I Owe 17 Years of My Life to Healthcare….

The wonderful moment with my lovely kids was possible due 

to the progress made by medical science

When the contest was organized on Indiblogger by ApolloHospitals on the topic ‘How Modern Day Healthcare is Touching Lives’, I felt highly obliged to participate as it has a great significance in my life. My Dad, Mom, Sister and I have been through cancer; in addition I have a specialneeds daughter who had to undergo two triple fusion corrective surgeries on her feet. Thus, I have had opportunity to look at healthcare and its effects on lives of people from close quarters.

17 years ago when I was diagnosed with Infiltrating Carcinoma, grade III with 10 positive nodes, the ground seemed to slip away from beneath my feet. Today with the progress in medical science I am more confident and would not feel as scared and desperate as I felt back then. Even though it was in 1996 when India lagged behind the developed nations that I went through cancer, I owe the 17 years of my life to medical science, which allowed me to take care of my kids, be there for my family and live to realize many of my dreams. I had wasted away my life living everyday monotonously until cancer happened. It was the awakening call for me to live my life fruitfully. So, I can say the past 17 years of my life after cancer have been the best of my life. I am grateful to medical science and my wonderful doctor who made this possible for me.

When my daughter started crouching and could not walk properly, an orthopedic surgery on her feet allowed her to walk more comfortably. When my Dad fell down and broke his hip bone in old age, we assumed that is the end of his mobility, until the orthopedic surgeon showed us how easy it was to replace a hip. So we can say that modern day health care is having a great influence on our quality of life, making it possible for us to fight against odds and triumph.

Back in 1996, as I heard the words “You have Cancer”, when breast feeding my 11 month old baby girl who had been diagnosed with brain atrophy, I can shamelessly confess that I was desperate to survive. I did not want to leave behind my two kids orphaned and die, especially not my daughter who needed special care and attention.  I had to undergo mastectomy, chemotherapy and other treatments to overcome cancer. Today everything looks so distant, as though that did not happen to me at all. But the scar on my chest says, it did happen to me, and I lost a part of my body to survive.

People tell me that I am lucky to be alive, when so many have lost their lives to cancer, even those who could afford any treatment in any corner of the world, therefore I should not fret about losing my breast, living with a scar on my chest nor about suffering side-effects of chemotherapy.  I choose to differ. I know I am grateful to be alive and kicking today, but then I have every right to fret about my suffering because I did suffer a lot going through the treatment and I do suffer even to this day due to mastectomy.  Would I be fretting and fuming over my suffering if I had the opportunity to get the best care like the one provided by Apollo Hospitals back then? With innovation in key medical specialities and superspecialities which match the ones available in developed nations, cancer survivors need not bother with mastectomies and prosthetics anymore now, at least not in all cases. With the help of robotic precision surgeries, more and more patients have option of getting the tumor removed while preserving the organs. The preventive check-ups and let us have peace of mind, making sure there is no recurrence taking place, or when it does to nip it in the bud.

My sister was terrified of the after effects of cancer treatment, therefore decided to never go for surgery or chemotherapy thus losing her battle with cancer in 1996. My mom was quite late in being diagnosed with breast cancer and therefore the treatment that followed was not successful. Also she did not realize the importance of chemotherapy in cancer treatment. She had two recurrences in two years time and finally lost her battle with cancer on 1^st January 2006. Would it be the same case if they could avail the best cancer care treatment provided by the superspeciality hospitals in India now? Within a decade the whole scenario has changed and cancer patients now have comprehensive state-of-the-art facilities and a coordinated multidisciplinary approach for the treating cancer of all types. The present hospitals with their modern setups, the colorful uniformed nurses and very friendly doctors who explain things properly to the patient could have saved the lives of my Mom and my Sister. Sigh!!!

Technology like the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) which is a powerful imaging technique for the diagnosis of cancer, the Cyber knife that provides unparalleled access to tumors anywhere in the body, and now the Novalis radiosurgery platform provide better treatment of cancer aiming at greater precision, faster treatment delivery, more flexible treatment scheduling and a higher level of patient comfort,  thus reducing chances of recurrence and improving chances of survival, moreover  without compromising on the quality of life.

