I
am an Industrial Engineer by profession. In Industrial
Engineering, one of the fundamental principles is
to produce maximum results with minimum resources.
We call it Productivity Improvement. In rehabilitation
process, that is exactly being done. The spinal
cord injury has rendered most of the body useless.
So managing those functions, which you were doing
when you were 100% fit, with the limited resources
that you are left with is a very difficult and time
consuming process.
Everyday the therapy used to start
at 8 AM and lasted till 4 PM. There were rigorous
exercises to strengthen the upper limbs, which you
will be using in the later part of the training
to do most of the activities. It is a very hard
and lengthy process and there are no royal roads
to it. One has to sweat it out. On the other hand,
it is very exciting, challenging and an excellent
opportunity to prove one’s mettle. The therapists
and doctors helped me in making me as independent
as possible. The rehabilitation centre is like a
joint family. People of different castes, from different
states, from different social, financial and educational
backgrounds, co-exist and help each other in such
a way that is beyond imagination. There are games,
sports and other recreational activities, cultural
programs to entertain you. There are group discussions,
where people share their experiences, anxieties,
aspirations, difficulties and fears and try to find
solutions for them. Here also there is constant
motivation, help, encouragement and even participation,
from the therapists and doctors.
So at the rehabilitation centre,
I was taught to manage my activities of daily living,
like dressing, bathing, etc. all by myself. Then
I was made to stand and walk using callipers and
walker. Here also, without the constant encouragement
and support of my family, friends, the therapists,
and the doctors, I would not have reached my goal.
When I was re-learning to walk in the Physiotherapy
department, I was being taught how to be independent
on a wheelchair by the occupational therapists.
Since my level of injury was quite high (T5), my
sitting balance was not very good. So in order to
get that, I was asked to do some silly games (at
least it occurred silly to me at that time) like
transferring small wooden blocks from one side to
another, stooping (to conquer) and picking up things
from the ground, etc. Slowly my sitting balance
improved and I was put on a wheel chair. Then they
started teaching me how to propel the wheel chair
gracefully, how to do the transfers from bed to
wheel chair, from wheel chair to car, etc.... Advanced
wheel chair training involved doing ‘wheelies’ on
the wheelchair to get past small hurdles and to
travel on rough terrain. When the doctors and the
therapists felt that, I was ready to face the real
world, they said it was time to go.
From the rehabilitation centre, I
went to another hospital for a stint of Ayuervedic
treatment. The treatment there improved my condition
a little, though nothing dramatic happened. But
there I got enough time to think, to plan my future,
to rearrange my priorities. Till then, that is after
the accident, I was living in a protected environment.
Now, I had to face the real and harsh world, which
even the 100% fit people are finding very difficult.
In the hospital, the treatment was only for 1 -
2 hours a day, which gave me enough time to prepare
myself to face the world. Like every young person,
I also had dreams, dreams about the future, about
life, career, family, home, kids, etc. But everything
was shattered to pieces on that fatal day. There
I got enough time to collect those broken pieces
and put them back into some sort of a shape. But
the shape that came out was entirely different form
the original one. But what ever happens, life must
go on.
I have learned a lot from the accident.
First and foremost is that there is something called
Spinal Cord Injury and most of the people are ignorant
about it. Secondly Friends and Family. Even though
I have read stories of people giving their lives
for friends, I have never before experienced that
kind of friendship. May be it was there, but I never
felt it. I am proud to say that, I was fortunate
enough to have such a very good friend who was with
me throughout the entire process. He used to visit
me every week travelling a distance of about 140
kilometres, used to bring me books, news, and used
to share all my anxieties and fears. I could tell
all my problems, fears, apprehensions, etc. to him.
I could discuss my future plans with him. It is
very essential and important to have a good friend
with whom you can share your fears, problems, ideas,
etc. May be this is one way God has blessed me.
By giving me a very good friend. Not all people
in the world are that fortunate.
My family was the most important factor.
They gave me courage, suffered with me, cried with
me and endured the pain with me. In fact, they must
have suffered more than me. My brother was with
me from the day one and is still with me.
A lot of my friends, superiors and
colleagues were there to take care of my needs,
give me courage, mental support and any other help
whenever I needed it. They used to send me cards,
books, cassettes, letters of encouragement and what
not to cheer me up. During those periods of physical
pain and mental depression, the only thought that
helped me in keeping my spirits up was that there
are people, in fact so many people, who loved me,
who believed in me, who would support me, who prayed
for me and most importantly who wanted me back.
The organisation I worked for was
another factor that helped me a lot. They promised
me that I will not lose my job and can join back
for duty as soon as I was independent. I didn’t
know such kind of love, compassion and human values
still existed in this modern world where ‘Winning
through Intimidation’, ‘Creative aggression’ and
‘ How to fight dirty...’ are the buzzwords. This
accident has increased my belief in people.
....More
