Life, It’s a Challenge

Beep... beep... beep... I woke up to the sound of beeping. I couldn't exactly remember what had happened and I wasn't sure where I was. As my eyes adjusted and I gradually became aware of my surroundings, it looked as if I was in an overcrowded hospital. I took in all of this in, in about a second. That, was before I entered my flashback of "the tragedy..."


It's 1984, India (Dehli), I'm 16. The dying flavour of my chewing gum lingered inside my mouth. I was sitting in my school bus going home and as I got up to spit my gum out of the weak half opened window. I looked out of the window. I watched as all the hungry homeless roamed around the uneven and bumpy roads. As I steadily reached the window, I noted how easily the window opened. I was just about to spit out the gum when suddenly there was a heart-stopping jerk. I found myself wedged between the window. The pain was so bad I wasn't even sure what exactly was happening. I felt myself slipping out of consciousness... I can't make it... I can't. I can.


I screamed in pain. All of my four limbs were hurting so bad, I could barely even scream. I found a doctor standing over me with his hands just inches away from my legs. He seemed really surprised. It was almost as if he was looking at a corpse that had just come to life.


As I looked around, I noticed all kinds of patients, some with deformed bodies, some bleeding and some almost on the verge of dying. I thought, "At least I know I'm going to survive and hopefully live a long life". That was my last thought before I fell into a deep slumber.


After I woke up after about, what seemed like a few hours, I felt quite different. I wasn't exactly sure what it was though as I couldn't exactly see much. My mum had just come and she started explaining what had happened... And that was it that was my big exploding point. I cried. A genuinely sad and pity cry. My right leg had caught a deadly infection called Gangerine. Because of that, I had to have my leg amputated. All those years of football (soccer) training... All gone waste. I could barely do any sports now. My mum embraced me with such an affectionate yet strong hug that she almost choked me. She was so strong. She was fighting her own emotions so she could be strong for me. My sister, only eleven years old, was taking over most of her life with barely anyone there to support her. My father, he was working so hard and had always worked on putting a smile on my face. These thoughts gave me a ray of hope. I could do this. I had to do this. Life is just a challenging test. You either approach it optimistically or you let it drag you down.


That was what transformed my life from a total mess to the best life I could ever wish for... Sure, maybe it isn't the ideal life for most people but I was given this life because I could survive it.