Latest news with #bodybuilder
Independent Singapore
4 hours ago
- Health
- Independent Singapore
Legless Chinese shoemaker impresses public with English fluency, dreams of delivering speech at Harvard
Freepik/drobotdean CHINA: In the crowded and buzzing streets of Heyuan, Guangdong province, a 44-year-old shoemaker without legs is rousing China with his extraordinary account of determination, self-learning, and imaginings that reach all the way to Harvard. According to a recent South China Morning Post (SCMP) report, Huang Huaquan lost both legs in a heart-rending accident when he was six, hit by a truck at a countryside market. Compelled to leave school after primary education due to his infirmity, Huang didn't give up on acquiring knowledge and continued learning. Obsessed with the English language, he rented or borrowed old schoolbooks and taught himself through radio programs and cassette tapes. Notwithstanding physical challenges, Huang became a lauded incapacitated bodybuilder, winning gold awards at provincial sports events. But for almost a decade, his concentration has shifted to mending shoes and fixing umbrellas on the street, a low-key but honest trade that permitted him to purchase both a car and an apartment. 'What doesn't kill me makes me stronger,' Huang said. 'Many things take more effort for me, but I still have my hands—and my will.' Ridiculed by many for studying English in his free time, Huang vigorously continued with much determination and persistence. In 2024, he published a book and launched video lessons in spoken English, sharing his diligently gained methods with others. Today, he has a new goal: to be on one of the world's most respected podiums and share his narrative at Harvard University. 'If I ever get the chance, I'll speak about how an ordinary man used his hands to climb out of darkness and find a glimmer of light,' he said. 'Even if my story helps just one person, it's worth it.' His story has already caught the attention of the Harvard Alumni Association in Beijing. Xu Liang, head of the association, is initiating an event where Huang could speak to hundreds of graduates. Discussions are also in progress to see if he might one day address the university itself. 'I deeply admire his determination and his dignity in facing life's hardships,' Xu said in a video compliment. See also Marvel's first Chinese superhero Shang-Chi gets China excited Still unattached, Huang dreams not only of Harvard but of one day getting married and starting a family. 'It won't be easy,' he admits. 'But I must be strong and capable—so I can support myself and the people I love.'
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Man who claims he died for 45 minutes reveals he 'watched his death like a movie'
A Utah man was pronounced dead for nearly an hour, during which time he entered a supernatural realm where he watched his own death. The former bodybuilder had started a new supplement regimen, though he did not say what he was taking specifically. The substance turned out to be toxic. He was in a restaurant when his world changed forever. While in the restroom, he got sick and vomited. He passed out and fell unconscious, inhaling his own vomit. 'They think I was dead for at least 30 to 45 minutes before they found me,' he said. 'But I was cold, like, cold to the touch.' As paramedics worked to revive him, the man had an out-of-body experience, finding himself in a beautiful theater in front of a large screen. There, he could see his own death from above. Only, it wasn't him but instead a stranger in his clothes. 'It would almost be like going to a movie, like a real movie, and seeing someone dressed like you and looking like you in the movie, but you're like, 'That's not me because I'm over here watching the movie,'' he said. A divine voice apparently inspired a paramedic to open up the body bag and continue working to successfully revive the man. An estimated five to 10 percent of Americans have near-death experiences at one point in their lives. The man described watching his demise from above at first, the camera zooming out from a prone body. But it wasn't him. He said: 'What's weird is it didn't feel like it was me at all. Even though I was sitting there looking at my own dead body, I couldn't recognize it. 'I had no idea I was watching was my own death.' He described hearing the thoughts of the restaurant staff, from diners and hostesses to cooks, 'which was so odd to me.' 'My background actually was TV and film, and so as I was watching this I though that was such an odd choice for the director to think that he needed to overplay all these thoughts of everyone in the room. 'And I kept thinking, this is a weird movie.' He watched restaurant workers and paramedics discover the body and bag it. As they pulled away from the scene in an ambulance, he could hear the voice of a rookie medic nearby berating himself for not trying harder or enlisting help from veteran medics. 'And as he was doing that, I actually saw light, a real light, start glowing from inside this rookie medic. And it felt as if someone put a light bulb inside his shirt and light was coming out of his heart space,' the man said. 'And out of nowhere, this really strong voice says 'This one's not dead.'' The man heard the medic's inner monologue telling him the voice was just his imagination and shrugged it off. But then the voice boomed the statement again. The light got brighter and brighter, engulfing his entire upper body in a glow. The medic heard the voice, the man said, because he jumped up, unzipped the body bag, and resumed attempting to revive the man – breaking protocol. The medic scrambled to find a pulse but couldn't. Yet he felt on the inside of his leg near his femur a spark, 'and that was enough for him.' The man did not realize he was witnessing his own death until paramedics lifted his body from the ambulance to the hospital. As doctors strapped is convulsing body to the gurney, the man felt the straps trap him to his movie theater seat. 