My Journey From the Wheelchair to Using my Legs Again
By Noshaba Malik, 21, Pakistan
It was a beautiful morning on July 12, 2010. I was in 11th grade walking with my friend down our college corridor when suddenly I felt a severe pain in my back. The pain was dreadful. I went to the college restroom and took Panadol (paracetamol) and rested for an hour. After an hour, I tried to stand up but my lower limbs were unresponsive. I was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis. The doctor gave me steroids as an initial treatment.
I was paralyzed from the belly down and also had numbness. I started walking within 2 months of my diagnosis because of the medication I was given, physiotherapy, and great care by my family. I can still remember what it felt like to stand on my feet for the first time after paralysis. It was like being a baby again, learning how to walk, how to take steps. I started going to college and continued my studies but I continue to have some problems from TM. I can’t walk fast, I can’t run, and I also have problems controlling my bladder. I am still taking medication, but the numbness in my lower limbs and my urinary incontinence are not getting better.
I passed my 12th grade with flying colours and joined the field of Physiotherapy, and I am pursuing a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. I take my limping leg and my uncontrolled bladder with me. I go out every day, I go to college, visit my friends, and go shopping. I feel that when I pass people they look at me and then they whisper to each other but I don’t care about that. I know I have to struggle, I have to study hard, and I have to get a good job.
I want to convey a message to people with disabilities: ‘‘don’t confine yourself to the four walls of your home, come out and shine.’’ I also want to convey a message to all able-bodied people: ‘’Disabled people don’t need your money or attention, we want your respect.’’
