Pics: Brijesh Garodi
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore

February 16, 2012

'Life is a journey not a destination' is an oft-quoted phrase attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson. It means that life is a unique personal journey, which sometimes takes people through a winding but bumpy ride. After meeting P A Gopinath and spending well over 3 hours with him and his sportive wife I cannot but recall this phrase even as I mentally try to piece together the life sketch of this resolute, indomitable, gritty, spirited persona armed with a never say die attitude.

He is a rare specimen of a personality, a victim of nature’s cruel joke playing with his life at the prime age of 42, when things were just falling in place for his young family, forever altering the course of his life’s journey. That was indeed just the beginning of a new chapter in the life of Gopi and his family.

What followed after that and in the trajectory of last 18 years really makes a mesmerizing and awe inspiring reading sending shivers down the spines of everyone for the sheer tenacity exhibited by Gopi to overcome his debility. His life has been a saga of struggles as he did not allow his crippled status to embitter him or distract his yearing to come to terms with his changed status. His appetence to be independent and continue with his teaching profession and make himself useful to others by volunteering to be a role model and motivator to those who suffer like him is something like stuff that our Bollywood films are made of. But Gopi’s life is a reality and he has achieved this being a paraplegic (paralyzed below chest level with a severity of 80%).

Why Not Me?

What is even more striking about him is that he has accepted this unexpected blow without being nagged by “why it has to happen to me” kind of feeling. Rather it is his positive frame of mind which comes in to the fore when he says “if the injury was even half an inch above I would have been paralyzed below the neck and I cannot imagine what my fate would have been in that case”.

On that fateful day of July 11, 1994 exactly at 5.10 pm a coconut tree came crashing on the head of P A Gopinath, a lecturer in Commerce in Canara P U College, Mangalore. Gopi, as he is known to his friends, was riding his motorbike along with his wife Bambina Chinnamma, a bank employee whom he picked up at 5 pm and was heading towards home near Pinto’s Lane, Bejai. Though it was rainy season there was only a drizzle accompanied by gusty winds. When he approached Pinto’s Lane, he dithered for a moment to move or not to move on seeing the telephone/electric wires dangling so precariously and a coconut tree vacillating due to the breeze. He had slowed down his bike but decided to go ahead and that is when fate struck its cruelest blow.

The coconut tree which he had seen a few seconds ago came crashing down directly on his head, even before people could realize what was happening. The helmet on his head apparently saved his life but it left him crippled for life as the fourth thoracic vertebra of his spine was damaged due to the force of the falling tree transacting his spinal cord. His wife who was a pillion rider had a few bruises but Gopi, who did not even have a scratch on his body, survived. And how! With the unwavering support of his family and the unconditional help offered by the medical fraternity of the city, Gopi has fought a battle with indomitable courage, determination, gumption, motivated by his own will power to be independent and lead a dignified life without being too much of a burden on his family. When asked what gave him the strength to come to terms with his disability Gopi reacts “I was empowered by the thought of living in dignity and with self respect as much as possible and that gave me innate strength to wage a battle though the odds were against me”.

Waging a Heroic Battle

What I gathered during the course of my interaction with Gopi is that he being an active person, a born fighter, a man who was always on his toes, active in a number of activities including NCC, it was impossible to accept the changed course of his life as sheer destiny. His children were too young - elder one in 6th and younger twins were in 4th standard and that must have propelled him all the more to wage a heroic battle and succeed to a great extent.

Even the doctors who attend on him regularly are overawed by the way Gopi has conducted himself over the past 18 years. Dr Narasimman Swaminathan, Professor and Head of the Department of Physiotherapy at Fr Mullers Hospital cannot stop singing paeans of Gopi. Narasimman states “it is only through the tremendous will power Gopi has carried on his battle all these years with remarkable success. Any other lesser mortal would have gone into depression and succumbed to death considering the nature of the injury but Gopi is made up of a sterner stuff. He is our department’s brand ambassador infusing courage and self confidence in others to be independent and to live in dignity”.

