According to the medical report, I suffered a compression fracture of the C5 and C6. When my head hit the bottom of the pool, all the intensity of the crash was centered on my fifth and sixth cervical vertebra, causing it to fracture. A small bone fragment from my fifth cervical vertebra broke off and was displaced about 5 mm into the spinal canal.

The paralysis was instant after the mishap. It wasn’t until after a surgery by neurosurgeon Dr. Kazem Djavadkhani at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital that I was able to regain some sensation and limb movements, which eventually improved to a level that afforded me some independence. In the operation, the bone fragment was removed and both fractured vertebras were fused together.

Intensive physiotheraphy sessions thereafter under Jenny Tan, the physiotherapist at the Lam Wah Ee Hospital greatly improved my muscle tone and mobility. I would like to record my gratitude to Dr. Kazem Djavadkhani and Jenny Tan for putting me right on track to independence despite the severity of my injury.

I have good muscle control of both arms. My wrists and fingers are weak. I can hold a pen to write. I can type pretty well on a keyboard and use a mouse with little effort. I have difficulty in picking up small items such as coins and pins.

My fingers are clawed but they serve me well in holding larger objects like bottles and cups. I hold a fork and spoon awkwardly, but hey, the food really tastes better when I am feeding myself. I can push my wheelchair but have yet to learn all the cool and fancy tricks one can do on a wheelchair like doing wheelies and spins.

I have no sensation of temperature from my upper-chest downwards. The sense of touch feels normal on the chest but tapers off downwards. However, I still have some sensation on my legs and feet, especially when I carelessly bump them against the wall. I can wiggle my toes, which is a luxury. I can stand and walk on a parallel bar for a short distance, which is more than I could have wished for.

Initially, an indwelling catheter was used to empty my bladder, which was replaced by a urinary condom. In 1991, I consulted a urologist who promptly diagnosed that I was suffering from reflux, a condition where my bladder occasionally goes into spasms and pushes the urine back into the kidneys, causing them to be inflamed.

I was advised to do intermittent catheterisation whereby I insert a catheter into my bladder every 3 hours to completely drain out the urine. I have been on intermittent catheterisation since then. Bowel movement is effected through the use of suppositories every other day which I have worked into a routine. This works fine for me since I can then plan my trips accordingly.

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