Zahra speaks

Self-isolation is the new norm. We are keeping a 'safe' distance from more than 3 months now. The thought of being isolated is usually very daunting but as we are in quarantine for such a long period, a sense of patience has predominated in most of the people. Everybody is putting in their 100% effort. This particular period reminded me of a very bittersweet time of my life.  I have been in a wheelchair for almost 10 years and we know there is no facilitation of rehabilitation in Pakistan. I was discharged from the hospital within a few weeks of my surgery. To be clear, I had spinal decompression surgery. I had a giant cell tumor on the C7-T1 level on my spinal cord. I will not be going to details but I was pretty stiff when I left the hospital. It was difficult for my family to actually seat me in the car. I was sent home without any instructions as to how to manage neither myself nor my parents were an expert in managing a paralyzed patient. However, the good thing about the ...

‘It’ll hurt,’ someone yelled from somewhere far. She stood still, looking ahead at the beautiful pathway. Her feet were drenched in water; she felt the chilliness of water in every inch of her body. However, it was a pleasant feeling. Like she had been wandering in a desert for years and finally, she was experiencing a trace of coolness. The running water moved horizontally, down into a small valley. Her eyes were glued to the path before her. Deep green trees merging to make a tunnel, the muddy land that led straight to a place that she knew was safe. Suddenly, the breeze started blowing; gentle air caressed her face and she smelled an enticing fragrance. ‘Lilies!’ she thought. As she took a step forward, the water stream was no longer touching her feet. She looked back at the wonderful water which sparkled even from such proximity. She turned back towards the naturally built tunnel of trees, some barks of the trees were uneven but the leaves of every tree met at a point to contri...

  Comedy is the most difficult thing to do. It is very challenging to make people laugh especially in these times when everything is so grave and tensed. I have immense admiration for the people who can make other people laugh. It is an inbuilt talent and not everyone can master this craft. It takes years of practice and dedication to be able to bring a smile on anyone's face. However, the people who possess this skill are very sensitive and recondite in their approach towards life. They understand the realities of life and the precise details of the simple aspects of daily life. They are intelligent, skillful, and blessed.  Some people are born comedians. They don't need to invest any efforts to make people laugh, it comes naturally to them. They don't have to showcase their skills on a platform such as television or movies. They practice their skill in real life. They make us laugh when it is very difficult to smile. We all have someone in our surroundings who is witty an...

There are plenty of differently abled people in Pakistan who are doing an amazing job in portraying a positive image of the country to the world. Many people are unaware of some of these splendid individuals. They are the unsung heroes of the nation who have worked tirelessly, despite their disabilities, and forged a name for themselves. It is not an easy task to create your own place in a society where there is an evident inequality in terms of opportunities, it is even more difficult if you are a woman. I have personally met some of the most courageous people with disabilities who have achieved brilliantly in their careers and are transforming their disabilities into abilities. I don't think anyone is disabled, they are just differently abled as compared to everyone else. It is the skill that counts not the physical characteristics. However, it is very true that the society judges on the physical attributes more than mental capabilities but this mindset must change. ...

If you can move your feet and walk on your own then you should be very thankful for each moment in your life. We don't realize the importance of such small blessings. When something is taken away from you, it is exactly the time when you realize the worth of that thing. Operating your legs or walking may seem very casual things that you do in routine but trust me these things are worth being thankful for each day. Everyone has a story to tell; my story revolves around the turn of events that turned me into a fighter. I found happiness in the most difficult time of my life with the divine intervention of The Almighty.  I could have been a normal carefree teenager but God had other plans for me. I was 16 years old when a complex diagnosis declared that I had tuberculosis of the bone. The doctor suggested some. Without any delay, I began the course. Naturally, the term tuberculosis scared my family and so without taking a second opinion, we opted to start the medicine. It would ...

After my first surgery, I was in a very crucial state as my vertebra was not completely supporting the activity of my neck due to its incomplete structure. At that time, the young doctors were on a strike and all the activities of the hospitals were abandoned so my crucial surgery was delayed due to this issue. At this point in time, the doctor himself stated that a little mismanagement with the movement can cause a collapse so in that span of 2 weeks we were continuously living on the edge and additionally I was discharged from the hospital as my next surgery was going to occur in a government hospital. As I was discharged, a very difficult phase of my ailment began. I had to lie straight on my back so that any unusual movement would not happen to result in any collapse. I was always a very active teenager and I never thought that there will be a time when I will be confined to my bed doing nothing but look write up on the wall to discover fascinating artworks from the cracks in th...

Confinement is merely in one's mind because one can find anything that they look for if the intentions are pure. I was in a need to find the meaning of my life. With the enormous support of my friends and family, there were certainly some more things that made me able to grasp beyond the walls of my house. Cricket which might be just a game for a few people but it was not just a game from me as it helped me get a direction out of the darkness that prevailed my life at that time. I first fell in love with this game in the year 2009, when Younis Khan brought the T20 World Cup Trophy home. He was and still remains my favorite cricketer although he was later joined by Misbah Ul Haq in my favorite cricketers' league. When I went in for my surgery, I still remember the world cup 2011 was going on and my mind was struck by a very important match Pakistan was playing that day. It dimmed the effect of a very hard event that was going on in my life. The semi-final of that particular wo...

One of the most initial indications of my ailment was a weakness in my right arm and hand. In a span of a few weeks, I lost my hand grip which meant that I could not hold a pen and hence I had to give up my studies to go for treatment. I still remember the day when I went into the classroom and I could not sit due to tremendous pain in my back. My teacher was getting so enraged and ultimately, she asked me to leave the class and go home to take some rest. Sadly this was the day when I went to my school for the last time as a student. I was an O level student and was supposed to appear for my final exams in 2 months when this ailment seized me. I was very enthusiastic about my studies. My preparation was in full-fledged but right before my exams, I had to give up my studies because I could not even hold a pen let alone appearing in my exams. Obviously, as a teenager, this was a very heartbreaking circumstance to accept that all the effort and hard work was going in vain. With every pa...

The transition from an impeccably healthy individual to being in a wheelchair is very hard. It wasn't easy for me either but it gets harder when you don't get any backing from your friends, family and the society. I was lucky because I got support from my incredible family as they pulled me out from a phase of disparity into being grateful for what I have despite the agony I had to undergo. Everything changed but the only thing that didn't change was my hope and believe that everything will be alright. Life can be pretty hard at times but the only way we can get over this severity is by believing in ourselves and The Almighty. When you cannot control a situation it is best to submit it to the most superlative authority: God! Any set of circumstances that tests your patience is sort of a trial from the Almighty to see how we deal with the muddle and still be grateful to Him for all his blessings. I know all of this seems to be very dramatic but it is true. Our plans are al...