Abha (name changed), a beautiful, 12 years old girl belonged to a humble farm laborer’s family from a remote village in Jharkhand. Abha had got infected with polio in early childhood, even before she could learn to stand & walk. She wanted to walk to her school as with advancing age it was becoming more and more difficult for her parents to carry her on rough rural terrain. Her father carried her in to my consultation chamber back in late 2005. Her initial polio illness had long gone but had left her with a combination of PARALYSIS, multiple DEFORMITIES and PAIN, with permanent stiffness of her hip, knee and ankle on both sides. She also had significant shortness of one of her lower limbs. With so many deformities she was, what we call in our medical jargon, a great rehabilitation challenge. Considering that she had never stood erect and walk it was literally habilitation rather than re-habilitation.
On interacting with her I found a great desire of standing on her own and walking to school (she was fortunate as her parents used to carry her to school). We chalked her rehabilitation management plan. Did operate on her both hips, both knees and both ankles in multiple sessions, to rid her off the deformities. She was re-assessed for the limb shortness and found it to be too much to overcome by raising the shoe only. So a limb lengthening procedure was also done that alone took around 9 months to get completed. In all, she spent around 3 years to reach this far. Then started long ordeal of practicing standing and walking along with training for taking care of her personal needs. In view of her significant trunk weakness we trained her to walk with calipers in both her lower limbs with support of a walker. But she was not satisfied at this. She continued her exercises and walking practice, as walker was not suitable for rough landscape that she had to walk through to her school. One fine morning last year, after her exams, she again walked in to my clinic, determined to get rid of walker and replace the same with crutches. This time she stayed with us for almost 5 to 6 months and with continuous hard work on her part, combined with that of my team of therapists, she got discharged, walking with calipers and crutches.
Now, Abha can stand & walk to school, negotiate gentle ramps, go up and come down stairs, play with other children, do household chores and is becoming a productive member of the society once again. Of course, she still has disability but by accepting the same “as such” and choosing to concentrate on her abilities she has achieved this much.
On interacting with her I found a great desire of standing on her own and walking to school (she was fortunate as her parents used to carry her to school). We chalked her rehabilitation management plan. Did operate on her both hips, both knees and both ankles in multiple sessions, to rid her off the deformities. She was re-assessed for the limb shortness and found it to be too much to overcome by raising the shoe only. So a limb lengthening procedure was also done that alone took around 9 months to get completed. In all, she spent around 3 years to reach this far. Then started long ordeal of practicing standing and walking along with training for taking care of her personal needs. In view of her significant trunk weakness we trained her to walk with calipers in both her lower limbs with support of a walker. But she was not satisfied at this. She continued her exercises and walking practice, as walker was not suitable for rough landscape that she had to walk through to her school. One fine morning last year, after her exams, she again walked in to my clinic, determined to get rid of walker and replace the same with crutches. This time she stayed with us for almost 5 to 6 months and with continuous hard work on her part, combined with that of my team of therapists, she got discharged, walking with calipers and crutches.
Now, Abha can stand & walk to school, negotiate gentle ramps, go up and come down stairs, play with other children, do household chores and is becoming a productive member of the society once again. Of course, she still has disability but by accepting the same “as such” and choosing to concentrate on her abilities she has achieved this much.
Disclaimer:
Whatever I am sharing is of general guidance nature to give an overview of basic concepts of Total Rehabilitation. It is aimed at sensitizing the reader to healthy lifestyle habits or basic concepts of financial planning. It should NEVER be treated as substitute for professional advice, which can only be given by your physician/ investment advisor after personally assessing your specific condition/financial status.
great job by a good persoo like u always giv some ray of hope to all those who need it...great job by a good persoo like u always giv some ray of hope to all those who need it...
ReplyDeleteGreat innovative effort sir!
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