A Point of View

New Delhi: Against all odds..

I must have been around 12 years old when an accident left me nearly crippled for two years. I was hit by a speeding cyclist and an injury left me unable to walk for a long time. But I healed. And this was possible because of the unparallel love and faith of my parents who taught me, 'It does not matter what happens to you. What matters is how you react to it,' one of my earliest lessons in survival.

My personal break though or rather what I call 'self paradigm shift' happened in January 2006, when a freak incident resulted in permanent hearing impairment. I felt my ears burst at an evening office party on Lonavala.

Over the next few weeks of hospitalization, I found myself looking intently at the doctor talking, and wondering, where is the voice? My eyes tried to comprehend the lip movements and the hand gestures, but in vain. They just made no sense to me. Then a series of injections, scans and medications followed, but without any success. But I had terrific support from my doctors.

Even the nurses had become my friends and my five-month-old son was a much-welcomed visitor to the drab hospital floor. Finally, I left the hospital, with the diagnosis of severe and permanent bisensorineural loss for reasons unknown. What an irony for someone in the communication business! My husband and in-laws became my rock.

Their amazing courage made my each sound-less day reverberate with joy. My biggest learning came from books and people who inspired me by their bravery and ability to overcome their personal challenges- it was truly humbling.

Now, I use a very sophisticated digital hearing aid for both my ears and a high-end speaker-phone to talk. Lip reading is a new tool that I am putting to use too. I swear by the net and I am officially allowed to communicate through that. So, all my work happens over e-mail. Personally, I depend a lot on my family to help me with my younger son.

I have learnt life is too short and there is so much to do.
I have learnt to enjoy vibrations of music that are eternal.
I have learnt it is not important to hear every thing and it is okay to miss a little, or lots at times.
I have learnt that you can live in a world without a cell phone, ipod, television and radio.

Source: Against all odds. The Times of India, New Delhi, 19 May 2006.