I had just completed my MBA from a so-called prestigious B-school and I was branded for life. Like any other 23 year old, I considered myself invincible. That I can never get cancer or I can never be fired from my job. But I think the lessons from life come when you least expect them.
Till now, in my life, I have never seen a major crisis whether it is about health, monetary problems or a family matter. Not that, I have seen it now, but the mild deviation from my imagined life has instilled in me the resistance to face the larger problems of life just like a mild bacteria that causes little inflammation but equips you to fight chicken pox.
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In the vacations after my post-graduation, the last long vacation of my life, I had prepared to do a lot of things. But one fine day, in a small road mishap, my left knee ligament ceased to exist. Till after a few days of my accident, a full tear could not be detected due to swelling. But as the detailed reports came, the doctor suggested that I undergo surgery. I had not imagined it to be that severe as I had already promised my gym instructor to come back in a month. But the healing will take complete 8 months, the doctor said.
Like a true millennial, I started to frantically look about what an ACL tear is and how I can bypass the surgery. I asked a lot of questions from all the doctors that we met telling them that Anurag Kashyap recovered without surgery. “All right madam, first tell me what all have you researched. But do you know how much time it will take? And are you sure he has recovered fully?” I had to join the first job of my life in one month and we had to take the decision quickly. After consulting five more doctors I was convinced that no time can be better for surgery since this is the longest vacation of my life. I went into the saddest of the trips where I would search for things like ‘How people cope with serious surgeries?’ and watched movies like 50/50.
Afraid of the blood and needles, the day of the surgery was a nightmare. I was so suspicious of everything, of the infected bed covers, of my surgery being done by a junior doctor, of strange electrical sensations in my body (just that they were not there). Eventually, the surgery was successful and I had never seen a kinder doctor than Mr. Modi. I have been recovering pretty well since then with some bad days here and there.
The bottom line is, I made a relatively simple problem very hard to deal with, hurting not only myself but those who love me too. I understood it the hard way that I am not special, that everyone has problems and while you deal with them life doesn’t stop. Dealing with them and moving ahead is the way of life. And there will always be problems. Suffering is a gift for those who accept it as a present. A positive attitude and little humor can help sail through a lot of things.
~Not a tragedy, but not less than one. Not a comedy, but not more than one.