       

The modern healthcare provides medical treatment in areas like Radiosurgery, Novalis TX, Cyberknife, Liver Transplant, Bone Marrow Transplant, Hand & Microsurgery, Infertility Care, Cosmetic Surgery, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Birmingham Hip Resurfacing, Stem Cell Transplant, Emergency & Trauma, Services, Minimally Invasive Coronary Artery Surgery, Bariatric Surgery, MRI-HIFU - Non-Surgical treatment of Uterine Fibroids, Robotic Surgery, The Renaissance Robotic Surgical System, PET-MR Suite, and the latest G scan - an Open Standing MRI scanner which have revolutionized health care. The specialities include heart, orthopedics, spine, cancer care, gastroenterology, neurosciences, nephrology and urology, critical care and preventive health care.  All this being under one roof ensures that the patient need not worry about anything and need not visit different hospitals for every different kind of treatment.

Thus we can say that hospitals like Apollo have brought about the change in healthcare and preventive health check-ups, robotic surgeries and organ transplants which has enabled people diagnosed with cancer or any other serious ailments to live a stress free life without becoming victims to diseases. From the time when people would visit foreign lands for treatment, today we have a thriving medical tourism industry in India where people even from developed nations are coming over for treatment in India. That is a great leap in the medical field for our country.

Book Review - Ten Shades of Life

As I held the book, Ten Shades of Life in my hand, I could not stop noticing the bright shades of the cover page which is one of the most unique which I have held in my hands.

The 10 stories in the book have been chosen through contests organized by Fablery last year in different categories. So the Ten Shades of Life can be called the best of ten different genres of stories chosen by Fablery for publishing by Mahveer Publishers.
I am familiar with most of the authors through their blogs and that was one of the attraction for the reading the book. I wanted to see how the short stories differed from their blogs. Amazingly it did!

The first story was “The Incarnadines” by Cheyenne Mitchell. For some reason I kept wondering where is the story set. It could well be India or any other foreign land. This story belongs to the Genre of Fantasy /Magic type, where the demons are sought to take life of people instead of guns or knives. It made an interesting read though.

“Red and Gold” by Monika Pant is shaded in romantic colors in the fairy land of richness, emperors and princesses. It is evergreen story of finding Mr.Right, which makes your heart bubble with excitement for the characters involved.
“Harry’s Bluff” by Dr.Roshan Radhakrishnan is written very well, giving us the pain of the main character through the flash backs. It is the character of Selena that really got on my nerves. Though written very well, the story defies logic and therefore could not get much appreciation from me. The action adventure fails to answers many questions that arise in my mind, but I do have to praise the writers’ skill in weaving the tale.
“Something like That” is a simple office tale written with a humorous twist, with some amount of moral thrown in. I really enjoyed the tale which does not boast of great heroes or heroines, but just simple people in simple situations.

“A weekend in the Country” by Bruce Memblatt is a good old horror tale set in outdoors, rather than in a creepy mansion. The horror begins when two friends decide to get away from their humdrum lifestyle for a weekend in a country side. Being a great fan of horror stories, it takes something more than just a ghost story to impress me at this stage of life.
The 6^th story belongs to the Science Fiction genre. The author Karthik L writings are not new to me as I often read his blogs. His genius shines in the fiction story where a child prodigy Rohit, tries and succeeds in contacting the aliens. Is that a good sign or not should be discovered by reading the story.

Next shade was the Historical “The Secret of Ahiraah” byReshmy Pillai. Set in the ages of kings, their secret passage ways, spies and other mysterious happenings, it is a pleasant story set in the times of the brave Rajput kings in medieval period.
“Where did you go” by Deepa Duraisamy, another familiar blogger, is something specially written for the male child crazy Indians. I am not sure how much of it could be understood by level headed foreigners, but every Indian can understand it very well indeed. The agony of the parents whose baby is kidnapped is well portrayed in the story. This could be labeled as a suspense thriller.

“Barren Harvest” by Vinaya Swapnil Bhagat, belongs to philosophical genre but has great touches of sci-fi fictions in it. Set in future after the apocalypse, it dwells much on emotions and heavy thoughts regarding human relationships. Well written story though it takes some time to sink in.

