In 2004, a traffic safety education propaganda film produced by the Ministry of Public Security was filmed on CCTV, and one of the shots filmed a little girl with disabled legs, who walked slowly on the street with a basketball, holding a special hand pad with both hands. This scene not only made the audience's hearts like knives, but also aroused the deep pity of countless people for this little girl.
After the promotional video was broadcast, it attracted the attention and response of many kind-hearted people, who learned about her story and reached out to help, hoping to provide the child with the help they could. It turned out that the girl's name was Qian Hongyan, and she lost her legs in a car accident when she was 4 years old. Today, she relies on basketball to walk, which is why everyone affectionately calls her "Basketball Girl".
Why did Qian Hongyan get into a car accident?Can she still walk with basketball?How has her life been in the past 20 years?
1. The quiet life is shattered by sudden distractions.
Qian Hongyan was born in an ordinary family in Luliang County, Yunnan Province, in December 1996. His parents were simple farmers who worked every day after sunrise and rested at sunset. Although the family is not wealthy, the whole family is very happy with the arrival of this new life.
Qian Hongyan has been favored by her grandfather and parents since she was a child, and her family is full of warmth and happiness. In such an environment, she gradually grew into a cheerful and optimistic girl. If it weren't for the sudden car accident, their family would definitely continue to live a peaceful and happy life.
The family's life was peaceful, but in October 2000, an accident shattered their peace. Even though the village is not financially wealthy and there are almost no cars passing on the main road, parents are still comfortable letting their children play on the main road because they have never worried about accidents. Qian Hongyan and her friends were playing on the road, but they approached the danger without realizing it.
Qian Yanhong and her friends were chasing and playing, and while playing, one of her shoes suddenly fell on the road. She hurried to retrieve her shoes, but was completely unaware that a large truck was coming towards her. The tragedy happened in an instant, and Qian Hongyan suddenly appeared on the road**. Because the speed of the car was too fast, the truck driver didn't have time to brake, so he ran over Qian Hongyan's legs. The lower half of her body was suddenly drenched in blood, and her flesh and blood were blurred, and she couldn't see the shape of her legs at all. Qian Hongyan lost consciousness on the spot and fainted to the ground.
Many villagers witnessed the scene of the crash and immediately called for emergency services**. Qian Hongyan's parents cried bitterly after seeing their daughter's tragic condition, and they carefully hugged poor Qian Hongyan, at a loss for a while. The daughter who was still alive just now fell in a pool of blood at this time, which made them obviously unable to accept this cruel reality.
Outside the emergency room of a hospital in Luliang County, Yunnan Province, Qian Hongyan's parents were so restless that doctors issued critical illness notices every half hour. Faced with such a situation, it is difficult for anyone to bear, and every time the emergency room door is opened, it is an ordeal for Qian Hongyan's parents, who fear that they may hear bad news.
Qian Hongyan's parents could no longer recall the number of times the doctor informed them that they were critically ill, and their mood was broken, and their only hope was that their daughter would survive. At four o'clock in the morning, the door to the emergency room was opened again, and the doctor asked them if they wanted to save their lives or their legs, and Qian Hongyan's father signed the notice with trembling hands.
Qian Hongyan is only 4 years old, and her life's journey has not yet begun, but she unfortunately lost her legs. For parents, this kind of experience is like a knife in the heart. However, they resolutely chose to keep their children alive, because only by living can there be hope. This choice is undoubtedly extremely cruel, but it is the only one in this case.
Qian Hongyan's parents begged the doctors to save their poor daughter, and after the operation was successfully completed, Qian Hongyan suffered serious injuries to the lower half of her body and had to amputate her entire leg from the pelvis down. Judging from her injuries, it is a blessing in misfortune to be able to pick up a life. When Qian Hongyan woke up, she said, "Mom, I'm in pain." These words pierced the hearts of parents like a sharp knife. Qian Hongyan was still young at the time, and when she saw the truck coming, she was so frightened that she had forgotten to run away.
Qian Hongyan has no memory of what happened to her, she can no longer recall the scene at that time, and she does not realize what challenges she will face next. All she knew was that her lower limbs felt empty, and the pain in her whole body was unbearable, and she often cried because of it. Despite the car accident, her parents were always there for her during the most difficult times, constantly encouraging and comforting her, telling her that "everything will be okay." ”
After Qian Hongyan** was discharged from the hospital, the whole family was shrouded in sadness. Although her wounds have healed, the wounds in her heart still cannot be healed. The once lively little girl seems to have a new look, and because of her limited mobility, she can only stay at home and silently watch other children play. She became silent, had a sad face all day, and her only company was a silent kitten. Seeing Qian Hongyan so depressed, the family was endlessly worried, and couldn't bear her being so depressed. So they set out to find ways to help her regain the joy of life.
