Rocky Road To Recovery

Rocky Road to Recovery

Three seizures, two organ failures and after almost losing both my legs, here I am. Usually when you get run over by a truck, the chances of living are very minimal, yet somehow I survived it. The recovery road from such a gory mishap usually ends in a dead-end, but mine found a small way out in the end.

After undergoing 16 major operations, each very treacherous, I was declared stable. Yet, I wasn’t able to do most of my daily actions like: walking, eating, talking, etc. As soon as I got dismissed from the hospital, I had to check into a rehabilitation centre.

Here, my struggle really took a plunge. The doctors truly called an axe an axe and told me that the chances of me walking again were very slim. But I wasn’t one to give up so easily. My first aim was to learn how to chew properly again. This accident had affected my body so much that a simple task to chew food took me over a month to master.

Fortunately, this catastrophe didn’t take a toll on my memory anyhow. But I still had many things on my to-do list. I remembered how to speak very distinctly, yet when I opened my mouth to converse the words didn’t sound very much the same. After excessive training and bleeding of gums, I managed to crawl out my way to speak fluently once again.

Now came the toughest part of all, the real challenge, to walk again. It was very crucial for me to succeed in it. We started out by moving each toe, then rotating ankles and folding legs. But soon arrived the day when I had to start walking. This was truly the most arduous and strenuous part of my recovery. After getting a heads-up from my doctor, I lifted my legs off the bed and crawled towards the end.

Then I placed my feet on the white marble floor of the centre, which was glistening thanks to the strong rays of light emitted from the tube light on the ceiling. I felt the cold from the white marble making its way through me, making me shiver. Then I left the support of the bed which I had been receiving for the past seven months and stood on my two feet still feeling very bruised. But this sudden change of events was too much for my body, as I soon found myself on the floor which was still gleaming.

I then heard one nurse whisper to another about how impossible was it for me to walk again. However, on hearing this, instead of being discouraged I felt a strong feeling rise in my heart wanting to prove their hypothesis false. I lifted my aching feet with the assistance of the doctor, saving me from the agonizing moment. But this time I didn’t repeat my earlier failure of falling down, instead I stood tall.

But standing on my feet wasn’t the conclusion of my journey to reclamation. I yet wasn’t able to walk again. I then felt my arm squeezed by the doctor, in possibly the most assuring way. As my eyes met his, he gave me a glance indicating that it was time for me to walk again. I clutched his hand as tightly as possible and took a step. I lifted my feet again and placed it on the floor but slipped, only to be held by the doctor again. My third attempt was very much successful and the next thing I knew I was walking again. I felt a small, warm bead of joy rolling down my cheeks, as a strong wind of satisfaction stormed through me as I had achieved success on the most agonizing challenge of my life.

As I look back at it now, if I had given up at any moment during the journey I would never be able to progress as I have now. When life throws difficulties at you, you shouldn’t run away, you shouldn’t give up, instead face it bravely because these moments are when you truly find out how strong you are.     

THE END