Labeled under Occupational Genre, the last story, ‘A Good Day to Die” by Rahul Biswas did remind me of the movie Die Hard and Bruce Willis. Was it the story itself or the title, I am not sure. Here we read about the fight of a fireman who fights not just blazing inferno but also the green monster at the same time.

About the editor:

Nethra Anjanappa is a student based in Bangalore who successfully completed her Masters in Business Administration. She is a voracious reader and a writer of fictions, the love for which made her begin Fablery, a platform which provides aspiring authors a gateway into the publishing world.

Unfortunately there is no introduction to the authors in the book. 

Salvation of a Saint - A Journey Through Suspense!

                      

Salvation of a Saint is a book by award winning author Keigo Higashino which has been translated by Alexander O. Smith with Elye J. Alexander. This is one of those books which I have been looking forward to read just out of curiosity and not for the purpose of reviewing it. Good call, as I could really enjoy the adventures of Detective Galileo or physics professor Manabu Yukawa, whose brilliant scientific mind, comes with weird alternative possibilities that questions every answer the police have for the murder mystery, as he returns with a bang to solve an impossible murder which had become possible.

Facts, theories, and clues are blown away as instinct takes over.  The experience was like in the old times when I enjoyed the books of Agatha Christie, where Hercule Poirot solved the murder mysteries as I held my breath forgetting to eat and sleep. The book does not try to hide the criminal, creating the big question “Whodunit?”  It is rather very oblivious who had the motive and a good one at that. Most of the readers would not be sympathizing with the victim, but rather feel he did not deserve such an easy death for the misogynist he is, who treats wife as a child bearing machine. He is rich, arrogant and wants a child. More preposterous than our own clan of Indian men, Yoshitaka Mashiba treats his wife as a source to fulfill his desire of having a child of his own, and in case she fails he is going to marry someone else and move on. The beautiful wife of the victim AyaneYoshitaka who charms the sense out of the investigating officer, along with the readers who do not want her to be the murderer though she has great motive to do it.

The narrative is very gripping as the detectives try to work out the possible way he could have been poisoned. Even though there is just one plot in the whole novel, the author Keigo Higanshino brings in so many alternatives and subplots that the reader is surprised and shocked at each one of them. He takes us to the edge of belief that the mystery is about to be solved before pushing us back to the darkness of ignorance. The cat and mouse game being played with our minds, will keep us glued to the book until we get all the answers.

Unlike other mystery novels which depend wholly on the twist in the end, ‘Salvation of a Saint’ works on the characters built by the author, their emotions and lives to hold your breath.  The portrayal of the dilemma’s, greed, envy, ego, anguish, suffering and other human emotions are depicted in an exceptional style and in a unique way, which made me feel for the characters in the book.  The writing is good enough to create visions of the story in my mind, where the characters come alive and perform. Moreover they get you entangled in their world of emotions. That is the sign of a great writer.  More than the story, plot, mystery or answers to the question, “How was he murdered?” you can enjoy the sheer writing skill and talent of the author in this book.  The confidence of the author is clear as he has not sought refuge from sex, violence, or any other gimmicks of modern days for making the book popular. It is written clean, like old time mystery novels which thrived on suspense and skill of the author himself.

No matter how attentive you have been to the clues in the novel, it is going to get you stymied in the end. Great book to spend your Sunday with! It is 384 pages of bliss. 

This review is a part of the biggest Book Reviews Program. for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Just How Important is Early Socialization?

If you’re a parent with little ones, you’ve no doubt answered the same question thousands of times: ‘Do you go to any play groups?’. I know I have. In most cases, this is harmless chitchat between parents and friends, but it can also be a way of seeing whether you’re for or against the concept of early socialization. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that children need to have interactions with others, particularly with kids their own age, and fortunately many have this opportunity when they start school – but should we really be encouraging socialization in babies, toddlers, and preschoolers?

Talk to any parent and you’ll see that there are many arguments both for and against early socialization. You’ve probably read on sites about child development that early interactions with others will help children to become confident, well-rounded individuals, but some parents maintain that kids shouldn’t be forced into these situations, and that Mom and Dad should remain the primary influences. I’m certainly torn on how I can give my daughter the best start, and socialization certainly tends to divide a nation, but whatever your views are, here are some interesting points to think about from both perspectives.

Arguments for Early Socialization

Socialization really has two main aims: to teach and to develop. In terms of teaching, it aims to teach children not only how to interact with others, but also how to behave in what we perceive to be a socially acceptable manner in the environment in which we live. In simple terms, it aims to produce friendly, confident, and intelligent children through mimicking.

Many parents in India send their children to playschools when they are 2 years old, and then the kids often join a nursery school when they turn 3. But some parents choose to leave their children in daycare when they are even younger; a common concern among new parents is whether they should go back to work, leaving their kids in daycare. I’m only too aware that it’s a difficult decision, but I’m also somewhat comforted by the idea that interacting with other children can give my daughter something I can’t. In social situations without parental guidance, kids have the opportunity to mix with children of different races, different backgrounds, and different classes. Thinking of socialization in terms of preparation for the ‘real world’, this type of interaction is far more relevant than encouraging children to only mix with family members or pre-chosen friends. This situation brings up another question – is socialization leading the way towards a more accepting and open-minded nation?

Now looking specifically at the development side of socialization, the journal Sibling Interaction Across Cultures published a study that looked at differences between only children and those with siblings. Not surprisingly, it found that socializing with someone other than a parent greatly helped pragmatic skills and emotional intelligence, with improvements in things like turn taking, eye contact, and sharing. As I don’t plan to have more children, I value any chances my daughter has to learn these skills outside of the home – especially as competition for school places (and nursery school places) is becoming more intense, as these behaviours and skills can be a clear advantage.

Arguments Against Early Socialization

The main argument against early socialization is that, while it’s good for children to mix with others from different backgrounds, we don’t always want our kids being influenced by those who have vastly different ideas and beliefs. Yes, it’s important for our kids to understand that there are opinions other than their own. However, for parents who strive to raise their children with certain values, can early socialization actually be detrimental?

Socialization encourages independence, and this is good – but how early do we want our kids to be independent? By school age, this is a great benefit, but a study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, found that independence born from early socialization encouraged a lack of obedience to parental commands. This is something that concerns me. I want my daughter to have imagination and ideas, but worry about maintaining the line between creativity and bad behaviour.

Don’t Feel Guilty!

The problem with early socialization is that it isn’t black and white. Just take a look at some of the questions asked here. Are socialized children open-minded and accepting? Some will be, some won’t. Are non-socialized children becoming disobedient? Some will be, some won’t. I haven’t yet decided where I stand on the notion of early socialization, but I understand both sides of the argument. The most important thing is that we shouldn’t feel guilty for how we raise our children. There are pros and cons for both types of upbringings, neither of which can be proved as ‘better’. Early socialization is only important if you think it’s important; it’s a very personal decision and one that only you can make.

Be Original - A New Hairstyle For All Occasions...

The Hair Fountain... 

I went over to pick a hair style from the interactive TRESemmé India Youtube channel to try out the hairstyles and failed miserably. It was fun creating my own album of ramp ready hair there because I can never do that in real. I have hair that is never ready for any event .. leave alone walking down the ramp. No complaints though, I am glad to have them on my scalp.As a compensation for my disobedient hair, my special daughter Farheena is blessed with volumnious, lustrous and long hair which is a delight even to just touch it. Farheena doesn't stick to a single hairstyle, but keeps changing them according to the person she is with... and lucky girl can cut her hair short and grow them back to waist length within a year.

For her, I need really the salon type of bottles of shampoo and conditioners, because the smaller bottles are barely enough for one wash when her hair has grown to full length. I don't have to do much to care for her hair, other than oiling it occasionally, combing it thoroughly apart from washing and conditioning. She is blessed with good hair, that can match her mood.


At present she is sporting a summer look of hairstyle which goes well for parties, events, marriages and at the same time beats the summer heat too. I am sharing the simple original hairstyle here which popped out of my imagination one fine day .....

Wash the hair clean. Follow with conditioning

Brush it thoroughly and tie it in pony tail

 
   

Lift the ponytail up and clip it like shown in the picture

Allow the hair to fall back on the clip and comb it

Lo Behold! You have a beautiful fountain of hair .. which goes well with any occasion

Apart from washing, the beautiful hairstyle takes up just 5 minutes from start to finish... It does not require any type of expertise or skill, but you need to have the right type of hair clip which will allow the hair to fall down from all sides. Now you are ready to walk down the ramp proudly.... :)

This blog post is a part of Contest TRESemmé Ramp Ready Hair on Indiblogger

Stop Child Abuse Now

Read more about Child Abuse here

Why Children Do Not Talk About Being Sexually Abused?

For More Images Click on Link Below

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

Image 6 

Image 7 

Image 8

Image 9

Image 10

Counseling Center for People Affected With Cancer

My dream is something that would not make me rich or bring in profits. Many would ask me, why start a business if there is no monetary profit in it. Life has taught me lessons that everything cannot be bought with money; the best things of life are always free. My plan is to start an online counseling center for people going through cancer. Online center because it will be easy for people who wish to contribute to the cause have an easy to access the center, save on rent and infrastructure of the real office, and moreover save time required for people to travel to the counseling center which means a lot for professionals and people dealing with cancer.

 I have got to see the demon called cancer more than once and that too from very close quarters. First my dad was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1992, then my sister with breast cancer in 1994 and myself with breast cancer in 1996. We had a break after my diagnosis and thought we have seen the end of cancer. But it came back in 2004 attacking my mom. In 2005, when my mom had recurrence of breast cancer within a year of her surgery, I was devastated. I could not deal with the emotional turmoil of cancer anymore all alone and I needed support from people who have been or were going through it.

Unfortunately, I could not get in touch with any group or organization that could lend me emotional support in India. Finally I got in touch with few survivors from USA, who lent me support, a shoulder to cry on; a place to vent out my frustrations as I helplessly watched my mother succumb to the beast called breast cancer. Though the support was virtual and I did not get to meet the SIS (sisters in survival) for another 3 years, their support meant a lot to me.

Being a survivor of 3^rd grade breast cancer for more than 17 years now, and also the only survivor of cancer in my family, I feel it is time I give back something to others who are going through the same crisis in their life. My own experience along with the suffering and losing my dear ones has given me a great insight into the trauma that accompanies diagnoses of cancer. Adding to this is my close interactions with many other people who have been through this ordeal.

 I did not just make a decision and wait for things to happen but went ahead and started preparing for my dream project. To be a counselor, just the diploma in counseling skills was not sufficient; therefore I decided to graduate in Psychology which I did last year. At present I am preparing for my M.S. in Counseling and Psychotherapy. Apart from being a part of Ladybirds group of cancer survivors, I have become a member of Pink Hope group of survivors in HCG. In addition I started working as an online counselor for Banjara Academy. All these are going to be the foundation stones for my dream project of starting an effective counseling center for people affected with cancer.

This will take time and a lot of organizing before it can be launched, but Microsoft office 365 makes it look much more possible than it looked earlier, especially the investment for one year which would be below INR 5000/-. So there is no need to worry about funds.

It will give access to people to the counseling center from any part of the globe, but it will be created keeping the needs of Indian in mind. We can put up information they need through Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Excel. PowerPoint and video clips can be used to make the information easier to understand by the patients. Doctors, counselors and other professionals who are willing to contribute for this cause, can spend some time on HD video conference, counseling and imparting information to the patients.  It would be easy to manage by anyone as it does not ask for expertise in IT to work through it. Reports about new research, findings, medicines and other cancer related information can be updated under the guidance of the administrator.

Being work at home mom, I know the power of Microsoft office which helps me organize and execute my work effectively. Having such an office virtually, which gives the employees an access to the tools of Microsoft office from anywhere would be a dream come true for my project. The team of people who will come together to help the cause of fighting cancer can remain connected, synchronized and manage things in spare time from the comfort of their homes.

The counseling center would find out about the cost of treatment at various hospitals, experts available for specific cancer types and their consultation fees, what are the different types of tests, surgeries, therapies and medicines which may be involved in the treatment process and moreover counseling and emotional support for the people fighting their battle with cancer. The online center should be able to create an ambience of confidence, friendliness and assurance which would boost the will power of the patient.