Gopi, on the other hand says Mangaloreans have showered him with love and affection and even strangers have been very forthcoming to help him. May be he has a special bond with Mangalore that brought him to this city from Tellicherry way back in 1976 soon after his PG in Commerce. His aunt Gomati had brought him to Mangalore. He got a job as a lecturer in Canara College and it is in this college he met his wife Bambina Chinnamma, who had come to answer her PUC examinations privately.

Love blossomed between the young couple and religion did not come in the way of their marriage. Bambina, a Roman Catholic, had broadminded parents who did not object to her marriage with Gopi. Her father Ammembal Edwin D Souza was a great Kannada and Sanskrit scholar who had translated into Kannada the life of St Ignatius Loyola published during the centenary of the College. For those who speak maliciously saying inter-caste marriages don’t work Mani and Chinni are a living example as the couple still look very much in love and it would not be sacrilegious to say the tragic incident has only strengthened their bond. The couple is a living example to show that a husband-wife relationship goes beyond the realm of mere physicality.

Bambina says though the family toyed with the idea of settling in Canannore, his native place after the operation, the umbilical-like bond with Mangalore is what made them change their mind. The bond was too strong to severe and the couple continues to live here in the warmth showered on them by Mangaloreans.

Mani and Chinni as the couple calls each other, recount the help they received from Mangaloreans after the catastrophic incident. After the accident the doctors were in a quandary not knowing how to handle the badly battered spine in the absence of MRI facility. Not wanting to aggravate the injury doctors and friends of Gopi decided to act and took the initiative to take him to Bangalore by flight. Since it was a spinal injury Gopi had to be handled with care. Bambina was told on the fourth day itself that Gopi will not be able to stand on his legs again but that did not deter her. There were many who insinuated (based on what doctors had told) that taking him to Bangalore by spending more money as worthless.

An X-Ray of Gopinath's injured spine

Friends Respond in Need

But Bambina was ready to sell her flat and provide whatever treatment she could and it was then friends of Gopi who came to the rescue and arranged Rs. 3 lakhs required for treatment at Manipal Hospital Bangalore. After 10 days of the accident Gopi was taken to Bangalore by flight in a special stretcher and with special seating arrangements under the guidance of the late Dr Sudhakar Shetty. In fact everybody came to see him before leaving for Bangalore believing that he will not come back, Bambina recalls. Friends like Eric, Maxi, Ivan and Floric advertised in paper seeking help for Gopi, knowing very well that Gopi wouldn’t want to supplicate. But they persisted saying it was his friends not Gopi who was seeking help. In Bangalore he was operated and his spine was joined to resemble like a pillar of a new building under construction.

Gopi came back after 37 days but with a wheelchair and then began to reconstruct his tattered life with help coming from unexpected sources. Gopi can never forget the generosity and goodness showered on him by team of doctors apart from his family’s support. He is grateful to doctors like late Dr Sudhakar Shetty, Dr B V Kakkillaya, Dr Sunil P Shenoy, Dr Narasimman and many others who have always responded to him in his hour of need. He blithely recalls how his urologist Dr Sunil P Shenoy, now a senior consultant at A J Hospital, was trying to collect medicines for him as the cost of medicines was very high.

When contacted Dr Sunil Shenoy says “whatever Gopi is today is due to his own efforts. He is the one knows about his body very well than any doctor. He has amassed enough knowledge about his body and has coped well. Very few people overcome this kind of disability. He has become an influential person in his own way. If someone is in need of some blood we contact Gopi and he gets it done and is very helpful to patients who need help of any sort”.

Physiotherapist to the Rescue

Gopi remembers with gratitude the role played by young physiotherapist Vinod Abraham in Gopi’s fight to come to normalcy. “He was the best thing to happen to me as Vinod was the one who gave me every possible help when I striving to find my grip”, opines Gopi. It was at the behest of Vinod that Gopi went back to college to his profession exactly after one year of the incident which instilled in him the self confidence that he can do it. Even the college management, staff and students have been very cooperative. It was a case of role reversal as Gopi became a dutiful student following Vinod’s guidance and that was like winning half the battle. Gopi began to teach his students with the help of a projector and other audio visual aids, which he does with aplomb. Vinod in fact had done a miracle on Gopi by putting his life back on the right track.

