"China doll" goes from patient, author, to inspiring entrepreneur

Liu Daming receives an interview in Beijing, May 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Chen Zhonghao)

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Publishing an autobiography, graduating from a world-renowned university, becoming an entrepreneur in China's Silicon Valley... At 27, wheelchair-bound Liu Daming with a body no larger than a young child has achieved it all, setting an inspirational benchmark for the country's disabled population.

A sufferer of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), a rare genetic disorder that renders an individual's bones extremely fragile, Liu now sits in a newly furnished office in Beijing's Zhongguancun, working to develop an interest-based app and make short videos about his life and thoughts.

"I hope to create a positive influence," said Liu. "My story is to demonstrate the fact that life is full of possibilities."

Liu Daming receives an interview in Beijing, May 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Chen Zhonghao)

THREE WISHES

Born into a military family in northwest China's Gansu Province, Liu had a childhood marked by pain -- as an OI patient, sometimes nicknamed "china doll" for his brittle bones and stunted body, he has gone through 11 major surgeries before the age of 18.

During his school years, Liu studied harder than most of his peers, hoping his excellent academic record could win the recognition of others and reverse their negative impressions of his disabled body.

After two leg surgeries at the age of 15, Liu was encased in plaster of paris down his chest. After lying in bed "like a mummy" for 183 days, a new outlook dawned on him.

"In those days I had three feelings: unbearable pain, incessant itches and a sense of incapability," he said. "It was also then when I finally accepted myself as being different and realized my previous urge to blend in with others was defective."

The epiphany drove Liu to pursue a life of his own. He made three wishes that no one at the time believed were possible: undergo surgery that could help him live as long as a healthy person, write a book to record his life and bring strength to others, and be educated in a top university.

The first turned out to be the toughest. Years of sedentary study had deformed his fragile spine into a curve that squeezed his organs and threatened his life, but doctors refused his surgery request, citing the extreme danger involved, and instead prescribed him to lie in bed for 20 hours a day to live for a few more years.

"Sometimes when fate closes a door, it will move on to seal the window. But if your resolve is firm enough, you can always find a way out," he said.

The defiant teenager translated his condition into English and wrote an email pleading for help globally. Finally, an Italian specialist agreed to carry out the dangerous surgery in 2012, which implanted over a dozen screws and rods to prop up his spine and save him from certain death.

After the surgery, Liu set out to record his life-and-death experience in "Beyond the Destiny," published a year later. The autobiography made him the youngest author to publish a book through the People's Publishing House, one of the largest publishing companies in China.

In 2019, Liu graduated from the University of Manchester, where he studied psychology, fulfilling his third childhood wish.

Liu Daming (C, front) poses for a group photo with his schoolmates during a graduation ceremony at the University of Manchester in Britain in 2019. (Xinhua)

BLAZE NEW TRAILS

Upon graduation, he turned down his supervisor's proposal for him to pursue post-graduate study and opted for a more challenging path -- returning to China to build a start-up company.

Liu aspires to spread positive energy to more people via his unique life experiences, and believes China's favorable entrepreneurial environment has all the "winds and waves to move my small boat in the sea ahead."

His company Axis went into operation last year, and in February, he posted his first short video product narrating his 26-year tug-of-war with fate. "The many screws and metal planks implanted in my body have made me an Iron Man in reality," he said in the video.

On instant messaging app WeChat, the video has garnered over 15,000 comments. A mother with two diseased children thanked Liu for rekindling the hope in her.

Behind the scenes, Liu's proposal to offer regular skill training to help people with disabilities find jobs has been accepted by a college in Ningxia. He also hopes his presence in Zhongguancun, a stronghold for high-caliber young entrepreneurs, can bolster confidence among China's 85-million disabled population.

"I may be the first to start a company in Zhongguancun on a wheelchair, but I won't be the last," he said. "I hope my example will encourage more people, disabled or not, to live a worthy life."