Second, kind-hearted people reached out to help her regain her "new life".
In 2000, when Qian Hongyan was in a car accident, her mother was pregnant. The family is not wealthy, and the family still has to work hard to survive, so they cannot afford to have a prosthesis. Despite the many comforts offered by her parents, she was depressed and estranged from others. The parents are clear about the root cause of this, but the real problem is that she is not able to play happily like a normal child, which makes her feel that she has lost her legs and that there is a huge gap between her peers and her peers.
Qian Hongyan was only accompanied by a cat after the car accident.
To help Qian regain her self-confidence, her parents began teaching her to walk with her hands on her body. They encourage her to work independently as a way to boost her self-confidence and help her gradually return to her normal life. Gradually, Qian Hongyan learned how to use her hands to support her body to walk.
Qian Hongyan has done a lot of things on her own, which has changed her mentality and made her mental state much better than when she first got into a car accident. Despite her physical disability, she had a smile on her face again. Her family was relieved to see the changes in her. Although Qian Hongyan learned to walk with her hands supporting her body, it also brought new problems. Due to the frequent rubbing of the amputation against the ground, her body developed a bacterial infection.
Qian Hongyan's grandfather felt sorry for his granddaughter's suffering, so he tried to improve her walking comfort. He found a discarded basketball and cut it in half. In order to avoid the basketball from abrasive Qian Hongyan's **, he added a thick layer of cotton to the inside of the basketball. Grandpa also made a special pair of hand pads for her, which were fixed on the top half of the basketball, so that she no longer had to support her body with her hands, so as not to be red and swollen again.
With the support of her family and her own persistence, Qian Hongyan overcame the challenges brought about by her physical disability, regained her happiness, and radiated the lively sunshine she once had. In 2002, when she was in primary school, her parents were worried about whether she would be able to adapt to school life and that she would be bullied by her classmates at school, so they were hesitant to deal with her enrollment.
Qian Hongyan sensibly comforted her parents and told them not to have any worries, expressing her desire to learn cultural knowledge and make more friends in school like a healthy child. Parents were both surprised and happy to see their daughter yearning for school so much. Since it is Qian Hongyan's own idea, as parents, they will definitely fully support it.
However, Qian's path to education has not been smooth, and many schools have rejected her applications on the grounds of her physical disability. It wasn't until 2004 that the Ministry of Public Security filmed a traffic safety propaganda film with Qian Hongyan's figure, and after it was broadcast on CCTV, her experience was known to more people, and everyone called her "basketball girl".
Many kind-hearted people reached out and gave her a lot of new clothes and toys in the hope of helping this ill-fated child. With the assistance of the local disabled persons' association and the traffic police department, Qian Yanhong finally got the admission qualification. The school not only exempted her from tuition, but also specially arranged for her to attend classes on the first floor, which solved the problem of her inconvenience in going up and down the stairs.
However, Qian Hongyan experienced many difficulties on campus. The first thing to bear the brunt of is her toilet problem, sitting on the basketball chair for a long time makes Summer's waist covered with prickly heat, and even grinding blood blisters. She used up eight basketballs in just one year of school. In addition, the school is not close to home, and she spends a lot of time commuting between home and school every day. On the road, she will always be stared at by many passers-by, but Qian Hongyan never cares about the eyes of others, still lives happily every day, and never gives up easily.
Despite all the difficulties in her life, she still showed a tenacious vitality, which is truly admirable, and this is closely related to her perseverance and family factors.
The promotional film co-produced by CCTV and the Ministry of Public Security, under the attention of more audiences, the story of Qian Hongyan's half of the basketball and her tenacious life with both hands deeply remained in people's hearts. Her perseverance has touched many people, with the help of enthusiastic people from all walks of life, she came to Beijing to accept the promise of the hospital to provide her with free **, the experts tailored a ** program for her, and designed a pair of prosthetics that are especially suitable for her.
