Are you ready to accept the #Dare2Stare Challenge? My world is divided into two parts. One before the year 2000 and the other after 2000. Before 2000, I was rather carefree, took things for granted, happy go lucky types, didn't really value things and regarded every thing frivolously. But something happened in 2000, that shook me from my very core and from that day onwards I've never been the same. My life completely changed. The way I saw this world changed too. Everything I took casually or for granted earlier became all the more precious to me. You must be curious to know what exactly happened in the year 2000, that affected my life in this manner. Well..here it is... I was returning home one day, in a bus, that was speeding in the highway at full speed. With my headphones plugged into my ears I was enjoying some cool music, and occasionally looking out of the window, taking in the view. Many other trucks, buses and lorries/tankers were ahead of us. All seemed fine. Then, all of a sudden, there was a huge crash. It was our bus itself. It had collided straight into a huge shipping-tanker, that was stationary in middle of the road itself. Maybe it had got some problem, but our driver didn't realize. My head crashed straight into the iron rod-handle of the seat in front. I could feel the bus itself getting squeezed, at the impact. It had become half its size almost. Many people got hurt, and the last thing I remember seeing was the head of the driver,bleeding with all the glass smashed right into him. After that it all went blank. I was conscious, but I could see nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was all black. I tried to ask others around me for help. I kept asking why I could not see anything. Naturally, I panicked at these turn of events. Someone helped me get down the bus. It was bright day-light after-noon time yet, all I could see was pitch black-ness, even though my eyes were wide open. Terrible thoughts came in my mind. Did I become blind after the nasty crash I had in my head ( the forehead & nose part ). I was paranoid, because the incident happened quite far from my house that too when I was travelling alone. That time I didn't have a mobile to inform my parents. Someone led us to the side of the road, and we waited for some other bus or help to come by. Since, it was the highway, not many cars stopped. After several minutes, a bus came along and I remember someone guiding me to it, as I couldn't see anything. I kept screaming why I could not see anything. What happened to my eyes. It was the most frightening period of my life. Would I be blinded for ever. The helplessness and the fear I felt that day, still gives me the chills. Someone told me they'll take to me the hospital to check up, as there were others too who needed treatment. They were also wounded; some, quite bad. As the bus turned towards the city, however, after almost 45 minutes of travel, my eye-sight slowly came back. It was still difficult, as though there was some hazy-screen fixed in front of my eyes. But thankfully, I could make out silhouttes and shapes of the people ( the other passengers ). Though, still in a state of shock and fright, I was so relieved that my eye-sight slowly returned and I didn't really have to go to the hospital ( although I was strongly advised to, by the person who was guiding us ). That 45 minutes to 1 hour of my life has been the turning point of my life literally. I shudder to think what could've happened. I was so close to losing something so precious. It made me see things differently since then. The earlier casual nonchalant thought that physical disability happened only to others, was replaced by a 'it can happen to anyone, even us/me'. I started seeing things differently. Before the incident, whenever I used to see ads of eye-donation, I used to ignore totally. I now see it differently, as I understand the pain of losing something so valuable. I got lucky that day, but there are others who are not so lucky, and they see that pitch blackness ( the one I had seen ) their entire lives. If their lives can be filled with a rainbow of colours, then nothing like it. I see things differently, because, if more and more people understand what I gone through and come forward to donate their eyes, someone who didn't get lucky might still have some hope left. |
very heartfelt post and absolutely when something happens that changes our perceptive about life we are changed forever.
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