Any bright idea can be shared instantly with
everyone

Cancer is not pushed out of our lives with the treatment, it remains with us forever. The near death situation we have been through leaves us totally a different person after the experience. So there will be a corner for survivors in the counseling center, where they both contribute emotional support to newly diagnosed patients and find support for the problems they face after their ordeal with cancer. For survivors it would be a get together spot, along with guidance to finding prosthetics, coping with changes and taking charge of life once again. I know how much I had to struggle to get my first breast prosthetics and wig during the chemotherapy sessions.

For everyone in general, the counseling center would provide information about cancer like what are the symptoms to watch out for, how to conduct self examination, and following healthy diet and lifestyle that would hinder cancer development.

The virtual counseling center in the cloud would succeed in showering hope, assurance and help to people who actually need it the most.

Now for the features of Microsoft office 365 that would help me in my dream business. 

First, I would like to mention that the office can be opened on Linux and Mac computers, so I can heave a sigh of relief.  I am dependent on Microsoft office even for my blogging. Having such an office in cloud, where all the data can be accessed from anywhere would mean a lot for any online business.

We all had heard about sync, but the new advantage here is Lync, a feature that will allow us to save our contacts in office 365, allows video calling, saves images and can have meetings and conferences online. There can be presentations organized online as well.

Microsoft Office 365 is a great blessing for bloggers who can schedule their posts directly from office 365. No more copy pasting their articles to their blogs.

The work done offline by individuals can be synced online, thus making it available for everyone. People working together can edit the documents at the same time from different places. Above all it with the drag and drop feature to build a website, it is going to be a piece of cake to create the virtual counseling center.

It will also connect the center to social media sites, where it can spread awareness and information easily, and that too with just a click of the button.

And finally we have the security for the office so that our privacy will not be lost. Also it will protect us from spammers who would use this as an advertisement platform. So the dream of having an online counseling center for cancer survivors is almost a reality now.

This post is a part of contest organized by Office 365 on Indiblogger

Stop Child Abuse Now

An abuser who is rude, may scar the child emotionally and physically for life

Statistics show that child sexual abuse crosses boundaries of race, culture, ethnicity, gender and sexuality, affecting all types of communities. Never go by the age appearance or profession of a person to totally trust them with your child.

It is wise for the parents to be aware about the people who are around their children. The caretaker, baby sitter, domestic help, driver, who show extra affection to the child or offer to carry them around, could be nice people who care for them, but they may also be potential abusers trying to win the trust of the child and parent. Watch them and observe how they behave and deal with the child when nobody is watching them. Observe the way they carry, touch or sit with the child. Many of these people, who have access to children in lonely places, are known to touch inappropriately, fondle or even rape the children. These are not shocking stray incidences, but happens very often in our society, especially by the people who are very familiar with the child.

They usually plan everything over and make enough efforts to win the confidence and trust of the parents before making their move. Your child is precious. Do not fall prey to the cunningness of child abusers, be alert and protect your child.  

Though putting fingers in children's mouth, making them sit between legs,or holding them too tight may not look like abuse to you because the child is not hurt, but it is not the way you are supposed to handle children. Watch out for such behaviors and put a stop to it immediately. 

Read more about Child Abuse here

Why Children Do Not Talk About Being Sexually Abused?

For More Images Click on Link Below

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

Image 6 

Image 7 

Image 8

Image 9

Image 10

Image 11

The Man Who Could Not See My Disability

Learning to walk with club foot

Most of the people I meet never realize that I have a club foot. I walk without limp, and it is after sometime one fine day that they will ask, "what happened to your leg?". I tell them I have club foot, which usually brings a shocked expression as they exclaim, “Oh! I am so sorry. I couldn't make it out at all”. For this I have to be grateful to a man who ignored my disability and instilled confidence in me.

He was our PT sir, who joined school when I was in second grade. We heard that he previously was an army man. He was very strict but at the same time good trainer. Many kids who never participated in physical activities were pulled into the games by him. He never allowed any excuse until he was sure that it was genuine one.

I used to give excuse of my club foot and not play much in school and never participated in the mass drill they organized every Saturday. I never wanted to be in competitions where others could mock my club foot or beat me badly in games. I played alone that is by running and cycling in the evenings.

