Yang Se Wook, 35 years old, a para powerlifter affiliated with the Incheon Metropolitan City Sports Association for the Disabled, fell from a veranda in 2017 when part of the railing broke as he was shaking out a blanket, and was diagnosed with complete paralysis of the lower body. Having just completed his military service and working hard to adjust to society, he was suddenly forced to confront reality after the accident. But he did not despair. Despite doctors saying that his chances of walking again were slim, he refused to give up and endured more than 10 hours of rehabilitation a day. With lower-body muscles measuring only about 10% of those of an able-bodied person, he achieved the miracle of walking again and decided to make the exercise that had given him strength after the accident his profession. Now working every day to push past his limits while lying on a bench as a para powerlifter, he shared his story.<\/p>\n
-What was the most difficult thing after you were diagnosed with paralysis of the lower body?
<\/b>\u201cI fell on my spine, fractured my vertebrae and became paralyzed from the spine down, and was diagnosed with paralysis of the lower body. I was injured just after being discharged from the military, when I was working hard to adjust to society. It was difficult that both my legs stopped moving at the healthiest age of my life. It was especially difficult because my family circumstances were not very good and I wanted to start working again as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
-What was the rehabilitation process like?
<\/b>\u201cAfter neurosurgery, I was diagnosed with complete paralysis of the lower body and transferred to the rehabilitation ward. At the time, a doctor in the rehabilitation ward told me, \u2018Since there is no possibility of recovery, I think it would be better for you to practice using a wheelchair so you can return to society and adjust as quickly as possible.\u2019 I think that was said because practicing wheelchair use is also rehabilitation for patients with lower-body or whole-body paralysis, and there are very few cases of people walking after being diagnosed with complete paralysis. Rather than giving up on rehabilitation after hearing that, I thought, \u2018I should try it at least once,\u2019 and did almost every form of rehabilitation I could.<\/p>\n
I underwent various types of rehabilitation, including standing rehabilitation, parallel bars and robotic rehabilitation. At first, I was strapped to a bed and used a standing frame that raised the angle of the bed to help me stand upright with my upper body. Later, I began using a wheelchair, and a few months afterward, I used a robot worn on my legs to practice walking movements. I also used a standing training device to maintain a standing position on a flat surface, and sometimes stood alone for more than three hours.<\/p>\n
When I underwent rehabilitation for around 10 hours a day on average, I developed rhabdomyolysis, a disease caused when toxic substances produced by muscle necrosis resulting from trauma, exercise or surgery enter the circulatory system. I exercised beyond the capacity of my lower body, and all the muscles in my lower body melted away. Even in that condition, I continued rehabilitation, and one year and six months after the accident, my right toes began to move. That was when I thought, \u2018Ah, I really might be able to do this.\u2019 I continued rehabilitation using aquatic therapy, braces and parallel bars, and eventually regained some movement in my legs.<\/p>\n
Now I walk using the hamstring and hip muscles in my left leg, as well as the muscles in both buttocks. There are no muscles in the quadriceps of my right leg, and compared with those of an able-bodied person, my overall lower-body muscles are very limited. That is why I have continued rehabilitation to this day so that I can keep walking. You can think of the fatigue and pain I feel after walking for five minutes as similar to what a person without a disability would feel after walking for five or six hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
-What led you to start working out alone at a gym?
<\/b>\u201cThe hardest part of rehabilitation was the atmosphere in the ward. Most of the other patients only did the exercises with rehabilitation instructors during the designated hours, and many did not have much motivation to rehabilitate. The atmosphere tended to be somewhat depressing, and that was the hardest part. So, in my third year of rehabilitation, I decided to leave the hospital. I left because the atmosphere in the ward did not suit me, but I increasingly felt that I did not want to give up on rehabilitation, so I chose to exercise alone. At first, I was afraid, thinking, \u2018I\u2019m going to a real gym in a wheelchair to work out. Will I be okay with people staring at me?\u2019 But as I kept going, I became used to people\u2019s gazes and instead met many good people who wanted to help me.\u201d<\/p>\n
-How did you feel when you were able to walk again after rehabilitation?
<\/b>\u201cIn the second or third year of rehabilitation, I was able to walk with braces, and by the sixth or seventh year, I could walk without them. I found it amazing, but honestly, I felt more afraid. While practicing walking, I suffer at least one or two fractures a year. I have no sensation in either leg, so I cannot really feel pain even when I bump into something. My legs suddenly give out, and I often fracture my toes when I fall. Because this happened so often, rather than thinking, \u2018It\u2019s great that I can walk well,\u2019 I found myself thinking every moment, \u2018Let\u2019s not fall.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
-I heard that you also suffer from complex regional pain syndrome, CRPS.
<\/b>\u201cIt developed after the accident injured my cauda equina nerves. Type 1 causes pain only in the affected area as a result of trauma, while Type 2 causes pain in a localized area of the body due to nerve damage. I have Type 2 complex regional pain syndrome. When the pain starts, it feels as though my body is on fire and my flesh is being cut with an ax, and it hurts so much that I cannot walk. When the pain suddenly begins, it can last for two or three weeks. I usually take opioid painkillers, but I know what happens when I take them, so I do not. I think it was that determination that enabled me to rehabilitate and walk like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
-What led you to decide to become a para powerlifter?
<\/b>\u201cAfter leaving the hospital, I thought about what I could do in a wheelchair and opened a cafe. It did well, so I expanded the business. But in 2020, I had to stop operating the cafe because of the COVID-19 crisis, incurred debt and became a person with impaired credit. At the time, I thought, \u2018I\u2019m not healthy, either. How am I going to live now?\u2019 Exercise became my driving force in life. Even when I did nothing else, I went out and exercised for one or two hours. A younger friend I was close to played wheelchair rugby, and because there was also a former athlete in my family, I naturally became interested in para sports. Later, I called the Incheon Metropolitan City Sports Association for the Disabled myself, took a test and registered as an athlete immediately. Fortunately, three months after registering, I competed in the National Sports Festival and won a bronze medal. Immediately after that competition, I received an offer from a business team and have been working as a para powerlifter since January last year.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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