Sunday, February 17, 2008

Living in Hope



Almost three and a half years ago on a stormy monsoonal night in the middle of July, my younger sister M woke me up at about 2 in the morning saying our tenants below had called to say our other sister P had fallen down onto their yard. Disbelievingly I checked P's room and found a window flapping wide open to the wind and our dogs who slept in her room (we had 8 at that time) were sitting quietly but alertly. M and I rushed out in the steadily falling rain and found P stretched out on a long chair in our tenants' sitting room, babbling incoherently about not being able to feel her legs. Our tenants took over, calling a cab and rushing us to hospital where doctors found that P had sustained severe injuries to her spinal cord, T6 and 11, to be precise, and effectively become a paraplegic from the waist down. That started a traumatic
nightmare where the hospital became our home for the next four months and I desperately hung onto "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength."

Two lengthy stretches of rehab at the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre in Delhi, which was started up by a military man Major Ahluwalia who'd also been reduced to life in a wheelchair after being injured while in the line of duty, taught us many invaluable things. Most importantly for P, it opened her eyes to the fact that she wasn't alone. There were literally dozens, even hundreds of other people in wheelchairs, some more seriously injured than she was, literally unable to move from the neck downwards. We learned the importance of physiotheraphy, of social interaction and having a solid routine for everything especially toilet activities. We were encouraged to go out shopping, sightseeing, mingle around; in short, live as normally as possible. The biggest mantra was independence - don't be dependent on the help of other people, do as much as you can on your own, by yourself.

It's been rough, unbelievably and unspeakably rough. P is not the easiest of patients. She can be maddeningly irascible, testy and pigheaded. (And no comments about how hard it must be for her etc etc puleeze) Often I wish my mother was still around to ease the situation with the wisdom that all mothers seem to have instinctively. Sometimes I wish we were a larger family and not just M and me so the caregiving duties could be spread out a bit. With careers of our own to attend to and things to deal with daily, we have had to resort to getting a daytime attendant for P to take care of her physio routine among other things and be her general dogsbody. Every morning I get up at 6.30 for a 15 to 30 minute spot of physio and then get her transferred to her chair where she then takes over on her own with a morning bathroom session. Sometimes I wish I could luxuriate in bed a little longer but other than that early morning call I don't really need to chip in anymore. At least not till the day caregiver goes home. And Sundays.

Despite many ups and downs my sister has come to accept her lot, aided by a new-found faith in God. Just recently M's ex-colleague who had also turned paraplegic after a freak accident contacted her in near hysterics and P was able to counsel her soothingly through her own experiences.We don't know when or if she'll ever walk again but we live in hope. Just a few months after her accident and while we were at ISIC, the papers carried a story of a South Korean professor's success with stem cell procedures on a long term spinal cord injury patient. It later didn't quite turn out to be the big dramatic breakthrough hoped for by all SCI patients but all over the world, research on SCI stem cell therapy continues with hopeful stories coming up all the time. We wait and watch with hope. And above all, we put our faith in the good Lord.


19 comments:

  1. Yes, it is that hope that differentiates us social animals from other animals. It is a sad narrative you are bringing out here nicely! ...W

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  2. life is hard...but yes, with God, everything is possible...

    accident may take away ur sisters ability to walk, but nothing or no one can take away the hope that you and your family have, we are with you..always...

    God bless...

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  3. i've been in and out of this posting several times trying to put in some comment. what held me back was the fact that i just don't know what to say in such circumstances when people and friends suffer from so much adversities, yet in a way still come out stronger and better for it. i've been so blessed and protected by God that i can honestly say that i've not yet met such adversity and i feel that any word of comfort would sound hollow and hypocritical. i'm, in a way, untried and untested in so many ways. not that i am looking to be tried and tested because in all probability i will fail the test. that's why i admire people like you and your family who have been tried, tested and still retain your faith and hope.
    excellent piece of writing, as always.

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  4. Feeling sad and at the same time good to read this post. My prayers with you, M and P as you continue to struggle with this. Sometimes, the Lord teaches us the deep lessons of life through deep suffering. He is with you in this, and will never leave you.

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  5. Plats, I've noticed that a lot of people who haven't faced much adversity often don't know how to react when confronted by it in people they know. Some often over-react and go overboard with profuse and often trite words of what's supposed to be comfort, or sometimes they gloss over it so much they act like nothing's happened which can be quite hurtful because your pain hasn't been acknowledged. I think it's usually best to offer just a simple but sincere word of commiseration. 'I'm so sorry' is quite enough most times.

    I don't know about being tried and tested and passing the test because when life gets rough, there's not much choice but to just ride with the waves. And I also think there's something in each of us that gives us the strength to cope in even the most trying circumstances.

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  6. mesjay, thank you. That's so true. Y'know,there's this local mag called Real life which recently featured a physically handicapped boy called Richard and his single mother and in the following issue, they printed a heartfelt letter of thanks from the mother saying how kind people had been and how total strangers had sent them things, called them up with kind messages of comfort etc etc. That definitely made me realise how adversity can actually be such an eye-opening blessing...

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  7. J...i can imagine what ur sis is going thru...my sympathies with her....but i wanna talk about YOU..in cases like this..you are the one who sacrifice the most..but everyone thinks...u shud "i tih tur reng alom" kind of thing..and man!! that can be frustrating i know!whatever u do..u are just doing what u ought to do...and if u complain you are considered selfish.. its like 'how can u ?? ur sis going thru hell etc.." but you have a right to your life too !! and no one understands that!! yeah life can be a bitch at times....no matter what u do....hugs for u love.. life10

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  8. Thanks life10. I've come to realise that very often people just blurt out anything without knowing what's what so the silly things they say doesn't really bother me because I know best what's going on in my life!

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  9. Sawmte, thank you ti risk tawp mai teng :P

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  10. I feel utterly ashamed about being such a pain about my pain! For nearly a month now, I've been having this nagging ache in my back, and been in bed for maybe two weeks, and the whole time, I've just been complaining silently, and sometimes very loudly indeed!

    I'm sorry for the pain that you, P and M are going thru. As others before me have said, I won't presume to understand what you're going thru'. Stay strong, girl! As they say, "its hope that keeps us going on.." God Bless!

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  11. Thank you very much, daydreambeliever. Hope your back gets better very soon. Good health is such a blessing and most of the time we just take it for granted.

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  12. a va khawngaihthlak ve a i laizawnnu chu, mahse movie pakhat "Life is beautiful" ang deuh khan harsatna/natna karah pawh nun hi hlimna alo awm thei tho thin ani. Pathian in a awmpui zel rawh se.

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  13. Tuarna phena malsawmna pe thintu chuan awmpui zel che u rawh se...

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  14. Amen, samuelpa, remchan apiangin min lo tawngtai pui ve thin dawn nia.

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  15. Bundles of hope is what I gained as I read this moving yet hopeful post. God bless us all...

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