The new trainer told me I had to do as much as possible and take rest if I truly had pain in my leg. We had a little argument but he won because he knew I used to walk quite long distance to school sometimes instead of waiting for the bus and also when I wanted to, I played quite well. For once there was a person who could not see my disability. To him I was like any other kid. He made me sweat it out and run like everyone. Initially I thought he was my enemy.. not in the category of my grandmother who made life miserable for me, but just a tiny bit of enemy; but later on I realized that I loved the way he treated me. No special kid treatment. Tough on me, forcing me to show my best, challenging me to reach a target and I knew this is the way I wanted people to treat me.

One day he told me to come and meet him in the lunch time after I finish my lunch. I knew he had some plan for me and by now I had started to trust him a lot.

 “There is our new sports girl of the year” he welcomed me with a broad smile.

“I have something very serious to discuss with you. You have to trust me and believe in what I say. If you promise me not to feel hurt or brood over what I have said but only concentrate on what has to be done then I will go ahead and tell you something now”

I had expected something different and this was a bit confusing discussion. Now if a person knows he is going to say something that will hurt me and he doesn't want me hurt why should he say it at all? As I had developed some amount of respect for this man I decided to go ahead and listen to him

“Yes sir”

“You have a prominent limp and wrong gait when you walk. I think we can work on it and set your gait right but you have to work hard for it. You are young now and the habit of limp is not permanent. As years go by you will get used to it and change will be difficult. Shall we work on it every day hereafter?”

“What is gait?”

“It is the way you walk”.

“Sir, I have a club foot and it will make me limp no matter how hard I try. I have been trying to walk my best since last 3 years but this is the best I can do”.

“If you trust me then listen to me and let us work on it. I promise to make you walk better if you give me a chance. Please”.

I had no other option but to do as he says because usually he was a stern person who never said please, thank you etc. and when he said please I decided to do my best at whatever he says.

So the lunch break and another extra period were spent with him making me walk around, correcting me. When I tried to walk the way he told me to I hurt and tried to give up. But he would not allow that. Finally I was given instructions to do some more walking at home with one book balanced on my head and allowed to go to my class.

To my horror when I came back home I found that I could not take even two steps without dropping the book down. After an hour or so I could take 4 steps with the book balanced on my head. To do this I had to walk very slowly. Thus began my coaching at walking without a limp.

Also I was lured into participating in more sports. I found out to my amazement I could actually beat other kids in hop and catch, throw ball, dodge ball and kho-kho. Slowly I realized the bull chasing episode where I had overtaken my sister was not a fluke and I could actually beat many kids in running. It came as a big surprise to everyone around me and I was utterly shocked. I was beaming with happiness and pride off course.

Back at home this did not go down well with my family. They thought I am going to hurt myself and may end up being a real cripple by playing sports. I don’t blame them either, because my club foot did not give me good balance and I came home with wounded knees or elbows on most of the days. [The scars make me proud even to this day]

My aunt and mom decided to complain to the HM on PT Sir saying that he was  forcing me to play games where as I could not play and did not like it. We were called into the office and questioned by the HM who asked me to confirm the complaint. My mom aunt kept talking in our mother tongue to me, urging me to tell the HM that I did not want to play games anymore. I refused. I was horrified to think they were blaming our PT Sir, when actually they had to be grateful to him for making me feel normal like any other kid. He did not say anything much nor defend himself. I was afraid that this was the end of my special coaching and I was very sad. But he totally ignored the episode and went on as though nothing had happened and never even thought of mentioning it ever again.

Few years down the lane after PT sir had first given me guidance, I could walk long distances with the book balanced on my head and also could climb stairs with it. That meant I had developed a balance and I had no prominent limp. 

The road leading from gate to convent on which we ran
photographed recently when I visited the school.

That year when the school competitions were coming up, P.T. Sir told me to participate in running for my category. We were practicing in school where there was no track field. We were supposed to run on the mud road that led from our school gate to the convent house where the nuns lived. A teacher would give us the starting whistle from the gate and we had to run to the convent house where P.T. Sir would judge us.

