When Defiance Proved ‘Costly’
By Bathmavathi Krishnan
It was between stubbornness and throwing caution to the wind. Spurred by the will to carry on despite the odds and obstacles along the way, many a times I had disengaged common sense to get to where I wanted to. But in one recent outing, luck was not on my side. And it came with a price!
Just recently in March, I was all excited when I heard that a speakers’ club I had joined was having its first meeting. “The meeting will be held upstairs, we cannot find a more suitable accommodation at the moment, but we would love to have you attend!” went the invite. Though I was half-hearted initially, the drive within me finally overpowered all reason and logic.
I said, “OK, I’ll be there.” After all, I have been hoisted up by “human lifts” all through my 33 years in a wheelchair to attend wedding functions, to give talks, attend dinners, etc. held in lift less buildings. So why not?
Arriving at the said venue, I found myself before five flights of stairs. At the thought of having to scale these stairs, my heart sank.
A few of the members were present to lend a helping hand. I gave them strict instructions, as I have always done in the past, on how to carry me with my wheelchair upstairs. I told them exactly which part of the wheelchair to hold, the angle of inclination while ascending, the pace with which they should move etc. And that they should put down my wheelchair at each landing before the next flight.
They did alright for the four flights, while all along I feared for dear life. At the last landing, with one more flight to scale, one of the volunteers felt tired and went to look for a replacement. When this new chap came down, he immediately grabbed my chair from the back and lifted it, oblivious that the rest were not yet ready. I did not see him either, as my back was towards him. The chair tipped forward. Being paralysed from the waist down, I slid out of the chair. The gentleman in front of me tried to hold me up by supporting my shoulders, but it was to no avail. The weight of my upper body gradually brought me to the floor with my left knee reaching first, which made me lean towards the left before supporting myself with my hands. The impact was absorbed by my left thigh bone (which became apparent only much later).
Within minutes, those around helped me back into my “seat”. I was a little shaken by the incident but remained composed. Thankfully, we managed the final lap to the floor where the meeting room was.
Once I was comfortably settled, I quickly inspected my knees, the thighs and shin with my hands to check if there was any warmth or swelling. Everything appeared normal. There was nothing to worry about. I went on to participate in the meeting and its activities. Once I got home, I once again examined my legs. There was nothing abnormal; no swelling, no warmth or redness. Satisfied, I went about my daily routine, transferring from wheelchair to bed, toilet and back. I slept well. The next morning I discovered a slight swelling just above my left knee. Thinking that I might have sprained my knee due to the fall, I secured it with a crepe bandage. And I had this bandage on for the next couple of days, removing it only when I showered.
I went about my daily life, which involves a lot of transfers – from wheelchair to car, on to the bed, toilet seat, bathing seat, etc. The swelling became worse after a couple of days. I did not feel any pain over the knee area, but felt restless and uncomfortable at night. I swallowed a couple of painkillers before sleeping. The following day, I decided to have the swelling examined.
I called a dear friend, Dr Zaliha Omar and gave her the symptoms. She screamed – “You just wait there – don’t move your leg; it sounds like a fracture! I’ll come over and get you to the hospital”. I told her I had done all the movements – mainly lateral movements! Within a few minutes she arrived and took me to the University Malaya Medical Centre where I had an X-ray taken.
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