Life never stopped teaching and he never stopped learning. Anmol Vashishta was fortunate to have extremely supportive people around him but being a spinal cord injured, his struggle in life has been real. And equally glorious is his triumph because he decided to never give up and persist in every life situation, however tough it may be. He shares his intriguing life journey with us.
“My name is Anmol Vashistha. I was born in Meerut, U.P and I am a spinal cord injury patient, level L1-L2. Jab mera birth hua, uss time mere legs work karte the but doctor ne dekha ki meri spine mein ek chhota sa tumour hai. Jab mein only 5-6 days ka tha toh doctor ne mere parents se bola ki agar tumour zyada bda hua toh bacche ki death ho sakti hai ya case kharab ho sakta hai. Isliye mere parents operation krane ke liye ready ho gye. Operation ke baad, mere parents ne dekha ki mera ek leg toh work kar rha tha but 2nd leg hil bhi nahin tha aur latak gya tha.
Doctor ko jab dikhaya toh unhone kaha ki shayad operation ke time spine mein koi nerve dabb gyi hai. Doctor ne ek aur operation kiya aur usmein mere spine ki koi nerve cut ho gyi jisse meri half body ka sensation khatam ho gya aur main spinal cord injured ho gya. Meri family bahut hi zyada supportive rahi aur mujhe bahut love krti thi. Jb bhi koi kuch btata tha ki Assam le jao, Delhi le jao, Jaipur le jao, mere parents mujhe sabhi places par le ke gye but koi improvement nahin aaya.
Jab main bda hua toh parents ne ghar ke paas wale school me admission kraya. Wahan mujhe bahut achche teachers aur friends mile jinhone mujhe kabhi aisa nahin lgne diya ki main handicapped hun ya kisi se alag hun. Mujhe papa ne wheelchair lekar di taki main ek jagah na baitha rahun, thoda ghoom fir sakun aur school bhi jaa sakun jahan mujhe mere dada ji, kabhi papa, toh kabhi mummy lekar jati thi. Mujhe starting mein bahut saari problems bhi aati thi. Bas yahi sochta tha ki ye sab normal kitna enjoy karte hain, games khelte hain, ghoomte hain.
Fir mere friends ne mujhe wheelchair pe hi apne sath cricket aur baaki kuch games khilana start kiya. Mujhe kabhi ye lgne nahin diya ke main handicapped hun ya khel nahin skta. Maine apne friends ke sath enjoy krna start kiya aur family ne bhi mujhe bahut support kiya. Cricket bat, ball or sb saman lekar diya aur kaha enjoy karo, tension mat lo kabhi.
Jab main 9th class mein aaya toh mujhe ghar se 4 km door school mein jaana tha. Kuch time tak toh papa mujhe daily bike se chhorne jaate the but mujhe lga ki mujhe bhi kuch krna chahiye. Isliye maine papa ko bola ki mujhe 4 wheeler Activa Scooty dila do jo ki mere papa ne mujhe dila di. Mere school ke principal ne mere liye meri 9th class 1st floor se ground floor pe krdi taaki mujhe koi problem na ho. Thanks to my school(Kaushik Inter College) principal Mr. Mahesh Kaushik Ji. Sabhi bahut helpful the aur mujhe nahin lgne dete the ki main alag hun normal boys se. Sabhi ne mujhe bahut motivate kiya. Maine isi school se 10th aur 12th ki.
Main M.A 1st year mein tha jab facebook use krte hue, maine wheelchair games search kiya, aur usmein mujhe wheelchair cricket dikha. Maine profile open ki to mujhe ek bhai mila. His name is Mr. Somjeet Singh. He is from Lucknow. Meri life mein ye bhai ek farishta ban kar aaye. Maine inse apne cricket khelne ki baat ki. Unhone mujhse mere cricket khelte hue ki video maangi jo ki unko achchi lgi. Unhone mujhe June mein Allahabad mein cricket series ke liye mera name UP team mein add kiya. Main bahut khush hua. Isi beech facebook par hi mujhe ek sir mile. His name is Mr. Varun Ahlawat. He is from Meerut. Wo wheelchair basketball ke coach hain and a member of NBA. Sir se meri baat hui aur unhone mujhe basketball khelne ko kaha. Main sir se milne gya aur mujhe bahut achcha lga kyunki maine bahut saare handicapped bachchon ko khelte dekha.
Mere papa, mummy aur baaki relatives ne mujhe bahut support kiya aurr mujhe khelne ke liye hamesha motivate karte rhe. Main June mein Allahabad Wheelchair Cricket Tournament khelne bhi gya aur wahan sabse mil kar mujhe bahut acha lga. Ye dekh kar bahut khushi hui ki main akela nahin hun. Mere jaise aur bhi bahut saare log hain jo aisi condition mein hote hue bhi life ko poora enjoy kar rahe hain.
Facebook ke through hi meri dosti Mumbai ki Miss Nisha Gupta se hui. Being a Spinal Cord injury patient, wo International Wheelchair Basketball player hain. Unhone mujhe bahut motivate kiya. Mujhe ek bhai mila, Ravi Sarvalia. Wo Laksar (Haridwar) se hai, jisne meri life mein mujhe bahut support kiya aur usko dekh kar hi mujhe life ko maze me jeena aaya, kyunki Ravi life ko enjoy krta hai. Usne mujhe kaafi change kiya aur main ab inn sabse milne ke bad bahut independent ho chuka hun. Akela hi kisi doosre state mein bhi chala jaata hun aur train mein safar krta hun. Meri family kabhi bhi, kisi bhi sports ko khelne ya kahin jaane ke liye mana nahin karte aur life ko enjoy krne ke liye encourage krte hain. “
With so much support from his family, relatives and friends and his own perseverance, he has won various gold medals in the sports like Shot Put and Javelin Throw and has often been declared Man of the Series in Wheelchair Cricket. He plays basketball as well. He followed his dreams passionately despite all odds and SwachhAbility salutes the fervour with which he has been living his life.
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