I Am Invincible, Thirteen True Tales of Courage, Grit, & Survival

By Neelam Kumar

Have you ever been in the bottomless pit of despair? And then, through your own efforts, worked yourself up out of the pit onto the cliff in front, kept climbing it despite bruised knees and bleeding elbows until you reached right up to finally experience the ecstasy of the breathtaking view from the top? That is the feeling I call true happiness. Nothing outside us can compare with this kind of happiness. Here are inspiring tales of thirteen “ Warriors of Life” who have done exactly this! They have fought bravely and not only triumphed, but gone on to build lives more beautiful than the ones they had inherited. Allow them to inspire you towards new possibilities, towards the enjoyment of each twist and turn down life's road, towards the realisation and wisdom that difficulties and overcoming them are what make our “ passing through this planet” the most amazing part of our human experience.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fingerprint Publishing
• Release date: Feb 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9789354405129

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CANCER

STORIES

Farida Rizwan

SURVIVOR, BREAST CANCER

Did you ever pause to think that the nondescript woman hurtling down the street on her Honda Dio you casually glance at—the one you see covering 120 kms a day almost every single day, might have a story that could shake you to your very core? And that once you do come to know about it, it might just redefine the very meaning of the word strength for you?

So, let me not come in between you and this Bollywood-enamoured woman’s first-hand narration of her difficult life in a humorous filmy blog she wrote sometime back.

Dear Zindagi,

It might come as a surprise to you when I say, I love you. Tough for you to believe, huh, since you may feel you do not deserve my love?!

Hey! Come out of your guilt, my Zindagi. I know you have been tough—even nasty sometimes. But did you also not ensure that I never gave up on you?

Not once did I say, I will surrender to death. Instead, I fought hard—even sacrificing my hair and a breast to save you. You know why? Because, I loved you and valued you. I believed that there was still hope for you to change and improve from the nasty monster you were trying to be. Also, in your favour, I can say that at least you were never boring. In fact, you were certainly spicier than all the Andhra and Mexican dishes I had tasted so far.

I know our Bollywood is famous for masala stories and tear-jerkers, which it faithfully churns out year after year. Honestly, my dear Zindagi, only you could beat Bollywood with the plot you churned out for me—casting me as the lead character.

Thank you for not creating a story in which a knight in shining armour comes to my rescue. Instead, you made me a strong warrior, a one-woman army, who could fight the problems you generously dumped on me. Perhaps, you knew that instead of Mills & Boons, I have been a great fan of super heroes such as Batman, Spiderman, Wolverine, etc. Wow! You gave me exactly what I liked!

I love the way you launched me into this world dramatically. On a rainy midnight, fighting for her life, my mom gave birth to me. I was born a cusp—neither Libran nor Scorpio. A premonition of things to come?

But that was not the only thing interesting about my birth. You had decided on a tear-jerker story as a plot for my life, right? So, you made me a second girl child to parents eagerly waiting for a boy. And, to make me more lovable (!) you presented me with a club-foot.

Realising soon enough that I was a disabled girl child, I worked hard and cried harder. In fact, the tears flowed freely, as there was nothing and nobody to stop them.

I love the way you developed my character. As a child, I grew up defying almost everything around me. Refusing to be held back by my disability, social norms, or religion, I did the most logical thing—I became a rebel. Had I not had that fire within me, how could I have kicked aside those meaningless hurdles that came in the way of my moving forward with determination?

The special brand of fire within me helped in making me a school topper and a regular winner at sports events. Oh, what joy I found in losing myself within the pages of my favourite books! You were good to me back then. How I cherish that side of you even to this day!

But suddenly, you decided to be nasty. To my horror, I found myself transforming into someone else! From a "bindaas, winning-focused girl you transformed me into a damsel-in-distress. To my own surprise, I became meek and obedient. Under parental pressure, I married, settled down", and became a docile woman.

This new woman had a mindset of if I do not complete my household duties, I will be called a villain/vamp. Cosy in my self-created cocoon, I found myself quickly becoming a Nirupa-Roy-like character. Just then, you added more masala to my life and altered its course forever.

A torrential rain of problems descended on me in quick succession. Here are some:

My dad was diagnosed with cancer in 1992. My sister was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994. My daughter was diagnosed as a special needs child (brain atrophy, with mental retardation and cerebral palsy) in 1995. And, as if all these were not enough, I was diagnosed with third stage breast cancer. And do you know the timing of it? My lump was discovered when I was breastfeeding my little baby girl of eleven months and taking care of my four-year-old son.

Yes, you were on a roll back then—sliding through my life with all your fangs spread wide. Uncharacteristically, I just might have stooped down to hating you and cursing you. But that was for a very short time, believe me.

I discovered that the rebel in me was not dead, after all. I bounced back, stood tall on my club foot and threw a challenge at you, "My dear Zindagi, you will not lead me; I will."

Okay, since you seem determined, you can have your say and choice, but guess who is going to be in the driver’s seat? Me!

You had already sent me tumbling down the rough road. So where else could I have gone from there except up? Okay, you are entitled to your little satisfaction; the journey back uphill was tough. Very tough. But with my newly unleashed superpower post cancer, I could fight every hurdle, including the cancer very hard.

Slowly and steadily, after wounding and bruising myself several times, I managed to climb to a comfortable spot. And then, I began empowering myself.

Like a greedy collector of memorabilia, I began building my scattered life. I got my Diploma in Counselling Skills; worked for my graduate and post graduate degrees; equipped my children with good life skills and an education; carved a place in our world for my special-needs daughter—a spot from where she can live her life with dignity.

While performing all these Herculean tasks, I put the spotlight on myself. Firmly. I once again became the most important character in my story. You know what happened because of that? All those limiting social rules, traditions, and beliefs society had dictated to me since birth, ceased to have power over me. I stumbled on an important lesson. I do not have to do anything; I just want or do not want to do something. It’s all in my hands.

I can tell you happily that the rough ride you gave me downhill is what made me the strong and proud woman I am today—the one who doesn’t wink before patting her own back; the one who loves herself unconditionally. Come on! I am not ashamed to blow my own