Okay, first some context.
If you are visiting my site for the first time or haven’t had the opportunity to meet me, I am a person with a locomotive disability. That means I have challenges in mobility or movement. As a baby of 1 year, I had a huge fever. To make matters worse, during the fever, I was given 4 injections in my hips. After a few days, my entire body was paralyzed. After a lot of effort, the damage was restricted to my legs, and the rest of my body recovered. The fever was due to the Polio virus and it left me a parting gift of Post-polio residual paralysis of both of my lower limbs.
Which means, I didn’t walk AT ALL in this life. I crawled to get around as a child but as I grew up my weight increased and my movement got restricted. Then the help came in the form of assistive devices such as wheelchairs and crutches. Now, I was able to move around but within certain limitations, within a small radius.
Well, honestly only near to home and within my home and that is not the life I wished to live.
When I completed high school, my parents had a choice. Whether to pursue my education in a college that was far away or to end the hope of my future.
Looking at my sufficient good grades and enthusiasm to join college, my parents opted for a difficult choice. To pursue my education in a college far from home. How will I reach my college each day the question remained unanswered for two months post my admission. Due to my disability, I couldn’t access or use the public transport systems as well.
Finally, my father, with his limited financial strength bought me an Activa moped scooter with additional side wheels.
While my Activa helped me live a much more vibrant life, it’s had issues. For starters, the additional wheels were making my moped an expensive affair. Then there was the back pain. The roads in India are a bit better now but when I was on the scooter, they had potholes big enough to be qualified as creators of the moon. So back pain was inevitable. With just one additional seat, I could hardly be of help to my family.
Despite all these challenges, my red Activa scooty served its purpose to educate me till my post-graduation. Rains were getting worse in my city year on year and the old engine would often die and make me struck. The old age of the engine and the changing requirements of my life- I was getting married; made me look for options.
The obvious choice was to buy a car. Not only I did not have the money but also I didn’t have the skill to drive the car. And even now, there is no driving school that can help a person with my disability learn how to drive. So I was in a catch-22 situation.
Now we take a break from the main story for a detour.
So while I had my scooty, for college, my father understood my plea. We couldn’t go out as a family to any function outside the city. Considering this my father again mustered the courage to buy a simple car. A Maruti 800. Simple car for 4 people only and has a small space for luggage.
Now, back to the story…
When I needed to buy a car for myself, this blue Maruti car was old but became my first choice. I found a garage that helped me convert all the car controls such as the accelerator and breaks in the hand and I started learning how to drive the car.
And within a month, with a friend’s help, I learned how to drive it. I was the happiest person on the planet. Unfortunately, my driving adventure started only after my father’s death so I was missing him a lot. Even though the car didn’t have a lot of power left, it was my car. I wasn’t getting wet in the rain and it was relatively comfortable in the heat and I could take my family around. I enjoyed driving the car independently as well. On one such trip, something unthinkable happened.
Mind you, I was driving an old car, with my rudimentary driving skills on a very busy road.
I was waiting patiently in a traffic queue when an aggressive lorry came from behind smashing into my car’s left side. The car was a goner. The damage started from the left door destroying everything till the bonnet. The lorry absconded as the crowd was gathering.
The impact shocked me and paralyzed me with fear.
We took the car from the accident spot to a garage for repair but I was too scared to get back on the road. The damage to the car was repaired but the accident left a scar on my mind. I was back on my scooty and with my familiar problems.
And life took another turn. My wife and I wanted to start a family. Taking my pregnant wife on a two-wheeler, on an Indian road is never advisable and I was again at a crossroads.
When I was in Australia, public transport was so easy to use for a person with my disability, be it the metro, be it bus, or even taxi. Unfortunately, public transport in India is yet to come even close to disability inclusion.
I decided to face my fears.
Within 6 months, I saved enough money to buy a new car – Maruti Baleno. It is an awesome comfortable car. It had enough power to go for a mountain climb, I could take my entire family for a drive and most importantly it was an automatic drive car. I felt more comfortable driving a new car.
The fear of that accident made me more alert and now whenever I am driving, I drive more cautiously, reading the road conditions.
My car really changed my life a lot. I am able to carry my wheelchair around and can opt to ditch the discomfort of calipers and crutches. The car is economical and fun to drive. I am able to go for long-distance rides without any hint of pain. It helped me explore nature whenever the rain god blesses my country. It was an amazing help during the course of pregnancy and even to take my baby around.
For a person with a disability, the car is not just an asset but it means freedom. It means a comfort and ease of life.
In Conclusion
Having a car has liberated me- a locomotive disability person, by providing mobility and independence. Despite challenges and accidents, the car has allowed me to pursue education, start a family, and explore nature. The car represents freedom, comfort, and an improved quality of life.