Swiggy girl Vidya is winning our hearts with her indomitable will. Hers’ is an extraordinary story of a small-town girl from Bihar whose strength is sure to make us forget our small problems in life, which we fret so much about!
Vidya, whose lower half of the body was paralysed because of a spinal injury that she suffered when she was just 17, she did not succumb to the adversities that it brought along. With the support from Chandigarh Spinal Rehab and her relentless will, she is now living an independent life. She has recently been hired by Swiggy and is delivering food along with happiness to so many homes daily!
She is not letting her disability stop her from chasing her dreams. Tricity Scoop could not get a better ‘hero’ for the cover story! So, we spoke to her to know about the challenges she has faced and the dreams that she aspires for.
Tell us a little about your accident that changed your life forever.
It was 15 years back in 2007, when I was riding a bicycle and I lost my balance and fell down from the bridge. I suffered a spinal injury, because of which my lower half of the body was paralysed. Initially, no one knew it was such a serious injury as there were no injuries on my body, but after many days of trying home remedies, my parents consulted a senior doctor who said it was something serious and I should be taken to a hospital for further investigations.
What was your and your family’s initial response? How did you overcome the agony?
It was a life-changing incident in my life. You can imagine how someone who is perfectly alright and is living a normal life, his or her life comes to a sudden halt after an accident. I am the eldest child in the family and my parents also went through a lot of trauma. I was completely broken from the inside and felt everything was over. I was on the bed 24×7 but the pain was growing and there was no facility in the village, so I was taken to a bigger hospital. After 49 days, I underwent surgery, and many doctors were consulted. As I was lying on the bed, I had a bed sore also which got things worse.
What helped you move ahead from this tribulation? Who has been your pillar of support/inspiration for all this while?
I was under depression after knowing that it was such a serious injury that it had made me handicapped for life. But God is great, and he heard my prayers. In 2017, we got to know about Chandigarh Spinal Rehab, whose Founder Director, Nicky P Kaur called me and asked me to come to the centre for treatment. I came along with my father to the centre, where I got my bedsores surgery first. My rehabilitation started at the centre and I was made independent and started doing my own work myself. I started participating in sports and played national basketball and national table tennis. I also do yoga regularly. I am looking forward to receiving coaching for nationals, even though the centre is helping me a lot.
When did you start working with Swiggy? How has your experience been so far?
I have been living here for the last 5 years and I have been wanting to do a job and be independent. I tried at a lot of places in Chandigarh, but they used to say no by seeing me in a wheelchair. While some said they had no lifts, there were others who said they didn’t have the ramps. Nicky ma’am told me she had got to know about a job in Swiggy and I accepted the same. The experience is good, but I have to maintain my body and cannot suffer any injury. I have to do pushups every 10 minutes to avoid bedsores. Bladder control is another issue which has to be taken care of in my case because of paralysis in the lower body. During my deliveries, I get a lot of help from the people when deliveries must be made on the upper floor.
What is your mental wellness mantra?
There is a lot of positivity at the Chandigarh Spinal Rehab, which makes a lot of difference. Yoga also helps me to be positive all the time. It is very important to be happy always – I am happy today and along with the food, I am delivering happiness too. People do not feel pity seeing me riding this special machine but feel encouraged seeing me independently managing everything.
What do you like the most about Chandigarh Tricity?
I have been here since 2017 and that’s all because of Nicky P Kaur who called me for my treatment. I love Tricity, especially because it is a green and safe city and can take shelter under trees.
Would you continue this job and what are your dreams?
I want to participate in the Para-olympics in table tennis and that’s my biggest dream. I have just started this job but will later think of more options like a ‘Work from Home’ kind of job.
One final message for our readers.
Able-bodied also have a set of problems like us but it is for us to handle them effectively rather than succumbing to them. Nothing is in our hands, and we have to live life no matter what. We must keep on trying because if we don’t, we will always regret we did not try for it. We should try living a fruitful and happy life.
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