Letter 64 - Life Would Never Again Be As She Knew It!
Hello Bregdan Woman!
You’ve got Ginny today…
You know, life throws challenges at everyone, but some of us seem to get more than our fair share. We believe the best thing is to not ask WHY, but to ask…
What will I do with my life now?
That’s what Shalini Saraswathi, from India, chose to do when life as she knew it was ripped from her – beginning in 2012.
Shalini was 32 when she and her husband went on vacation in Cambodia to celebrate their 4th anniversary, her pregnancy, and the promotion they knew was waiting for her when she arrived home. They celebrated with no idea life was about to drastically change.
The change began back home in India with a fever and fatigue. She attributed the fatigue to pregnancy and kept working.
She kept getting sicker. Doctors suspected dengue fever or malaria, but medication did nothing to stop her deterioration. No longer able to walk, and struggling to breathe, she was rushed to the hospital.
Further testing revealed she had contracted rickettsia with morts, a rare bacterial disease endemic to Southeast Asia.
She spiraled downward, slipping into a coma. She lost her baby. Her body began to shut down with multiple organ failure. Her heart stopped beating twice. Her lungs filled with fluid. She was put on life support.
The doctors informed her family she had a very slim chance of survival.
They didn’t tell Shalini, though. She wasn’t done living. On April 5th, her 33rd birthday, she woke from the coma. She was alive but her problems were far from over.
During the week-long coma, all of her limbs had blisters and turned black and blue. She couldn’t feel, or move, her arms and legs. The doctors told her there was a likely chance she would have to amputate her limbs, but Shalini refused to accept their diagnosis.
In the beginning, she thought her doctor was joking. I mean, come on, you don’t go into a hospital with a fever and lose all your limbs! She was convinced she would find the answers to restore her life as she had known it.
She fought back, researching every option available to heal. She regained partial use of her arms and legs, but couldn’t walk. She started working from home for an Indian outsourcing company when she could.
Her marriage ended.
The infection continued to ravage her body.
A fracture in her left hand (from computer use) led to her first amputation – her lower left arm.
Six months later, her infected right hand fell off. Yes, you read that right. I had to research it, too! It’s called auto-amputation. The infection in her right arm was so severe that it cut off all blood supply. Her right hand simply detached from her body.
I can’t even imagine what Shalini was feeling at that point.
Eighteen months into her battle, completely immobile in bed, she realized there was no point in waiting any longer for the inevitable. Shalini had both legs amputated, below the knee.
I’ve tried to imagine what she was thinking and feeling, but I know it’s impossible. Whatever physical challenges I’ve faced haven’t equipped me to understand Shalini.
I do understand, however, fighting back against what life throws at you.
With her limbs gone, her body was clear of infection. Shalini picked up the pieces of her life and fought back. She went on a journey of self-discovery, learning what it meant to live her life in a body that had irrevocably changed.
One thing that hadn’t changed, however, was her determination and indomitable attitude. Being immobile for 18 months had created a weight gain she wasn’t comfortable with.
The first thing she had to do was learn how to walk again. She opted for prosthetic blades, thrilled when her new blades took her from under five feet tall to five four. Her days of being called shorty were over!
It took her several months, increasing her steps a few minutes a day, to learn how to walk again.
She wasn’t content with merely walking, though. She wanted to run!
She didn’t want people’s sympathy. She wanted to prove she was still the indomitable woman she had always been. She set her eyes on a goal that perhaps no one but her believed she could accomplish.
She suffered through blisters beneath the prosthetics. She pushed through pain. She forced herself to believe her dream was possible.
She went from walking… to jogging. She trained 90 minutes a day.
Four years after her trip to Cambodia, in 2016, she took part in a 10 K race. She finished with a time of 2:02 hours. The following year, she decreased her time to 1:35 hours.
Wow!
Shalini is now an accomplished para-athlete, but that was just the beginning of creating her new life. She was determined to restore all her illness had tried to rob from her. She is a motivational speaker and blogger, as well as an executive at an outsourcing company in India. She works to normalize people with disabilities – in India, but also worldwide.
One of her quotes has stuck with me:
“The idea was to normalize disability. I think people have so many hang-ups and notions about it. There are two images about disability - one is this huge, larger than life - somebody who climbs Mount Everest with no feet - the inspiring image. Or you have the other imagery which is sad, which is typically there in advertisements and cinemas. There is nothing in between that normalizes it. People with disabilities exist in the world and we are ten percent of India's population. We are hardly seen and even less heard.”
Shalini has changed that perception in India. She continues to change it every day.
Shalini stands out in the world as a true Bregdan Woman. Hope. Courage. Determination. Commitment to make a difference.
She didn’t set out to do any of this. She faced the situation she was dealt, and simply did the best she could.
Along the way, she has inspired countless numbers of people as she has forged her path to success and fulfillment.
I want to be like her every day of my life. How about you?
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What will you do to be a Bregdan Woman?
What will you do today to impact history??
We’re on this journey with you… (and have 2 FREE Gifts for you below…)
Ginny & Suess
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My husband lost both his legs (below the knee) to diabetic ulcers in his late 30's. After seeing the challenges he endured, I can't imagine losing both legs, an arm AND a hand. To get to a point of running marathons after all that is incredible!