic.

Thanks ksi Still learning the ropes... Sometimes I have an idea but just that do not have the skill to execute the shot the way I want it to look ... :oops:

[growie]

ChiefKiasu:

In any tragedy, amongst the casualties, there are victims, and there are survivors. Survivors are those that see themselves not as victims, but rather having been given a new challenge to be overcome. It is from survivors that we learn the highest human qualities that help to define the purpose of life.


Thanks, ZacK, for sharing this most inspirational story. There are many of us who see ourselves as having been beaten by life. We become victims to our own self-pity, and give up trying to make things better for ourselves. The pain and suffering of Ms Liao makes our own problems pale in comparison, and her courage to survive despite the tremendous hurdles is truly encouraging for the rest of us.

:goodpost: I'm not so eloquent as Chief and most of you here, but I do enjoy any good inspirational read & exchanges here. All these inputs help keep me mindful of things/people and enables me to look at the issues from so many diverse perspectives. :lovesite: