This young man had a very rare condition that caused his spine to bend more and more every day . One day, he ended up literally folded in half, with his head bent backward and pressed against his shoulder blades . His height was just one meter .

Because of his unusual appearance, he couldn’t sit, stand, look straight ahead, or lie on his back . But everything changed one day when doctors performed a complex surgery to reconstruct his spine . Now, he can walk with a straight back. Just look at how much he has changed 

The before-and-after photos are shown in the first comment 

Doctors diagnosed Jiang Yancheng with a condition that sounded like a life sentence: ankylosing spondylitis — a rare and extremely serious disease that causes progressive curvature of the spine.

Month after month, his back bent further until he was completely folded over, with his head pressed against his back.

His height shrank to one meter, and his life became a series of pain, limitations, and struggles.

But even when he couldn’t sit, stand, or look ahead, Jiang never let the pain break his will.

He couldn’t attend school, or even lie in a normal bed — only on a special mattress that supported his body in its curved position.

Still, he kept studying. He held his textbooks above him with cushions under his arms. He wrote lying on his side, with his chin resting on a pillow.

One summer day, he took his college entrance exam from the floor of his room. His results amazed even the teachers: he was accepted into the energy faculty of one of the province’s top universities.

Years passed. Twenty-one years of bending, pain, and incredible perseverance.

And just when it seemed he had accepted his fate, a chance appeared: a team of experienced surgeons took on his case. It was a challenge — medically and humanly.

Within one year, Jiang underwent four extremely complex surgeries. The doctors literally had to break his bones to rebuild his spine.

During the final and most difficult operation, which lasted more than 12 hours, the lead surgeon had to kneel on the operating table to adjust the deformed vertebra at the correct angle.

When Jiang woke up after the final operation and could lie flat on his back for the first time in his life — without pain, without muscle tension, without groaning — he cried.

Now he is learning to walk again. He carries a cane, but his back is straight. He looks ahead — not down. And he has a new goal: to earn a master’s degree and maybe teach one day himself.