2023-05-15 00:13:00
Dare to win and not afraid to lose!15 years after losing her left calf in the earthquake, Tang Xuemei lived a ray of light through hard work
In the volleyball hall of the Jiangsu Sports Training Center for the Disabled, the “Face to Face” reporter met Tang Xuemei, a member of the Chinese women’s sitting volleyball team. The 29-year-old Tang Xuemei is from Guangyuan, Sichuan. She has received professional training in sitting volleyball for nearly 15 years. 15 years was also the time when she lost her left calf.
Tang Xuemei: Now I still wear shorts when I go out. I wear whatever I want, and I just walk with my prosthetics exposed. I don’t care.
Reporter: I really can’t see it. I think you are wearing more fashionable stockings. Did you choose the color yourself?
Tang Xuemei: I chose it by myself. This kind of shorts can still show up in summer, how pretty.
Reporter: They are very pretty. Are these socks the style you chose yourself?
Tang Xuemei: Yes, the socks protect the silicone sleeve. This silicone sleeve is very stuffy in summer. Sometimes we go shopping on Nanjing Road in Shanghai, sit on the ridge, pull out our legs, take it out and pour it out, and put it on after the water is poured out. I couldn’t do it a long time ago, but I’ve grown with a lot of sunshine along the way.
Lost left leg after 28 hours
Fifteen years ago, on May 12, 2008, the Wenchuan earthquake was the darkest moment for many people. At that time, Tang Xuemei was 14 years old and was trapped in the collapsed teaching building. In the dark ruins, Tang Xuemei, whose left leg was crushed, remained motionless for 28 hours.
When she was rescued, the wound on her leg had festered and had to be amputated immediately to save her life. In the temporary operating room, the doctor handed over the operation consent form to Tang Xuemei’s mother.
Tang Xuemei: My mother said you don’t want to amputate my daughter’s leg. What will happen to her life after amputation? I also told my mother at the time, if you don’t sign, I will sign, just sign this word.
Reporter: Why are you so determined?
Tang Xuemei: Because after I came out after staying here for 28 hours, I felt that it was too difficult to live. When I came out alive, I heard the unfortunate news that my best friend, Fa Xiaojia, was gone, but I was able to come out with this life, and I was able to see more of the outside world. So when I had my limb amputated, I said I would sign it if you didn’t sign it.
After the operation, Tang Xuemei was assigned to Xi’an for rehabilitation. The night before her departure, she realized that although she hadn’t planned for the future before, her future had been changed by the earthquake.
Tang Xuemei: My mother has been taking care of me and she is very tired. I said the other day that you should go to sleep by yourself. You can go to the bathroom by yourself. That night when I got up to go to the bathroom, I lifted the quilt like this. out. Because the stitches had just been stitched on my wound at that time, and the stitches had not been removed. When I stepped out like this, I was kicked on the ground. At that moment, I actually collapsed a bit.
Tang Xuemei: The moment I hit the ground, I thought what would happen to my future life? From now on, I will have to use crutches wherever I go, and my parents will have to take care of me wherever I go. In fact, I was unhappy during that time, including watching the TV that was played by the earthquake at that time, and I never dared to watch it.
The wound gradually healed, and the thread that sealed the calf was removed. Tang Xuemei could go out, but when she walked on the street, she found that the eyes of the world were different from before.
Tang Xuemei: My mother took me out for shopping and walking, and many children said that this sister is so weird, why is she missing a leg? Not like us. I thought at the time that I would not go out shopping again tomorrow.
Reporter: During that time, what methods could you use to cheer yourself up?
Tang Xuemei: Later, I got a piece of news that I can wear prosthetics.
Reporter: People actually need a head start in this desperate time. Was the prosthetic limb a head start in your life at that time?
Tang Xuemei: You have been in the dark for a long time, and suddenly a ray of light came in and said that you can stand up, I can walk on the road, and I wear pants so that no one will see that I am disabled.
Reporter: I know that the process of installing a prosthesis needs to be in harmony with your body’s bones, including your flesh?
Tang Xuemei: In fact, all girls have a love of beauty. They want everyone to see that I am the same as a normal person. This is the mental state at that time, so people wear it for three hours, and I may have to wear it for six hours. If it breaks, I will put a Band-Aid on it. I think I have a strong ability to adapt. Since I got the prosthesis, my crutches have never been by my side. I walk without crutches, and I feel happy when I walk.
