A Chinese woman whose knees bent the wrong way has been able to take her first steps - at the age of 26 . Chen Tuanzhi was born with congenital genu recurvatum disease , or 'backward-bending knee , ' which left her unable to walk or lie down straight . Her family Xiamen , in southeast China 's Fujian Province , were too poor to pay for corrective treatment so she would use her hands to pull her body along the ground . Rare : Chen Tuanzhi has serious congenital gen recurvatum disease which left her legs pointing in an L-shape . Major strides : She was able to take her first steps at the age of 26 after charities paid for a series of medical procedures . Villagers even referred to her as the 'crawling girl , ' the People 's Daily Online reports . But after local media covered her story , enough money was raises to pay for medical treatment to be carried out by specialists in Taiwan . Chen 's mother said before her daughter 's treatment , she had grown used to the disability but was still upset by the comments and stares of people in public . Straight at last : Chen Tuanzhi was born with congenital genu recurvatum disease which caused her knees to bend backwards . She had several operations to make them straight . On her feet : Chen Tuanzhi was known in her village as the 'crawling girl ' as she could not walk . She spent months recovering after several operations . Proud moment : Chen Tuanzhi , who was born with a serious deformity that left her unable to walk , takes her first steps in front of delighted onlookers . Despite her disability , she managed to gain a place and graduate from her local school and is now at college studying social work and management . Genu recurvatum loosely translates as 'backward-bending knee . ' It is a rare condition with an incidence rate of approximately 1 per 100,000 live births and is characterised by congenital hyperextension of the knee with limited flexibility . It occurs more often in females than in males . Untreated , it leads to increased tissue damage and can cause permanent deformity , making timely diagnosis and treatment are essential . Depending upon the type and severity of the condition , it may be treated with physical therapy , a knee support , leg braces or surgery . Her studies caught people 's attention and the Xiamen Charity Federation and Taiwan 's Tzu Chi foundation offered to fund her treatment . She underwent seven operations and 10 months ' treatment at Taiwan 's Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital before going home to walk for the first time . 'To be honest , I never really dreamed that I would one day be able to stand on my own two feet and even walk like other people , ' she said . 'It is more than a dream come true , it is a miracle . ' I was so happy when I had people to see me off at the airport and I was able to tell them I was now ready for the walk back home . ' Chen Yinghe , honorary President of the Taiwan 's Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital , said that Chen 's disease , which has been reported only twice in the world so far , had posed a great medical challenge . He said : 'The girl 's legs have never been normally used since she was born so there are lots of factors that are out of our control in the wound healing process . ' Simple pleasures : Chen makes a peace sign while riding in her family 's car . She was not able to sit straight before her surgery . Time to go : Chen poses for the camera while sat on a toilet - something she could not do while her knees were back-to-front . Grateful : Chen stands proudly with the team of doctors who helped her walk for the first time in 26 years . Chen now proudly stands at 4ft tall , 30 centimetres taller than she measured previously . A volunteer from the foundation said she showed a lot of courage throughout the treatment , which would have been incredibly painful . He said : 'Chen always smiled at others and never complained about the pain caused by the surgeries , including several that involve breaking her bones . '
Chen Tuanzhi , 26 , was born with 'backward-bending knee ' condition . Became known as 'crawling girl ' in her village as she could n't use her legs . Rare condition only occurs in 1 in 100,000 babies at birth . the People 's Daily Online paid for her to undergo painful treatment in Taiwan .