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Story: Midnight Travel

"In March 2008, I was returning to my home town Muzaffarabad along with my family after attending a wedding ceremony in Rawalpindi. I...




"In March 2008, I was returning to my home town Muzaffarabad along with my family after attending a wedding ceremony in Rawalpindi. It was midnight and the roads were deserted. A group of dacoits fired at our car while trying to stop us. A bullet entered my neck and stopped half way resulting in a spinal cord injury leaving me paralyzed neck downwards affecting all four limbs (Quadriplegia). 

I was a 3rd year MBBS student at that time. All the medical and surgical treatments were provided that added little benefit to my condition. After realizing the implications of this incurable condition, I decided not to let my physical limitations defeat me in achieving the goals that I had set for my life. I vividly remember the time when I tried to study my Pharmacology book while lying down in a hospital bed just a few days after my injury…..

 Life was not the same anymore & each day placed a new challenge before me but I was determined to fight. I was discharged from hospital after about 5 weeks and was brought home when I couldn't even hold my neck. I had no grip in my hands so my mother became my full time caretaker helping me with eating, bathing, dressing etc. I had lost my bladder & bowel control so I started using a catheter & diapers. It was a very hard time for me as well as for my family. Almighty gave us the courage and with the help of my family & friends I resumed my studies in the very unfeasible physical conditions. I couldn't even sit straight when I joined my college in a reclined wheelchair. I couldn't use my hands to hold or to open a book or to turn its pages and my family and friends started assisting me with that.

God started creating paths for me and I completed my MBBS degree without wasting a single academic year and I became Dr Anam Najam. I then continued my post graduate studies & completed my specialization in Psychiatry. Thus, I became the first Quadriplegic Psychiatrist from Pakistan. I move around in a motorized wheelchair, work in a hospital, write with the help of assisted devices though I need two persons to transfer me from bed to wheelchair, wheelchair to car and vice versa.. I am writing it briefly here as no words can justifiably depict the whole journey.

I'm sharing my story with all of you to extend my message of hope… Stop waiting for a miracle and start striving! A hard battle is not an excuse to quit."- Dr Anum Najam

If you think your life is full of problems, think again. Be thankful for the great blessings that you have. Your eyes, your hands, your legs, your brain, your memory, your nose, mouth, lips, ears and so on. Be grateful to God and start living an optimistic life. 
#UnsungHero #Amazing #Pakistan

Courtesy: College of Physicians & Surgeons, Pakistan