The Wheelchair That Carried Him Back to Life

33 Comments

To linger here or to feel that you belong… — Olya Aman

T. is a lean, long-backed, large-headed Lebanese, with surly tones of his voice and coarse features of his face. We scour the country together every now and then: I—on my feet and he—on his wheels. His wheelchair is a speedy little beast, accelerated by his mighty hands and skillfully maneuvered by his flexible torso.

T. is my dear friend. You would never believe looking at his expressive and full of exhilarating energy face, that death had been hovering over him just three years ago.

The dark night in T.’s life crept slowly on, unexpected and unwelcomed. The sun rose and sank, and he was dwindling away beneath the dry and wasting heat of fever.

A weak, thin, and pallid face was looking at him from the multi-squared mirror lights of the hospital ceiling. Outside the window strangers in and out, smiling and crying, old folks and newborns—all colors of countenances and personalities were passing through his painful perception for forty-three thousand agonizing wakeful minutes of his confinement to the bed.

When starting to sit down to his meals, still dispirited and sad, the realization that the chains of grief were the heaviest of all fetters came to T.’s mind. The belief in a higher intelligent plan and purpose was still holding him tight, not letting him sink into that despair completely.

T. needed to return to the world he belonged. Hour by hour the drop of every happy memory brought back first feeble streams of life. The fairest consolation came in disguise of a prayer. He applied himself with assiduity to the task of reviving his inner and outer strength so his family could be proud of him.

He made off as fast as he could to lay his spirits to the ground and managed to get himself out of the bed and on his wheels with surprising speed. Every morning he called before his mind’s eye a vast amphitheater of loving faces of his dear people.

He didn’t feel his legs anymore, but that missing part of his body was substituted by strains of overly agitated nerves of his arms and spine. He followed on the track of strengthening his torso every instant he felt the need to hue-and-cry to the missing limbs.

T.’s life hanged heavy on his hands even before the turning point that left him without legs. Being 32-years-old, he had been poring over various subjects. It seemed a matter of impossibility to center his life around fitness and body healing strategies now when he lost almost half of it, but this idea was firmly impressed upon his mind. T. became transfixed with the desire to achieve the heights he didn’t even think possible for his fully-functional healthy past-self.

He set his heart firmly on a goal to become a physical therapist working in amputee rehabilitation. He became a world known inventor of dynamic specific strengthening exercises that flex and tone the muscles. His online teaching courses are empowering. His own experience gives him psychological advantage to motivate people who suffered a loss to set goals and move on with their lives.

The impressive stateliness that radiated from T. was adopted from his mentor. The simplicity of his mentor’s life stirred T. profoundly. This person was happy, chasing his dreams and loving his family. With neither legs nor arms he was shining with heart strength and will-power. Every trace of T.’s essence strove to be worthy of the second chance he was given.

T. still had a realizing sense of his weakness and captivity. But he was recovering his life-balance by an effort of willpower and desire to set an example for others.

He conveyed a message that whatever happened to him was not a run of ill-luck but a fortunate wakeful blessing. He shared many talks on how to accept the past and devotedly love your-past-self and present-self.

He received many compassionate comments on his media channels. The influence which his sincere contented personality exercised was deep and lasting. People saw a humble person just like themselves, never repenting on his helplessness, but actually claiming to be powerful enough to uplift his own spirit and inspire others to do the same.

33 thoughts on “The Wheelchair That Carried Him Back to Life”

  1. I can’t imagine the mindset of a being suddenly disabled but know loved ones who had those accidents. The spirit they radiate is unlike anything else. They may feel down and not realize how they are lighting up so many around them

    Like

    Reply

  2. Having a positive spirit will go beyond something we have expected. This is so inspiring. Many people who are living inside the dark room they only created will be enlightened. Thanks for this.

    Like

    Reply

  4. I am familiar with many of these thoughts. While I was in kidney failure on dialysis, I had to learn how to find the bright side and happy even while my body gave out. This would have been very helpful!

    Like

    Reply

  5. love this topic! every single one of them is such an important guide. TThank you for posting and allowing us to start our day right

    Like

    Reply

    1. acceptance is a great way to cope up with having to deal with disability. then improving oneself and challenging self that despite the incompleteness, you can still do a lot.

      Like

      Reply

  10. A positive attitude is so very important for everybody, no matter their situation. Sometimes it’s hard to stay positive when everything seems to be going against you. But troubles will pass. A positive attitude will make the bad times seem not so bad.

    Like

    Reply

  12. You have written a blog post that is not at all easy, which deals with a complex and delicate subject, but you have been fantastic. What a charge of energy!

    Like

    Reply

  15. I know you wrote this with being disabled as the focus, but I think it works for everyone. Each of these ways to keep happy can be applied in every day life for any person. I am not disabled, but still find myself agreeing that I could do better with all of this myself.

    Like

    Reply

  17. We truly do need to stay connected to the outer world around us if we are going to be excited about life. And giving to others always helps us feel that connectedness to others in the process.

    Like

    Reply

  18. This is so empowering to those people with disabilities for me being disabilities is not the reason to live miserable instead do the things that makes you feel happy such a lovely post!

    Like

    Reply

  22. This is so beautiful and so inspiring article to read. I can’t imagine myself being in that situation but I agree with all of you that having a positive attitude are so important and will def help you to become happy.

    Like

    Reply

  23. thank you for this. We have a family member who experienced his second stroke and it’s been tough for him to get back on his feet. Lots of therapy seems quite promising, but you just never know.

    Like

    Reply

  25. Sometimes as an able body person I take my health and stability for granted. Reading this makes me so grateful and I hope anyone with any body disability can read this and be inspired.

    Like

    Reply

  28. This is such an inspiring and motivational article. Thanks for sharing this. People always whine and complain but, I can’t even explain how i feel after reading this article, it’s makes me feel how grateful we are for the things we have.

    Like

    Reply

  29. I really enjoyed this! When you’re positive, it can definitely change your experience in life. Keeping a happy attitude can be hard sometimes, but the more you do it… the more you’ll realize how much there is to enjoy in life with a positive outlook.

    Like

    Reply

  31. I love everything you have discussed. This is something people (not only disabled) to read to gain positive thoughts in life. Thank you for sharing!

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.