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November 30, 2009 13:03 PM
From Normal To 'Disabled', Journey Full Of Trials And Tribulations
By Zulkiple Ibrahim
The following is the first of a three- part feature inconjunction with the International Day of Disabled Persons on Dec 3
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- Much has been written about persons with disabilities, their rights as well as the facilities and benefits for them apart from the predicament that they faced.
For people with disabilities, locally known as the 'Orang Kurang Upaya' (OKU), some of them were born with congenital deformations and for the rest, the disabilities were required as the result of accidents and surgeries, among others.
The Social Welfare Department of Malaysia (JKM) has classified Persons With Disabilities into six categories -- vision, hearing, physical, cerebral palsy, learning difficulties (slow development, down's syndrome, autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, mentally retarded, specific problems relating to studying like dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia) and others.
The following is an account of how a physically normal person became a disabled following amputation of his leg due to complications from diabetes and how he made through the rehabilitation process.
FROM NORMAL TO DISABLED
The date was Nov 13, 2007. It was already evening when this writer was wheeled out from the operation theatre of a medical centre here.
Still drowsy and delirium from the effects of anaesthesia, he was met by his wife and children who were waiting outside the operation theatre before he again went into a long slumber.
The next day, the severe pain from his right leg awakened him. He looked down and what met his gaze was a stump of what used to be his right leg. The reality then set in. He had undergone a below-knee amputation the day before.
Doctors later announced that the amputation had made him to be categorised as a person with disability.
LONG ROAD TO REHABILITATION
Several days later when the writer was still bemoaning his fate, someone in 'white overalls' approached his hospital bed.
"We will help you to walk again. but first you must really regain your confidence as the journey ahead is long," a physiotherapist by the name of Othman told the writer.
The writer, who was in a state of hopelessness, responded with sceptism. 'how do I walk again without a leg. I am a disabled person?".
(The writer had also felt the odds were against him then as he received a double blow when his three-month-old Down Syndrome son, had to undergo a major heart corrective surgery at the National Heart Center (IJN) two weeks after the amputation of his leg).
A team of rehabilitation doctors, physiotherapists and occupational therapists then embarked on a programme to assist the writer in his long journey of rehabilitation.
He was sent to a 'walking school' at the medical centre where he was told to perform exercises like hopping using a four-leg walker and a set of parallel bars.
The occupational therapists also put him through a programme on how to use and move about using a wheelchair.
"You have to be strong and InsyaAllah you will be okay," that were the words of a rehabilitation medical officer who the writer remembered only as Dr Annuar.
Those words kept swirling in the writer's mind as he continuously lapsed into a state of helplessness.
"If your child can make it, why not you?" Another doctor said as the writer's boy had successfully went through an eight-hour heart surgery.
Then the journey through rehabilitation began. Finally in March 2008, the writer began to walk, albeit painfully and slowly with the help of a prosthesis.
Today, he is able to walk again. Something that he earlier thought was an impossible act to perform after the amputation of his right leg.
(His son is now a healthy 26 months old and is attending therapy sessions at the Kiwanis Down Syndrome Foundation (KDSF) National Centre in Petaling Jaya.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DISABLED PERSONS
The International Day Of Disabled Persons is on Dec 3.
This day is celebrated worldwide with the disabled coming together to show solidarity and reaffirm their rights as members of equal standing in the society.
In Malaysia, the Persons With Disabilities Act 2007, defines people with disabilities as those who 'lack the long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory abilities, when met with various obstacles, preventing their full interaction with the society'.
The Act was passed in Parliament on Dec 24, 2007 and gazetted on Jan 24,2008.
It came into force on July 7, 2008.
For the disabled, they have to produce their respective 'Orang Kurang Upaya' OKU identity cards for verification if they wish to obtain assistance from the JKM as well as the other government and private agencies.
This card can be obtained upon registration with the respective district JKM office. The OKU identity card issued by the JKM helps the disabled to deal with the respective authorities.
The respective cards bear six different colour codes where blue denotes the vision disability, purple (hearing), green (physical), red (cerebral palsy), yellow (learning disability) and orange (other disabilities).
The objective of the International Day of Disabled Persons is to provide public awareness that the disabled have their rights within the society and the society should not view the disabled in the negative perspective.
It is also to shed light on the society's responsibilities for the disabled and to encourage the socuety to provide facilities for this group to express their skills and capabilities.
The day is also to enhance ties between the government, non-governmental organisations and the corporate as well as private sectors towards providing various facilities for the disabled and provide awareness on such facilities to the public.
-- BERNAMA
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