Editor’s Note: Hitesh developed cerebral palsy after medical errors
led to birth injuries. However, he hasn’t let his diagnosis slow him
down! He approaches every challenge head-on to prove to himself and
those around him that he can do anything he puts his mind to! Here is
his story, in his own words.
By Hitesh Ramchandani
My Birth
On
20th January 1992 at 0144 hours I arrived on the planet called “Earth”.
My mother and father were waiting for my arrival excitedly. I was their
first child and unfortunately, they were not aware that their
excitement was going to be changed into their biggest nightmare. The
doctor made some mistakes during the delivery and as a result, I was
born with cerebral palsy. I was labeled as disabled. My parents were
taken aback, stunned and did not know how to react. Best part was, my
mom did not even know what “cerebral palsy” was.
My Parents
My parents were strong and positive people. They knew deep down that
God had given them such a child for a reason. They always treated me as a
normal person. My father and mother had this strong belief that I would
recover, never did they give up on me. The two of them always
encouraged and motivated me to give my best in what ever I did. Doctors
and teachers recommended to them to put me in a special school but they
fought against it and made life for me as normal as any other child.
They did not let the doctors’ opinion become their belief. They showered
me with love. They spent a lot of time and money on my treatment. Due
to that, I reached such a high level that whenever I looked down, I
could not even measure how many levels and obstacles I have climbed! I
love my parents – it is such a blessing to have them. My mom is the
greatest woman – she used to take hours each day to make me drink a
bottle of milk because she had to take caution that I did not choke due
to my weak lungs.
My Childhood
Due to my problem, I had a tough childhood. People always made fun of
me, imitated me. Some kids even thought I was an alien. This was due to
the fact that during that time, the problem was bad. I could not even
stand straight. My walking was like a drunken man walking. I had to use
support; otherwise, I would lose balance. My speech was like an alien’s
and people could not comprehend what I was saying. My muscles were
extremely tight and tensed, especially muscles on my left, and I could
not co-ordinate them. When people used to discourage me and make fun of
the way I am, as a kid I would go home and cry. I still remember when I
was 5 – I went to the park and no kid wanted to play with me because
they thought I had a virus and if they touched me, they would be
infected too! It makes me laugh when I remember that but during that
moment I was so upset that I could not stop crying. I thought God hated
me and He was taking revenge – I was filled with anger and
grief. Despite all the negativities, in my heart I always knew I was the
best and I lived with a positive attitude. I knew that if I let the
world break me, I would be finished before even beginning the race of
life.
The positive things in my childhood were I had made amazing friends
like Rahul Prem and Shiv Tulsiani. They are both my best buddies till
today! They always encouraged me and lifted me up whenever I fell. I am
also very lucky to have fantastic cousins like Vicky Vaswani and Karan
Ramchandani; they are both like my elder brothers, backing me up
whenever I need them. The best thing in my childhood was Natasha
Ramchandani – the sweet little angel who entered my family when I was
four. My mother gave birth to her on 1st June 1996. The first time I
learnt how to walk was when Natasha was two and I was six – she started
walking and I was surprised. If she could walk, then why couldn’t I?
Thus, I used that as a challenge and finally, I started walking.
Haig Boys’ Primary School
I entered Haig Boys’ Primary School at the age of 7. Every child is
excited about the 1st day of school, but for me, it was the other way
round. I was afraid that others would make fun of me and judge me. I was
worried if I could cope with the schoolwork or not. I did not know if
anyone would be my friend.
My classroom was on the 3rd floor and everybody used the stairs up to
class but due to my disability, the school gave me the privilege to use
a wheel-chair and a pass to use the lift. I was tempted to use those
privileges, but I knew if I took advantage of them, I would never
improve and remain where I was. Eventually, I decided to ditch the
wheelchair and the lift pass and started to make my way up the stairs,
just like everyone else – I did not need any “special” treatments. The
first time when everyone saw me climb up the stairs, despite the
difficulty I faced each step, I became the school’s little hero. My
principal was honoured to have me in the school and he believed I could
be a symbol of inspiration to all the students. Despite my limitations, I
always tried my best in my studies too and received passing marks most
of the time, with some ‘A’ grades even.
There were times I failed, but my parents taught me that every
failure is just another step closer to success. Most people fear failure
but the most important thing they fail to understand is that failure
brings one closer to success. Instead of regretting and lamenting on
your mistakes and failure, learn from them and move on in life.
For example, if you have a gun in your hand and a bottle across from
you, and your task is to shoot the bottle down, you just need to follow
the steps. Step one: you get ready, Step 2: you aim, Step 3: fire. If
you miss, you won’t be crying right? You must repeat the three steps
again and again until you get the bottle down. In fact, failing will
just show you how inaccurate your aim was and the actions you need to
take to make your next aim more accurate. So why can’t we apply the same
concept in life?
Learning to Ride My Bicycle
My classmates would go cycling at the beach and I would be left out
because I could not ride a bicycle. Thus, it became my motive to learn
how to ride a bicycle. An average kid takes about 1-2 weeks to learn how
to ride a cycle. It took me 3 months because of my condition – 91 days
to be exact.
I used to practice cycling under my condominium everyday after
school. Each day, I would come home with bruises on different parts of
my body but still but I never gave up. I was persistent. I had to
conquer this task! One day I was practicing near the pool-side. I was
so embarrassed that day because I ended up in the pool with my bike and
so many people watching. I went home disappointed. I told myself, “never
mind I will try harder tomorrow”. I was determined to learn this skill,
despite the embarrassing failures that I encountered. On the 91st day,
my body finally learned how to balance and I was riding a bicycle – IT
WAS BEAUTIFUL! The feeling was as good as flying. I will never forget
that day!
The moral is, don’t ever lose hope and give up. If I had given up on
the 90th day, then I would have never seen the 91st day. Keep going and
going, till you make it.
About the Author
Hitesh Ramchandani is now 20 years old and is pursuing his diploma in
management studies at the Singapore Institute of Management. He is also
taking a Neuro-linguistic programming course outside of school and is
a member of the Toast Master Club Singapore. His desire is to motivate
everyone out there to never give up and to fight to the end. Most
importantly, he wants to tell others, “don’t ever be discouraged by your
problems because the bigger your problem, the bigger your destiny.”
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