In 2008, Li Nan (second from right in the second row) received many Chinese and foreign athletes as a volunteer for the Beijing Olympic Games
In 2022, Li Nan once again volunteered for the Winter Olympics
Li Nan (second from right) works at the site with volunteer colleagues
18 years ago, a car accident left her paraplegic and she would spend her life in a wheelchair. However, the physical accidents and the inconvenience caused by disability have never erased the Olympic dream buried in her heart for many years.
Now, with the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, she has become an Olympic city volunteer, as she did in 2008, and her name is Li Nan. She said: "Beijing is the only city of the Double Olympic Games in the world, and I feel very fortunate and proud to be a witness and volunteer of the City of The Double Olympic Games. ”
accidentally
Li Nan's fate with the Olympics began more than twenty years ago. In 2001, Li Nan served as the secretary of the Youth League Committee at the Beijing Youth Political College, and that summer, the 21st World University Games, known as the "Little Olympics", was held in Beijing, and she took her students to volunteer for the Universiade in the summer, when she made a wish to volunteer for the Olympic Games at her doorstep.
But in January 2003, a car accident changed the fate of the girl, who was under 26 years old. That day, Li Nan went out for a meeting, and the car she was riding in took the wrong road and drove up to an unguarded railway intersection - the car accidentally collided with the train, and the violent impact threw her out of the window more than ten meters away. Li Nan was diagnosed with a burst fracture of the thoracic spine, a complete spinal cord injury resulting in high paraplegia, and a lifelong companion with a wheelchair. At that time, her family did not dare to tell Li Nan this cruel truth, and she was optimistic that she would lie in a hospital bed for three or four months.
After two months of rescue treatment, Li Nan was transferred to the hospital for rehabilitation. On the first day of entering the rehabilitation center, she saw an elder sister being pushed to the side of the bed by the nurse, then picked up from the wheelchair against her knees, and then tied in a circle with a backpack strap to maintain a standing position. The eldest sister saw Li Nan and comforted her: "Sister, don't worry, you will also exercise and stand like this in the future." Suddenly, Li Nan was blindfolded, tears were raining down, and she realized that she could no longer stand up.
The cruel blow of fate did not make Li Nan lose her vision and confidence in life, but what she did not expect was that she not only did not miss the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, but also let her be reborn.
Shortly after Li Nan was discharged from the hospital, a friend from Wangjing Street, which was not too far from home, invited her to join the warm home in the street and become a volunteer. Warm Home is a comprehensive service position established by the Beijing Disabled Persons' Federation in various streets to provide rehabilitation, education, employment, cultural and sports activities and other services for the disabled, when the warm home in Wangjing Street was identified as a demonstration site for the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games. After some thoughts and struggles, Li Nan accepted the invitation to serve as a volunteer in the warm home and a reception explainer. During the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games, the warm home of Wangjing Street hosted more than 200 Chinese and foreign athletes from 19 countries. "After the injury, I thought I would miss the Olympics, but I didn't expect to have such an opportunity to participate in Olympic volunteer service in another capacity." Li Nan said emotionally.
During the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games, Li Nan, known as the "most beautiful volunteer", traveled in a wheelchair to and from many disabled people to solve various difficulties for them. And the fighting figures and moving pictures on the Paralympic Games also shook her soul. Through Olympic volunteer service, Li Nan also deeply felt that every athlete who participated in the Paralympic Games had an unforgettable life ups and downs, "Some of them are congenitally disabled, and some of them are like me who have encountered misfortune the day after tomorrow." But after experiencing the trough of life, they invariably chose to get back on their feet and meet the challenges of life. ”
warm
On December 5, 2019, the official website of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee released a volunteer global recruitment announcement, on the same day before the registration channel was opened, Li Nan sat in front of the computer and kept brushing the screen, the first time to register after the channel was opened, and later she learned that she became the first disabled volunteer to successfully register for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The Beijing Winter Olympics only officially opened on February 4, but Li Nan began volunteering for the Olympics on January 15 and will continue until March 13. Her home is more than two kilometers away from the volunteer service station, and Li Nan wears a thick cotton coat every time and spends 20 minutes in an electric wheelchair to rush over. "When high paraplegic people volunteer outdoors, they need to keep their lower bodies warm and prevent frostbite because their lower limbs are unconscious." Li Nan said that when the weather is cold, he will pay special attention to keeping warm, "other volunteers can run and do exercises when they are cold, I can't move, if it's cold, I can only wear thicker." ”
As a disabled person, Li Nan faces various difficulties that cannot be imagined by able-bodied people in volunteer service. Because of the high paraplegia, she needs to wear diapers all day long, and in order to prevent too late to change the diapers, she has to calculate the catheterization and metabolic time before going out every time - in order not to trouble others, she often does not drink water all day, and then replenishes water when she returns home.
In addition, sitting for a long time will cause Li Nan's lower body to have no blood circulation for a long time, and in the process of volunteer service, she always forgets to do stress reduction activities, and her feet are often swollen after returning home at night. Even in the face of various difficulties, Li Nan did not give up. She jokes that she spends the rest of her time thinking about volunteer work except for sleeping and eating.
From the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Li Nan said that he has never been confident to confident, from recipients to self-helpers to helpers, and has gained a lot in the past 14 years. "It is really a matter of pride to serve the Olympic Games as a volunteer and to be a witness and participant in the City of The Two Olympics." She said that the opportunities and rights to share equal participation are also part of the Olympic spirit, "I think the slogan of the Beijing Winter Olympics is particularly good, together to the future, whether it is a healthy person or a disabled person, whether it is a volunteer or a worker in every position, are contributing to the city of Beijing, a city of the Two Olympics." In volunteering, I can deeply feel the warmth of this city and this country, and I am willing to pass on this warmth all the time. ”
Special correspondent Li Yuanchun (Beijing Today)
Source: Xinmin Evening News