If your life was a book..

If your life was a book and you were the author, how would you like your story to go??
This was the question that changed my life forever.
Brought up in a small industrial town, I always used to dream big (or you may call it day dreaming)
An average student in studies, an all-rounder who had interest in dancing, acting, music, sports everything, who loved his bike like anything even more than his girlfriend, wanted to travel whole of the world, life full of adventures and stories.
One day, got hit by a metal door on the way to his coaching classes. Peak summer it was, 3 o’clock in the afternoon, 26th june 2010, lying on the black tar, got my leg crushed between the metaldoor and the fuel tank of my bike.
The femur bone was like a wooden stick broken into two pieces which punctured the vascular tubes stopping the blood supply to the leg. I was shouting like hell. My parents, my friends, all were with me but they were helpless.
It was like I am hung upside down. Ah!! Brutal pain it was
No medical facilities in my town, was taken to Chandigarh. Reached there 4hrs after the accident.
Doctor injected a 4 inch syringe in my right foot. And what.. no blood.. no pain.. no sensation..
He called up his team and straight away said, ”it will have to be amputated”
Silence it was…inside me.. Thinking.. i m just 17..i’ve got my whole life in front of me..
But what I could have done at that moment of time. Nothing.. What was to happen had already happened
But my dad was not ready for it.. He said how can you say this without giving it even a single shot?
I was taken to some another bigger hospital, was given a try to save the leg.
I still remember doctor’s wording after my first surgery
She said to my mom,“What actually happened?”
My mom said “Nothing.. It was just a minor accident”
Doctor said “it was not a minor accident. Just PRAY to God”
Well.. Some hours went by.. a hope was still there inside me that yes.. I’ll b alright.. I’ll be on my feet once again.
But after 1 day.. doctor said.. we’ll have to amputate it. No other option. Otherwise it may cost my life.
After my amputation surgery when I came back to ICU.. doctor came..
I asked him “what is the further plan of action sir??”
He said.. ”don’t u know what has happened to your leg?”
I said.. “ no.”
He said.. “your leg will not support you anymore.”
I didn’t know what to expect.. but I was not expecting that.
2min silence.. again it was inside me
I asked him to call my parents
By the time they entered.. I had made up my mind that I’ll not cry in front of them. Only I am there strength.. if I breakdown.. Who will support them?
They came in..
They were with me for 5 min.. but those 5 min were the toughest 5 min of my life.
To control your tears in front of those mom dad.. Whose one and only son was lying there on the bed.. Who was now deprived of leading a normal life.. “a physically challenged”.
The most toughest 5 min of my life. I just pray to god that no one gets to see this time pplease. Then I thought..lets take it as a challenge..lets see what this new life has got for me.
Now it was my choice whether to lie on the bed or prove my metal.. to show everyone.. What dhruv batra actually is. Discover my new potential..
I opted for the second one..
When I returned home after 20days..first drop of tear came streaming out of my eyes.. thinking.. when I last left home.. I was on my bike.. as energetic as ever.. and when I am back.. I’m totally changed.
I was broken mentally, physically and emotionally.
That was a second birth for me. So off course.. after birth u need to start from the basics.. to sit straight.. to crawl.. to eat on your own....
I cut short it a bit..i learned how to stand, I learned how to move with a walker..i learned how to move with crutches.. used to walk several km everyday with crutches..
Then I got a prosthetic limb. I somehow got some control over me.
But then I thought.. how will I travel the world with these confining legs.. how would I live a life full of adventures and stories as I had always dreamt of??
I knew just one thing.. I’ll have to get rid of that old dhruv.. I learned to embrace a new dhruv.
Still.. I had 2 months left for my 12th board exams.. some suggested that I should drop.. different people.. different perspectives.. different opinions.
But I always believed in one thing.. NO OPTIONS..NO CONFUSIONS. I appeared in both board exams and competitive exams.. and scored much better than those who once used to study with me.. and got admission in a better college than anyone else..
It was this time when I asked myself that life defining queston.. “if my life was a book and I was the author.. how would I want my story to be written??” and I began to day dream again..I began to day dream as I once used to and I imagined myself walking gracefully and helping other people through my journey.
I was flying.. like anything.. then suddenly.. I realized.. will this be enough for me to lead a normal life?
Then I started indulging myself in games..sports..a place where you get your motivation back started with snooker..then shifted to table tennis.. but that vigor..that adrenaline pump..that rush was still missing. I then started with swimming.. and used to swim 2km continuously with one leg.
I started cycling with my prosthetic limb.. got some problems in the beginning as my prosthetic leg didn’t stay on the paddle of the bicycle. Then I made a strap and tied my leg to it and rode my bike comfortably. At that time I realized.. Obstacles can do only two things to you..1. Either stop you or 2.force us to get creative !!
One day.. One of my friends asked me.. “Dhruv.. Don’t you ever blame God for what he has done to you? Don’t you ever ask him why he did this only to you and not anyone else?”
I stood there silently for about 30sec. Emotionless. Then I said, “God gave me everything. Such good parents, relatives, friends who were with me in the worst of my times. The moment I wished anything, my parents fulfilled it in no time. God made me tall and handsome, gave me an intelligent mind and what not. At that time I didn’t question him that why me?? I did not ask him a single question that why is he giving all this to me? Why not other people around me? And when he has taken one thing away from me, how can I question him? Sorry!! My conscious doesn’t allow me to do so.
I went for a 5km run. Completed it. Though I was way behind others.
Completed an 8km trek which included a hillock to climb and this time I was leading from the front.
By that time, I had realized one thing, dude!! This life is a boxing match. You don’t lose the fight when you fall down. But you lose it when you refuse to stand up again and fight. But there are times when you fall down and you feel you don’t have the strength to stand back again. Do you think do you have hope?
I will try one hundred times to get up and if I fail one hundred times and I give up, do you think I am ever gonna get up? NO!!. If I fail, I will try again and again and again, but please it is not the end. It matters how you gonna finish. If you wish to finish strong, you will definitely get up!!
The challenges in our life are there to strengthen the convictions. Not to run us over life.
At one point, I fell hopeless, I was broken, I thought my life has reached its end. My life was pointless, no point to study. I didn’t even think of going to some university. It was something like bitter. But I had the choice.. Bitter or Better? I chose BETTER!!
2 years ago when I lost my leg, I had no idea what to expect but if you ask me today if I ever want to change my situation.. My answer would be NO. Because my leg hasn’t disabled me. If anything they have enabled me is to rely on my imagination and to believe in the possibilities. And that’s where I feel, our imagination could be used as a tool to break through any situation. Because in our minds we can do anything, just anything. It is all about believing in those dreams and facing our fears head on that helps us to live our lives beyond our limits. What I want to say is instead of taking the problems and limitations as negative, we can take them as blessings, magnificent gifts that can be used to ignite our imagination further that we ever knew we could go.
It is up to you.. LIFE WITHOUT LIMB OR LIFE WITHOUT LIMITS