TITLE: Reflection of the past

In 2009, Rosalina Oktavia had a motorbike accident after which she suffered a minor knee injury. After the accident, she could still walk well, climb mountains and even run, although she felt there was something wrong with her leg. Six years later, the doctor found out that she had a damaged tendon on her left knee. He recommended her to undergo a minor operation to fix the tendon, which she agreed to. During the operation, he cut her left leg’s major vein by mistake and, instead of admitting his error and trying to find a solution immediately, he simply kept quiet and pretended that nothing happened. A few days later, even though she should have fully recovered from the operation, she could still not feel her left leg nor her toes. The doctors soon realised what happened and informed her that she was suffering from gangrene. After that, she went through 6 extremely painful operations, in which the doctors removed more and more muscle tissue from her leg. Unfortunately, all their efforts were in vain. They told her that, unless they amputated her leg, gangrene would spread throughout her body and she would not be able to live. That was how she became an amputee at age 24. The first few days after her amputation she felt terribly depressed. However, she soon realised that life still went on and that she had no choice but to adapt to it. Therefore, she decided to stop thinking of what she couldn’t do and start thinking of what she could do, think positively and live a happy life, as all humans deserve. Whether you are disabled, fat, thin, tall or short, it is crucial to understand that you are beautiful and that you can always be proud of yourself, no matter what.

AUTHOR: Adam Gonda (Switzerland)