Part I — Two Choices
A tumour, a wheelchair, and a decision that changed everything
Part I — The interview begins
The interviewer asks Dr. Deepa Malik — listed among the world's ten most inspirational women para-athletes — how she 'braved the odds' to become who she is. Her answer is the heart of the chapter. Read it slowly.
I was 29, an awful tragedy struck me when I was with spine . I a surgery, but misfortune raised its ugly head again. The doctors declared that I would be bound to a wheelchair for the rest of my life, as I was waist down. I had two choices — my life in or transform it to a world of limitless possibilities.
I love sports and had been a swimmer too, so I decided to switch to para-athletics. This is how my Paralympics journey began. My moment came in the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, when I secured the silver medal in the shot-put event. , I feel it was a moment of personal victory and a step forward in changing .
Pause and check.
What were the 'two choices' Dr. Malik faced after her surgery?
What was her 'breakthrough moment'?
Dr. Malik says she had 'two choices — squander my life in remorse or transform it.' The facts of her situation (paralysis, a wheelchair) did not change. So what exactly was the choice she made — and does this kind of choice belong only to people facing a tragedy as big as hers?
Take a moment to form your answer before reading further.
Q1.How was Dr. Malik able to switch to para-athletics 'comfortably'?
Part I — The interview begins
The interviewer asks Dr. Deepa Malik — listed among the world's ten most inspirational women para-athletes — how she 'braved the odds' to become who she is. Her answer is the heart of the chapter. Read it slowly.
I was 29, an awful tragedy struck me when I was with spine . I a surgery, but misfortune raised its ugly head again. The doctors declared that I would be bound to a wheelchair for the rest of my life, as I was waist down. I had two choices — my life in or transform it to a world of limitless possibilities.
I love sports and had been a swimmer too, so I decided to switch to para-athletics. This is how my Paralympics journey began. My moment came in the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, when I secured the silver medal in the shot-put event. , I feel it was a moment of personal victory and a step forward in changing .
Pause and check.
What were the 'two choices' Dr. Malik faced after her surgery?
What was her 'breakthrough moment'?
Dr. Malik says she had 'two choices — squander my life in remorse or transform it.' The facts of her situation (paralysis, a wheelchair) did not change. So what exactly was the choice she made — and does this kind of choice belong only to people facing a tragedy as big as hers?
Take a moment to form your answer before reading further.
Q1.How was Dr. Malik able to switch to para-athletics 'comfortably'?