From earthquake ruins to Paralympic champions’ podium
On the bus back to Guangyuan from Chengdu, Tang Xuemei met Zhang Chaoqun, the deputy leader of the women’s sitting volleyball team. He not only arranged a school for Tang Xuemei, but also arranged more rehabilitation activities for her. In the rehabilitation center in Shanghai, Tang Xuemei encountered sitting volleyball.
Tang Xuemei: Because they can hold the ball in the air without falling, they can also lay it, and they can also pass it. They can lay hundreds or thousands of balls without falling. At that time, I felt like volleyball. My mother said you really want to stay? You think about it, I said I think about it.
In 2009, Tang Xuemei, who stayed on the volleyball team, first had to pass the challenge of the first month.
Tang Xuemei: Every day is training, climbing the basketball court, such a big circle. A class requires ten laps within the specified time. For example, if you are required to take two minutes, you must finish ten laps in two minutes. This is considered a very high-intensity training.
Soon, Tang Xuemei had her own goal—to join the national team, which drove her to train more actively and harder. “I practiced three times a day in order to be at the forefront of the assessment. And there were no weekends for me at that time. I wanted to have something in my hand. When you have something in your hand and your heart is strong, you will find In fact, self-confidence comes naturally.”
After only one year of training in the Shanghai team, Tang Xuemei was selected for the national team of sitting women’s volleyball team and became the main attacker. The first time she went abroad to participate in a world-class competition was the World Championships in the United States. Tang Xuemei, who was 16 years old at the time, was only a substitute player. What she didn’t expect was that in the championship and runner-up final against the United States, the coach replaced her to serve.
Tang Xuemei: At that time, it may be that a newborn calf is not afraid of tigers, and I don’t know how to serve this ball? And the score was very close. At 23 or 24, the coach replaced me. He said that it’s enough to go up and take the ball and serve. You don’t have to worry about whether the serve is good or not. I just went up and sat there to serve, and I didn’t expect to score. After this point was scored, the US team was actually nervous. I didn’t even think about why the coach wanted to use me. I was still surprised at the time. In fact, it might be our young players, including this kind of drive. Because you haven’t experienced it, after I went up, it was just one word, rush! So I won the best server after that game, and I also received an award for that one ball.
Reporter: What do you think this serve means to you?
Tang Xuemei: Because after I came out that time, I felt that I was the first shot in the world.
In the end, the Chinese women’s sitting volleyball team won the 2010 World Sitting Volleyball Championship with a record of 8 victories, and qualified for the 2012 London Paralympic Games. “When I stand on the podium and the national flag is raised, I can’t help but feel proud. I feel that I can make the national flag rise because of us through my own efforts. This is something I have never thought of before. At that moment, tears flow unconsciously. “
In the 2012 London Paralympic Games, the women’s sitting volleyball team was one of the gold points of the Chinese delegation in this Paralympic Games. Since the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games included women’s sitting volleyball as an official event for the first time, the Chinese women’s sitting volleyball team has won two gold medals in a row. On September 7, 2012, the Chinese team and the US team met in the London Paralympics sitting volleyball final. In the case of one game behind, the Chinese team won three games in a row and finally won the championship with a big score of 3:1. The girls on the highest podium again realized the dream of “three consecutive championships” in Chinese sitting volleyball.
Now, Tang Xuemei is actively preparing for the Asian Games in Hangzhou. For Tang Xuemei, this kind of intercontinental competition is inevitable. She always has a regret in her heart, which is to regain the gold medal she lost in the Tokyo Paralympic Games.
Reporter: Did you cry after that game?
Tang Xuemei: I actually didn’t cry after that game. Some sisters who are older than us may think that maybe Tokyo is the last one, because the age is constantly going up, and the physical strength is also declining little by little. So after we finished that game, everyone felt that it was a pity that we couldn’t finish it.
Reporter: I read all your interviews and found that you always save your tears for the victories, but you don’t seem to see your tears when you fail.
Tang Xuemei: It’s normal to fail, and only when you fail will you have the chance to stand on the stage next time. You have to sum up the reasons yourself, so when we came down to talk to our players later, we said it was okay, we lost this year and we will come next year, it’s not like we won’t come.
Reporter: In fact, the best way to shape the spirit of sports is to make us dare to win but not afraid of losing.
Tang Xuemei: Yes, actually, I think this is the charm of sports.
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