The Return to Work Department of PERKESO (Social Security Organisation Malaysia) is running a 2-day Access Audit Training for 36 case managers and placement officers starting today. Dr. Naziaty Yaacob is the chief facilitator, assisted by four co-facilitators, for this workshop held at the Kuala Lumpur PERKESO office.

Simulation exercise of person with low vision outside the Kuala Lumpur Perkeso Office.

The purpose of this workshop is to familiarise participants with barriers in the built-environment, conduct access audits and furnish recommendations for workplaces of disabled members of the organisation under the Return to Work Programme.

We will be conducting access audits of five buildings and their surroundings tomorrow morning, namely the Intercontinental Hotel, Boulevard Hotel, Shangri-La Hotel, Wisma PERKESO at Jalan Tun Razak and Menara PERKESO Jalan Ampang which is the headquarters of the organisation. I will be facilitating the team auditing Menara PERKESO headed by Tuan Roshaimi bin Mat Rosely, Manager of Return to Work Section.

The needles no longer give me the jitters anymore. It could be that I have become hardened to the pain or the phlebotomists (individuals trained to draw blood samples for medical testing) that I encountered were very good at what they do. I used to turn my face away to avoid seeing the needle going into the skin. Now, I watch the entire blood extraction process.

Renal function test, liver function test and lipid profile results.

I went for a blood test last Friday and then for the scheduled appointment at the UMMC spinal rehab clinic on Wednesday. Serum creatinine has gone up a little to 291 umol/L, nothing to be unduly worried about as it has been hovering around this level for a while now. On the other hand, the low-density lipoprotein level is above normal at 3.09 mmol/L.

The doctor advised me to watch my diet. Admittedly, I have been rather reckless with what I eat lately. I am scheduled for another blood test in November and also a KUB (kidneys-ureters-bladder) ultrasound at the same time. Hopefully, by going on a healthier diet now, the results then will be more favourable.

It took exactly two months from the time Cheng Bee of Star 2 spoke to me about contributing an article on disability to the completion and submission of the manuscript to her. In the months of April and May, I was occupied with co-facilitating Disability Equality Training workshops with Dr. Kuno of JICA.

When I finally had time to start writing, I was overwhelmed in trying to compress the 27 years of my life post spinal cord injury into 1400 words. I spent a number of days writing and rewriting, throwing out the less consequential and adding more significant events as I went along.

There were a few ocassions when I teared, especially while recalling the sacrifices my parents made for me and the last few days of my mother’s life as she slowly drifted away. Although a lot of emotions were stirred up in the course of writing, I felt a sense of fulfillment and serenity when I finally clicked the send button to submit the article.

The response from friends in Facebook and Twitter were truly encouraging. I did not set out with the intention to write an inspirational story of my life. In fact, it was anything but inspirational, seeing how long it took me to realise that there is life after spinal cord injury.

The message is simple. One should quickly go through the denial, rehabilitation and acceptance processes and move on while waiting for that elusive cure. There is no point in putting everything on hold and then realise that twenty year have passed by with nothing to show for it. It is a mistake I hope others in conditions similar to mine do not make. Viva la Vida!

Moving On – My life after spinal cord injury published on 14 July, 2011 in The Star.
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