Aba, 5 May -- Title: "Steel-legged girl" Niu Yu: Refuse to "lie flat" and live a wonderful life
Written by Shan Peng
After many years, Niu Yu returned to the place of reconciliation with himself.
On the 13th, Yingxiu Town, Wenchuan County, Aba County, Sichuan, it was slightly cold in the early morning, and nearly 2023,<> long-distance runners gathered under the landmark "Love Cube" in Yingxiu Town, waiting for the starting gun of the <> Wenchuan Marathon. In the crowd, the "steel leg girl" Niu Yu is very conspicuous, under the black sports shorts, a mechanical small steel leg is unabashedly exposed. She looked ahead with a determined look. After the crisp starting gun sounded, Niu Yu took a step and followed the large army across the starting line.
In January 2023, Niu Yu participated in the Sichuan Provincial People's Congress as a deputy to the Sichuan Provincial People's Congress. (Infographic) Photo courtesy of interviewee
Niu Yu has been looking forward to this year's Wenchuan Marathon for a long time, and began to train very early, every other day he met with friends to play a table tennis game at home, and after an hour and a half of continuous swing, it was a 40-minute plank and abdominal crunch. Not long ago, she also went to Shanghai to participate in the half-marathon to find her running condition. "Running horses are really happy!" After the game, Niu Yu wrote on Weibo.
The Wenchuan Marathon has a special meaning for Niu Yu, and to this day, her personal label on Weibo account is still "the most beautiful marathon girl in Wenchuan". On the day of the first Wenchuan Marathon in 2018, it coincided with Niu Yu's 21st lunar birthday. Niu Yu, who decided to give himself a special birthday gift, wore a mechanical steel-legged prosthesis and completed a course of more than 3 kilometers in 53 hours and 20 minutes. On the same day, Niu Yu removed the sponge that had been wrapped around the prosthesis for many years, boldly revealing his slender steel legs. It was also this time that Niu Yu completely reconciled with his "imperfections".
Crossing the haze of the earthquake is destined to be an easy journey. In 2008, Niu Yu was an 11-year-old elementary school student in Beichuan County, Mianyang City, Sichuan Province. After the Wenchuan earthquake, the school building collapsed, burying Niu Yu and other students in the rubble. Three days later, Niu Yu was rescued from the rubble by rescuers. After more than 3 surgeries, Niu Yu's left leg was saved, but his right leg was amputated below the thigh, and even his knee was amputated.
Niu Yu participated in the 2023 Shanghai Women's Half Marathon. (Infographic) Photo courtesy of interviewee
Like many witnesses of the earthquake, Niu Yu experienced a long period of depression. Losing his right leg meant that he couldn't run as much as he used to and had to learn to stand and walk again. She wrapped the prosthesis with a thick sponge to hide her physical defects and avoid the outside world. "Wearing a prosthesis will grind a thick cocoon, which girl will have such a hard place on her." Niu Yu said.
Time is the medicine to heal the wounds. In the years after the earthquake, Niu Yu gradually came out of the shadows. Today, Niu Yu is a freelance photographer and a short video blogger with more than two million followers. On the short video platform, Niu Yu often shares some fragments of life, such as love trivia with her firefighter boyfriend, outdoor hiking on a plateau at an altitude of 3500,<> meters, happy interaction with students when teaching in Meto, Tibet, and improvisational one-legged dance when going to the hospital to repair prosthetics. In the video, Niu Yu's small steel legs are props for her ridicule of life, which allows people to see her heartfelt freedom.
After running the Wenchuan Marathon in 2018, Niu Yu was on the hot search, and more than a thousand private messages poured into social accounts that day, many of which came from people with disabilities. They used Niu Yu as a "tree hole" and told her about her experience of discrimination and even school violence. Later, shouting for the disabled and letting them see hope in despair became the driving force for Niu Yu to insist on making short videos.
"Everyone encounters difficult hurdles at some point in life. I hope my videos can give people a little bit of strength to help them get through the hurdles in life. Niu Yu said.
Niu Yu (second from left) participates in the 2023 Wenchuan Marathon. Photo by Yang Yuyi
Niu Yu encouraged disabled people to boldly go out and be themselves like her. Some netizens once asked Niu Yu, "Why don't you hide the prosthesis?" To this, Niu Yu replied: This little steel leg is a medal for his own efforts to survive, a tenacious will and vitality, and evidence after countless struggles and collapses.
After running this year's Wenchuan Marathon, Niu Yu's next stop is Beijing. Waiting for her was the launch of her first biography, Stars in the Dark. This book chronicles Niu Yu's life experience from the earthquake to her 23-year-old life, telling her journey from despair to hope.
"I've always had a dream of being a writer. Although I can't be called a writer yet, the first book can be seen by everyone, and I feel like a dream has become a reality. Niu Yu said that he hopes that this work will let more people understand the disabled group, and at the same time tell young disabled friends that physical defects do not mean that life should be "lying flat", and imperfect bodies can still live a wonderful life. (End)