Paralyzed for 30 years, her paintings once sold out: her dream moved many people

She fell ill at 6 and was completely paralyzed by 8. Many people struck by such a misfortune would be knocked down by life.

But this girl began thinking about her future at 10, firmly believing that there is always a way out, and her dream moved many people...

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She was completely paralyzed at 8, and at 10 she began thinking about her future

Zhang Junli is extremely thin. Because she is completely paralyzed, she can only paint lying in bed. Regarding her own condition, 40-year-old Zhang Junli speaks calmly, optimistic and cheerful.

In an interview with reporters, she said calmly: "It was the autumn of first grade at elementary school when I was six. Because I had to do homework, I found that my thumb was always swollen and very painful, and then my wrist was also a bit swollen, so I told my parents, and they took me to the hospital for a checkup."

Zhang Junli said the hospital diagnosed the illness as rheumatoid (arthritis), and then the doctor told her father that if it was not controlled well within three years, she would be paralyzed within three years. By the winter when I was eight, I was completely paralyzed.

From then on, Zhang Junli was bedridden, but though her body was disabled, her will was not. At 10,she began thinking about her own future.

When neighbors came to visit her, they expressed worry about her future, and her mother also always cried. But she believed,"Although I got sick and became paralyzed, there should still be, that is, there is always a way out. I always had this thought, feeling that maybe I could find a path that suits me."

The days lying in bed were especially long and especially agonizing. Usually, her parents went to work and her siblings went to school. To pass the time, Zhang Junli began to develop an interest in drawing.

She said: "Because I liked scribbling and drawing since I was little. There were those cartoons, right? I really liked Japanese cartoons, and I would look at the characters in them and imitate them by drawing."

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She wedged the pen between her fingers

and worked hard to find her own way of creating

As time passed with her illness, the rheumatoid arthritis became more and more severe, causing all the joints of Zhang Junli's hands and wrists to become necrotic and unable to move. She could only wedge the pen between her fingers and control the strokes by slight lifting and pulling with her shoulder.

Through countless tears of failure, she slowly explored:

Her wrist could not move, so she relied on her shoulder to drive her hand to draw this way, but the meaning she wanted to express would come out much less accurately.

She said: "Sometimes when I paint, there is also a place that troubles me a lot, but there is no way. I can only work hard to find my own way."

After that, she kept persisting in this way. Not only did she paint, she also wrote several novels.

Later, under the guidance of professionals, she began oil painting in 2015. Now she has created more than 300 oil paintings. With her family's help, she opened an online store on the internet. In just over a year, Zhang Junli sold more than 70 works.

She said,"I don't know whether I count as a painter, but my wish is to become a painter in the true sense. My greatest wish is to be able to have one painting, to paint a painting in my lifetime that can be passed down like a classic. Then this life would have no regrets."

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Netizens liked it one after another: "You are a painter"

Netizens praised her strength one after another

Some netizens praised her as a true painter

Many netizens also wanted to buy her paintings

Life has no limits

Anyone with a dream is remarkable

May you be treated gently by the world

Source: China Youth Daily (ID: zqbcyol)

Supervisor: Chen Jingchun

Editor: Gu Peng

Proofreader: Liu Yiran

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