Warm Love Home: Story of Lu Apple

Warm Love Home works with people with disabilities in the rural areas in China by means of online chat groups. The online chat groups give them courage and respond for their needs.

I live in a small village in Guizhou. My name is Lu Apple. I am congenitally disabled. One month after I was born, my parents found that my body was different from other babies. They took me to the hospital and the doctor told my parents that I had congenital rickets that could not be cured. The doctor said I might have to stay in bed for the rest of my life or die young. 

When I came back from the hospital, I weighed only 3 kg. It was Christmas Eve and we ate apples. My mum told the family I would be the apple of the family, which is where I got my nickname. My father found a job in a coal mining company. He earned 25RMB a day for digging coal. He worked hard to pay off the debts. It was not easy to find a job at that time. I began to grow teeth when I was 3 months old. My bones grew longer, but could not grow bigger or stronger. I am 24 now, but my arms and legs are as slim as a child's.

When I was 2, I could not even sit up. My mom always had to carry me on her back. I could finally sit up when I was 6, but I could not eat on my own. My mum, brother and sister had to feed me until I was 8. Then I could eat on my own by holding a spoon with 2 hands. My brain grew well and I memorized everything I saw. My sister taught me some words when she came back from school. I also learned myself from my sister’s textbooks. When I was 9, I learned math. I was different from other children. They could walk and jump and play everywhere. They could make friends and have a lot of schoolmates. I had nothing. I had to stay in the bed every day. I wondered when I could run, jump, play and go to school like them. Why could I not walk like a normal child?

I still remember one day when my mother helped me wash. I asked my mum why I could not walk, jump and play as other children. Why could they go to school and make friends? My mother said after a long silence, “Dear child, you are an apple bitten by God, so you are different. God will guard you and give you a bright future. ” I asked my mother what God was. Why did he bite me instead of other children? What does a bright future look like? Mum told me, “God is an immortal person living in heaven. He likes the sun and shines every day. God bit you because you are too lovely. God is busy every day. When He is not busy, He will come and visit you.” I asked my mother, “Is this true? Is there a God living in heaven? What does God look like?” Mum said, “Yes, this is true. God likes good children. He does not like children who like crying, so you should be cheerful and wait for God’s visit. ” I said, “I believe in what you havetold me, so I will be happy every day and wait for God’s visit.”

Original article written by Haizhen Wang, translated by Maggie Li, edited by Yanyan Zhang