Vinod also helped him to learn driving and bought a hand driven car with and made him go to college independently without using an auto. Gopi’s friend Eric Ozario had organized a programme “To sir with Love” in the Town Hall to collect some funds and for the first time Gopi made a public appearance after his operation. The money collected was used to buy his first hand-driven car.

In the past 18 years his life his routine involves self- catheterization, clearing his bowels from time to time, regular medication and attending college and physio sessions regularly for two hours. Dr Narasimman says “Gopi needs to keep his upper body especially shoulders in good condition as he manages his wheelchair using his hands while shifting from wheelchair”. Dr Sunil Shenoy says Gopi has to empty his bladder often as he will be prone to urinary infection otherwise. Gopi is also prone to painful muscle spasms which plague him often testing his tolerance level which sometimes become excruciatingly painful. Medication has become a part of his routine and every month he spends about Rs. 6000/- on antibiotics and medicines.

Preparing for Retirement

Gopi has to be very careful about his diet, about his movement because any imbalance is calamitous for him. Though he operates his own wheelchair he has to have control of his upper body. He has to take care of his sensationless lower part of the body and protect it from injury. Every day after bath the body has to be dried completely to prevent any infection. The couple recalls that on one occasion there was slight bleeding while trimming his toe nails and Gopi was oblivious of it. At night Gopi had felt uneasy not knowing what was wrong. On scrutiny it was found that a large group of ants was feasting on his finger royally.

Dr Sathish Rao, Professor and Head of the department of Psychiatry at K S Hegde Hospital describe Gopinath as a rare personality. “Many people who have similar kind of problem are mostly bedridden and very few make efforts to overcome their disability. Gopinath is a rare example whose life has been near to normalcy”. Being a close friend of Gopi Sathish Rao says Gopi’s family especially his wife was the pillar of support for him in the hour of crisis in his life which has also facilitated his recovery. What more, Gopi had even written an Accountancy text book for PUC after his accident sitting on a wheelchair.

Dr B V Kakkillaya, Physician and old student of Canara College opines that whatever Gopinath says about doctors helping him “it is his mental strength which has seen him though all these years. His is a special because he is an inspiration to doctors and paraplegics. In the last 18 years he has conducted himself well and surviving all these years and keeping active is an achievement in itself. His retirement will be a huge loss to Canara College”.

Gopi will be retiring from college coming July 3rd and is ready to open a new chapter in his life. One has to wait and see in what productive way Gopi is going to lead his retired life. Even if a few lives get inspired or motivated from Gopi that would be the greatest service he renders to people. Oscar Wilde had said “we are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars” and Gopi is one who has seen stars being in the gutter.

Rehabilitation Centre for Paraplegics – Need of the hour

In the absence of a proper rehabilitation centre in Mangalore for people suffering from spinal injury, Gopi has become an instrument through which physiotherapy department of Fr Mullers Hospital tries to infuse courage and motivation and the urge to live. Dr Narasimman recalls how a young boy from Kasargod who had suffered a spinal injury was into depression and had given up all hopes of recovery. Dr Narasimman and co used Gopi their ambassador to infuse in him the zest for life. It worked wonders and just six months back the boy walked back home with the help of crutches.

Doctor’s fraternity feels that a rehabilitation centre for people suffering from spine injury is very essential to make them lead a productive life. But in India the focus is on life saving rather than qualitative aspect of treatment. While the doctors are ready to render all help there is an urgent need to set up a rehabilitation centre. As Dr Sunil Shenoy says since investment benefit here is zero no one want to invest on such a centre. But if some good Samaritans are willing to come forward all doctors are ready to provide any kind of help.

Dr Narasimman also says “though we know there is a need we could do nothing so far. There are many youngsters who get into depression and die a premature death or are confined to bed in the absence of a proper rehabilitation centre. Being bedridden they lose the vigor to live and only a proper rehabilitation centre can come to their rescue”. Gopinath always live life of dignity and self respect and would want others like him to lead a similar life.

If some good Samaritans can give a thought to the much needed centre in Mangalore, it would be a long cherished dream comes true for the patients as well as doctors who are eager to render their service as and when called for. Though some hospitals are ready to provide space they need investment on infrastructure for the centre. Hope this message reaches out to the right people.