When life offers a new inning
A work-place accident is not going to stop wheelchair-bound Jeyaraj from making the best for himself and his family.
COMMENT
Whilst more than a million people made up of both Hindus and tourists alike thronged temples throughout the nation last Friday to celebrate Thaipusam, my attention was particularly drawn to one individual in a wheelchair who spent the weekend at Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur.
It is not difficult to see why.
No stranger to suffering and living a hard life, Jeyaraj Santraju, now aged 36, was involved in a tragic accident that rendered him paralysed from the waist down eight years ago.
Jeyaraj is the youngest in the family of five children.
It happened whilst he was holding two jobs – one as a mechanical and engineering technician in Singapore during the day, and the second as a part-time pizza delivery boy during the night in Johor.
Describing it as his “worst nightmare”, Taiping-born Jeyaraj was operating a heavy machinery when the eight-tonne contraption fell on top of him.
“I should’ve actually been crushed to death but I couldn’t believe that God kept me alive and conscious as the paramedics rushed me all the way to the National University Hospital in Singapore,” recalled Jeyaraj with a cold shiver.
“By the end of the day, the doctors gave me the bad news: my hope of returning to a normal life after surgery was only five percent. I was in excruciating pain. I wanted the operation as fast as possible to relieve the agony in my body,” Jeyaraj added.
Although the surgery took five hours, Jeyaraj was confirmed as a paraplegic for life. He remained in the hospital for two weeks before he was transferred to a rehabilitation centre in Singapore where he underwent three months of intensive training of how to live life in a wheelchair.
Jeyaraj returned to Malaysia shortly after. Although he sought various forms of other treatments including traditional ones, Jeyaraj’s condition did not change.
Right focus
However, his acceptance of his disability in a relevant short period of time was nothing short of astounding.
He put everything that he learnt at the Singapore rehabilitation centre into practice at once. Instead of giving excuses or gaining sympathy from others, he was determined to do everything in a wheelchair.
Jeyaraj started seeing things from a different point of view. Every challenges in front of him was viewed as a new ability he had to achieve.
Jeyaraj wasted no time to meet other disabled persons from handicapped organisations. He enrolled into the Independent Living and Training Centre in Rawang for over two years where he learnt further skills, this time from people with disabilities like himself.
Jeyaraj’s participation in the centre led him to many opportunities and adventures such as attending Parliament House a year after his ordeal for the passageway of the Disabled Act. He was also able to build up confidence about his new life enough to be able to talk about it on national radio.
“One of the best things I enjoyed most was joining in a demonstration with other persons in wheelchairs for better wheelchair access into RapidKL’s buses,” said Jeyaraj with a smile.
“Although what happened to me was a horrible thing, I’m happy to say that it didn’t stop me from tying the knot with my girlfriend in 2007,” pointed out Jeyaraj, who now resides with his wife Bavani and baby boy Phavickneyaraj in Rawang, Selangor.
“As for my disability, it’s all about having the right focus. When the doctors broke the news of paralysis to me and my family, I insisted that there should be no tears from anyone.
“I’m not dead yet. And as long as I am alive, there are always opportunities for positive happenings in my life. When there is a will, there is always a way – this is my policy.”
Jeyaraj, who is Hindu, said that whilst he spent Thaipusam over the weekend in Batu Caves, he was further inspired by the devotees who fulfilled their vows by carrying their ‘kavadis’ and milk pots.
Jeyaraj had his own stall in Batu Caves selling books on short stories of Lord Vishnu, which he compiled himself.
“This is a dream come true book for me and my second upcoming book will be about a guide for wheelchair users which is still in progress. I hope it will be a godsend especially for those who become disabled for the first time.”
Public apathy
Jeyaraj said it is never easy for handicapped drivers of cars and riders of bikes to find parking during Thaipusam in Batu Caves because of the large crowds.
“I had to park my car on the roadside which was not only far away from the venue but also rather risky for me to get out of the car and to wheel to the temple.
“Fortunately I had a friend to help me. But those going there without assistance would be lost.
“On the second day, I went with my wife and son. The traffic police were not at all helpful in directing my car even though I had a wheelchair sticker on it.
“And none of the public bothered to help even though they saw my wife struggling with my wheelchair with one hand and our baby in the other.”
Jeyaraj said that he was upset with some people who just wanted to donate money to him instead of buying his book.
“They made no effort to even see my book which I had worked very hard on. Just because I was sitting in a wheelchair, they thought that I was seeking pity and a donation. This attitude of treating us like beggars must change.”
However on a positive note, Jeyaraj was able to donate blood in Batu Caves – the first time he was doing so since he became disabled.
Anthony SB Thanasayan is a wheelchair and animal activist.
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