When I was young I had quite a few health problems and I felt neither strong nor healthy. But I was always interested in activating myself with different kinds of sports and training. The sport I was most interested in was soccer.
I played soccer almost all the time from 7 years of age until I became a teenager. I played outdoor as well as indoor – much to the annoyance of my parents. However, there was one problem that troubled me during that period. When I was born I was knock-legged, which means that my knees and feet pointed rather much inwards. I noticed that my back hurt when I played soccer. The fact that I was knock-legged probably made me compensate with other parts of my body to be able to run, which in the end hurt my back.
Eye injury
When I was 7 years old, during the first summer holiday after I started school, I had an accident. A dart arrow hit me in my eyebrow, whereupon I fainted and fell backwards. As I fell backwards the arrow fell down and cut into my eye, but at the time no one noticed this. It was a dirty arrow that amongst other things had soil on it. When I woke up I sat up and started to rub my eye. I was sent to a doctor who thought that I was fine, but to be sure I was sent to a city that had an eye hospital.
When I was on my way to the hospital I was told to lie down. The doctors found that my eye was injured. They saw that the arrow had cut into my eye and that dirt from the arrow had polluted several parts inside my eye. Later the doctors said that I was very close to losing my eye. When sitting or standing the pressure in the eye increases and since the arrow had cut open a gash in my eye the eye fluids ran out faster and to a greater extent when I sat.
The diagnosis was cataract (polluted lens) and scar tissues on the retina. In addition to that the pupil had been deformed and I started to squint. The prognosis was that I would not be able to use my eye anymore. Although there was no hope for any improvement, the doctors still thought that is was better that I kept my eye.
Several of my relatives and friends cried and felt sad, but I myself was so young that I didn’t think much about it. Life of course went on, with a number of new problems. I had to learn to estimate distances in a new way and my balance was also affected. I particularly remember one time when I was riding my new bike and came close to going down a steep slope. I had to learn some things again, but after a while most things felt as usual.
Extensive hip surgery
When I became a teenager – and still had back pains – my parents and I were persuaded to let me undergo a hip surgery to correct my knock-leggedness. It was an extensive surgery, and I was put to sleep. During the operation my thigh-bones were cut. Below the fracture, my legs were turned outwards and then the thigh-bones were put together again by using metal hoops that were pounded into the hips. I also got three large screws below the fractures.
I was no longer knock-legged, and from that perspective the surgery was a success. But it did bring along some troubles too. During the operation I lost a lot of blood and had several blood transfusions, something that felt uncomfortable. I was weak after the operation and had to spend quite a long time in the hospital. However, I recovered relatively soon and could leave the hospital earlier than estimated.
My friends and relatives were rather worried about me but I just wanted to return to school and my life as soon as possible. At this time I also had to learn some things again. To begin with I could not walk. My legs had a wrong angle and they were not so strong. I also had a lot of pain in connection to the operation and for a long time after that. The pains in my bones were the most painful once, and it got worse by the metal hoops and screws.
After a year the metal hoops were taken out, and that was also quite an extensive surgery with anaesthetics and hospitalisation. At least, this time I didn’t have to learn to walk again.
Complications after surgery
What gave me most difficulty after the surgery, without comparison, were some other complications. Already after my first surgery I got neurological troubles. Sometimes this made life very difficult. There were days when I was completely helpless and unable to take care of myself. I was so tired that I couldn’t move, almost couldn’t speak. I wasn’t even able to think clearly. This made me of course very depressed. The fact that I was used to being active made me feel even more depressed.
Usually you have to be prepared that these kinds of problems do not disappear and that you have to live with them for the rest of your life. Moreover it might get much worse in the long run, for instance the brain might get affected permanently. When that happens, cognitive regression and mental retardation will follow. That is not really an enjoyable future prospect.
The doctors guessed that my problems may have been caused by an incorrectly calibrated mix between oxygen and anaesthetics. I still had to go through one more operation that also involved anaesthetics. After that operation my troubles became even worse.
Independent teenager
I believe that most teenagers want to be independent. I certainly did. But to be independent with my problems in a small society with few possibilities was not so easy. A simple thing like being able to move around without depending on others was impossible – the collective traffic was simply not good enough.
So, when I was 19 years old I moved to Stockholm. It gave me the possibility to become more independent, but of course it also gave my relatives and friends more reasons to worry.
Qigong
After a while I came across Qigong, specifically Zhineng Qigong and Su Dongyue. I found the philosophy and the method interesting. Learning new things and practicing were things that I enjoyed. Apart from that I obviously hoped that my health would improve.
During my first years of practice I didn’t notice any big improvements in my health state. I did get better, but during several years I retained my problems.
Practice and the Qifield
I was advised to practice more and to join the Qifield as often as possible in the courses that European Zhineng Qigong Center arranged. And I did. I practiced quite diligently at home, and often joined courses in Sweden, Norway and Finland. I tried extra hard to attend the longer courses.
Step by step – as I felt then, a very small step at the time – I got better. And today I have become much better. It makes me feel very good that all the hours that I spent on practicing led to big improvements.
No pains in hips and back
Today I have no pains in my hips and back. But I did have pains in my hips for quite a while after I started to practice.
Healthier eye
My injured eye is still not very good. However, I squint less, the pupil is rounder and can be opened more than before. The colour of the eye is cleaner and the eye clearer. In the beginning it was difficult for me to see the contours of my fingers; today I can see the fingers and even some of the lines in my hand.
No neurological troubles
The most important result for me is that I no longer suffer from any neurological troubles. It’s a great relief. I became very frustrated by these troubles, and the frustration led to depression and anger. If I had retained my troubles it would have been difficult for me to live my life as I do today. I would surely not dare to build a family, and my family gives me much joy in life.
At the beginning I did not see clear results from the training, but in the long run the results became clear. It mattered a lot to me that I myself was able to make an effort to improve my health and that I wasn’t forced to be passive. It really paid off for me to be patient and keep on practicing.
Herbjörn Wilhelmsen