Doctors removed the basketball that Qian Hongyan hadn't touched for a long time and fitted her with a prosthetic leg. In this way, Qian Hongyan can finally re-experience the feeling of walking on "two legs". After experiencing serious setbacks, she also realized the warmth of caring people like a spring breeze. The bumpy experience of fate made her cherish those hard-won beauty even more. After experiencing the test of life and death, Qian Hongyan's fate seems to have begun to change, and her life is at a turning point.
Perseverance to achieve personal mission.
In 2007, the National Games for the Disabled was held in Yunnan. At that time, Qian Hongyan and the local Disabled Persons' Federation went to the scene to compete. On the athletic field, she has witnessed many people with disabilities who have had similar experiences to herself, fighting tirelessly for glory. This scene deeply touched Qian Hongyan's heart. She realized that this spirit was exactly what she had been pursuing. It was as if a fire had been ignited in her heart, and she had also found the direction of her life. This competition opened a window for her to truly understand that even if you have a physical disability, you can have a wonderful life.
Subsequently, Qian Hongyan joined the paralympic swimming team, and in the process met the Bole of her life - Zhang Honghu. However, when she came to the swim team for training, she felt a little withdrawn. Because changing into a swimsuit meant that she needed to expose the scars she had had, which was really hard for her to accept. She often had to endure the strange eyes of others, which left her confused about whether she should stick with it.
Zhang Honghu understood Qian Hongyan's situation very well, so he asked her: "Do you want to be an excellent athlete?"Qian Hongyan nodded without hesitation, and her choice immediately started a new journey in life.
Qian Hongyan is used to walking with her hands supporting her body, which makes her arms and abdomen more powerful than the average person. Zhang Honghu felt that this young girl had great potential and believed that after professional training, she could become an excellent athlete. Therefore, he asked Qian Hongyan if she intended to be a good athlete.
After a period of training, Zhang Honghu realized that Qian Hongyan's physical fitness was not ideal, and because she did not have legs, it was difficult for her to maintain balance in the water. For this reason, the coach developed a personalized training plan for her, because her arm strength is more prominent, so she decided to start training with her arms to make up for the lack of missing legs.
In training, Qian Hongyan found that many aspects were unsatisfactory, but she showed a rare tenacious quality. She is a firm believer that hard work makes up for her mistakes, and she needs to find balance in the water, while increasing her swimming speed and making sure all her movements are up to standard. This places extremely high demands on her physical fitness, and more effort is required to achieve these goals.
Qian Hongyan spends at least 4 hours a day training, which is not an easy task for her, and she even needs to overcome physical pain. However, she knows that only by training consistently can she achieve her goals. After a lot of hard work, she finally found her place in the pool and regained her confidence, but only she knew how much sweat had gone into it.
Finally, Qian Hongyan rose to prominence at the 2009 National Games for the Disabled, winning three gold medals. Since then, she has won two silver and one gold medal at the National Swimming Championships, which has given her even more confidence. Gradually, her ambitions became more ambitious, hoping to prepare for the Paralympic Games in Rio.
In 2016, Qian Hongyan fulfilled her wish and competed in the Rio Paralympic Games. In the women's 100m breaststroke final, she finished ninth. The reporter praised her for swimming like a mermaid despite having no legs. Subsequently, Qian Hongyan was assigned to work in the Yunnan Luliang County Disabled Persons' Federation, mainly responsible for assisting the disabled to apply for disability certificates. These tasks are not difficult for Qian Hongyan, but they are a great encouragement to her. Because she realizes her personal value in her work, she demonstrates the power of people with disabilities, who are not only vulnerable but also can lend a helping hand. She also worked hard to buy a house for her family.
Qian Hongyan competed in the Hangzhou Asian Para Games on October 26, 2023, and although she did not achieve a high ranking in the final, the live audience unabashedly praised her. Some viewers said in an interview"Basketball girl"Qian Hongyan's inspirational story is not only touching, but also inspires many able-bodied people to work hard.
Qian Hongyan once said in an interview that she was also under considerable pressure during the competition, which came from the encouragement and recognition of others, and she was worried that she would not be able to meet everyone's expectations. Perhaps she doesn't realize that her perseverance is inspiring others, and many people have learned about her through a ** more than 20 years ago and have been touched by her perseverance.
Through the story of struggle, Qian Hongyan conveyed an important message to the world: even in the face of setbacks, don't give up easily, because after getting out of the trough, you will usher in a new world. She encouraged people to stay optimistic and believe that they can overcome the difficulties in front of them and will definitely find their own path. I wish Qian Hongyan's life a more brilliant life.