'How come I can't move my arms?' he asked himself. 'And that's when I realized that what I've been watching was me.' The man was revived and left to reckon with his glimpse into the afterlife. Most people with NDEs describe them as taking different forms. These often include an out-of-body sensation, where they observe their physical form from an external vantage point. Many describe traversing a tunnel toward a radiant light, encountering departed loved ones or benevolent beings, and gaining profound, expansive awareness. Some undergo a vivid life review, in which they not only revisit past actions but also empathetically perceive the emotional impact – both positive and negative – their choices had on others. Doctors began collecting accounts of near-death experiences in the 1970s after Raymond A Moody's book Life After Life debuted. Based on interviews with over 150 people who clinically died and were revived, Moody identified recurring patterns in their accounts, coining the term "near-death experience" itself. Dr Jeffrey Long, a radiation oncologist and researcher based in Kentucky, has emerged as one of the most rigorous investigators of near-death experiences (NDEs). Unlike Moody's approach, which was based on personal stories, Dr Long takes a more scientific approach, amassing over 5,000 verified accounts across more than 30 languages and diverse cultures through his Near-Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF). He has concluded that around 45 percent of NDEs involve a sense of leaving one's body, while more than half report seeing a heavenly realm.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Chilling clip shows subtle sign of bodybuilder's deadly cancer she ignored for months - can you spot it?
A bodybuilder is urging people to get their moles checked after she was diagnosed with the deadliest form of skin cancer. Kristina Angeli, who has been competing for over a decade, posted a video to Instagram showcasing the subtle sign that led to her needing 'life changing surgery'. Two years ago, the mother-of-one was preparing for a competition in the Bahamas when she became increasingly self-conscious of a mole close to her ear. The fitness fanatic, from Canberra, Australia, decided to get the 'ugly' growth removed a few months after the competition for 'vanity reasons'. In the caption to the video, which has been viewed over 74,000 times, she wrote: 'She doesn't know it yet but that mole above her ear is cancer.' 'When removing it, the doctor told me that it was risky as it was next to a major nerve', she recalled. 'I could lose all sensation to the left side of my face. That was only the beginning...'. A few months later, it was discovered that the mole was actually melanoma—the deadliest form of skin cancer. Ms Angeli was diagnosed with a stage 2 form of the disease meaning there was no evidence it had yet spread outside of the skin to other tissue. She then underwent 'surgery to remove the melanoma—but she said in another video posted to social media 'didn't go exactly as planned'. Surgeons were forced to make a wide excision to remove the cancer as well as a removing lymph node from under her neck. According to Cancer Research UK (CRUK), doctors usually recommend patients with the disease have a lymph node removed to test for cancer as a precaution. Ms Angeli then was left with large portion of skin removed which medics covered up with a skin graft harvested from her left hip. Recalling her ordeal she said: 'This whole journey has been scary. But I've learnt and been reminded of so much.' Two years on, she uses her platform to urge others to get their skin checked before it's too late. In her most recent post about her melanoma journey, she said: 'I'm going for a skin check tomorrow. They always make me nervous. But it will mark two years cancer free. 'Get your skin checked.' Most melanomas present as moles that have uneven edges and look different from 'normal' moles. The Skin Cancer Foundation also warns people to look out for 'ugly ducklings'—unsightly moles that very clearly stick out. Size also matters when it comes to suspicious moles, with melanomas typically being around the size of a pea, or larger than 6millimetres in diameter. Around 15 per cent of those diagnosed with stage two melanomas will not live beyond five years. At stages three and four—when the disease has spread to nearby tissue, organs or bones—only 66 and 27 per cent of people will survive respectively. Sun beds and sun exposure have been linked to a higher risk of developing melanoma. It only takes being sunburnt five times in your life to increase the risk of the cancer that kills more than 2,000 people in the UK every year. One in 41 women in the UK will be diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in their lifetime. An alarming 90 per cent of skin cancer cases in the UK are a direct result of sunburn and using sunbeds, according to CRUK, but those with a family history of the disease are at greater risk. A common misconception is that melanoma only affects the skin on the face body, and limbs. However, it can also develop on the palms, soles of the feet and even under the nails, as well as other areas vulnerable to sun damage such as the scalp. To decrease the risk of developing skin cancer, experts advise applying sunscreen regularly, covering up as much as possible when outside and keeping babies and children out of the sun. Healthcare professionals also advise people who are worried about a new mole or a mole that has changed shape or colour to contact their GP.