This was the time when I could prove to myself that I really had it in me to run fast. Ready, steady .. Go! I started to run and forgot the whole world around me.. I did not see anyone nor heard anything. I could only see the target ahead of me and feel the ground below my feet. Suddenly a shooting pain ran up through my club foot and I was back to the world of reality where I found myself to be leading the pack. I wanted to stop and take care of my foot, but then I did not want to lose. Here I was overcoming my disability and pain was not going to stop me ….. I kept running and finally reached the line and collapsed to check out what had happened.

My foot was bleeding as something sharp object had pierced the canvas where it was worn out (it usually happened to the canvas shoe on my club foot due to pressure being on the small part of it) and left a cut on my foot but did not get embedded in. I had tears in my eyes but was not sure was it due to pain or due the joy of finally proving myself.

Slowly teachers and students started gathering around me and they were shocked to see so much of blood.. actually the scare was because no one knew the reason. Finally a teacher and P.T. Sir bandaged my foot and led me to take rest in the convent house. I had qualified for the sports meet to be held in a village nearby called Vartur. I was full of gratitude for the man who had helped me overcome my disability and said “Thank you sir”. He smiled and told me something which I remember even to this day when I have to fight a battle, “I am not sure about your legs girl, but your spirit is going to take you far”.

We kept practicing hard for the sports meet where most of the schools from our district were participating. For once my books were ignored. I did not want to let my school down. Between the hectic schedules of sports preparation, the days flew by and soon we were in Vartur.

My sister walked up to me and told me to take it easy. “Don’t kill yourself for winning” was her advice to me. A bout of nervousness hit me when I stood there among unknown students who looked tougher than our own school children. I looked away from them soon and concentrated on the target I had to reach. What scared me most were the comments I would get if I lost.

“Poor thing! She did so much, but what better could someone do with a club foot hindering them”

“Not bad for a handicapped girl”

“She would have won if not for that club foot of hers”

I tried to brush them away as I heard the words READY! Yes. I was ready to give my best and accept whatever came to me.

Soon enough I was running on the track. A girl whizzed past me and I expected more to do the same. But then, I did not much care about others but kept running as though my life depended on reaching that target first. For a moment I felt I was flying because my feet barely touched the ground and the feeling brought some kind of euphoria. I was nearing the tape and saw that it has been already touched by the girl who whizzed past me. I had lost. I stood second in the race. I had mixed emotions running through me. Then P.T. Sir walked up to me and gave a small pat on my back. “Good” he said and I heard his voice was emotional. I looked up and saw tears his eyes. Then my emotions became clear and I knew I had won. Second place was not sucking any more.

Even to this day I remember those tears. This gesture from a tough man who almost was unemotional, is more precious than any medal I could ever win….. He was the man who gave me confidence, and helped me overcome my limp without expecting anything in return. He doesn't even know that I realized how much he had influenced my life later on as I matured, because I have never been able to get in touch with him after he left school.  He did not want to be a hero, he was trying to be a human being, a soldier who fought my battle against disability. 

 This post is a part of #Soldierforwomen in association with BlogAdda.com

Stop Child Abuse Now

Your response to the disclosure of the child about the abuse is very crucial in the outcome. It can be a terrible experience; especially if you are the mother who is hearing her child tell that someone has abused or hurt them. The child has gone through lot of emotional turmoil to bring this up with you, so handle it very carefully. Please do not panic, as that will scare the child into silence. Be calm and sit someplace where you are face to face with the child. Do not react with disgust or convey the message in any way that you do not believe the child. Just listen to the child keeping calm and assuring the child that it is going to be all right soon. Please do not lie about your intentions, as the child will face the pain of betrayal once again.

Avoid the following when the child is trying to tell you something:

• Continue with the task at hand like cooking, watching TV or reading a book when half listening to the child
• Ask too many questions or interrogate the child
• Scare the child by getting angry or ask questions like ‘What were you doing there?’ ‘Why did you go there?’ ‘Why didn't you tell this to me earlier?’
• Show your disgust, anger, fear or panic in open
• Convey to the child that the alleged abuser is a nice person who could never do something like this
• Make the child feel it is their own fault that this happened. Many children will think that the abuse happened because of something they did or did not do, therefore avoid fuel to the fire.

Read more about Child Abuse here

Why Children Do Not Talk About Being Sexually Abused?

For More Images Click on Link Below

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

Image 6 

Image 7 

Image 8

Image 9