MUMBAI: It takes courage to even step out of your house if you are a quadruple amputee.
Shalini Saraswathi
, 38, had that and more as she overcame anger, depression and a mysterious illness to finally finish the World 10k run in May last year. It had taken her two hours to reach the finish, but in the end, it was worthwhile.
Shalini was felicitated by
Indian Merchant Chamber
's women's wing on Wednesday. "I did better this year. I clocked a better time. I was much faster," she says with a grin. Not many would come this far after losing so many body parts. You may even start to hate yourself. But Shalini isn't the type. She is so full of life that she would leave an abled person feeling bitter for not doing enough despite having all the ability to do so.
In 2013 Shalini had fever. The doctors suspected dengue but it was
Rickettsial
with morts. It was a rare bacterial infection. Gangrene attacked her and she had to have her left hand amputated. Her right hand then just 'fell off '. Later, she also had to have her legs amputated. Amidst all this, she even lost a baby.
But Shalini, who describes herself as a naturally chirpy person, did so with some style thrown in. "When I arrived to have my legs amputated, I was wearing bright purple nail polish on my feet. Might as well go out in style, I figured. A month had passed since my right arm decided to auto amputate, just dropping off into my brother-in-law's hands. A few months before that, my left arm had been amputated as well. Now it was time to move on." she wrote on her blog.
Before 2013, Shalini was as normal as human beings can be. "I had a job and like every normal person I had aspirations, excited at the prospect of doing well, having a family," she says. Four years later, without the use of her four limbs, she is super excited. "Now I look back at some of the disappointments I faced when I was normal and find it funny. Here I am without my hands and legs and I am more happy than I should be. I guess when you don't have so much, you realize that small disappointments do not matter to me at all."
After her amputations, her succour came from running. "After I overcame the illness, I had to condition myself. So when I tried walking, after being in bed and ICU for so long, I realized that I could not even walk more than a few steps. I was completely out of shape." But she was determined and her persistence paid off. From moving a few steps to running a 10km run took courage and determination.
Her next goal is to run faster but over smaller distances and is thus targeting the sprints. Limbs or no limbs, these are exciting times for Shalini Saraswathi. You can take away her limbs, but not her indomitable spirit.
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