A Mumbai Woman Shared This Inspiring Story Of What Happens After You Wake Up From A Coma Paralysed

A Mumbai Woman Shared This Inspiring Story Of What Happens After You Wake Up From A Coma Paralyzed

“After battling depression, two attempted suicides, and many broken relationships – I overcame my hurdles and hardships”.

Last week, Mumbai resident Virali Modi posted a Facebook status about an illness that left her in a coma ten years ago. In the status, she explained how she woke up even though she wasn’t expected to, and how she overcame adversity after being paralyzed from the waist down.

Facebook: viralimodi1

Modi’s health problems started a decade ago when she took a trip to India during the monsoon. After returning to the U.S., where she was living at the time, she started to get migraines that persisted for a long time.

Virali Modi

The doctors tested her for meningoencephalitis, meningitis, malaria, and many other conditions. Eventually, she was diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis, a neurological condition that affects the spine.

Modi told “The illness was getting worse, and they needed to do a spinal tap. That led me into the ICU. Another spinal tap was done the next day, even though my mom was against it. My family had come to the hospital at that point and convinced her. After giving the okay to the docs, they did the spinal tap and I went into a coma”.

“I was in a coma for 23 days, and I was declared dead three times.”

Virali Modi

“The doctors wanted to take me off life support on September 21, 2006, but my mom literally grabbed his feet and begged for my life and to keep me alive until my birthday,” she added.

Modi said that her family came to her hospital bed and celebrated what they thought was her last birthday. She told “There was food, cake, and decorations. At 3:05 p.m., the same time that I was born, everyone started singing happy birthday and as soon my dad took my hand and cut the cake, I opened my eyes”.

Modi was still in a coma, but after opening her eyes, the doctors had hope. On the October 5, she woke up.

Virali Modi

But even though she was awake, her condition was still serious. Modi was paralyzed from the neck down.

Virali Modi

Modi said that she didn’t know how to continue living. “I was like a dead body, who was breathing. I couldn’t sit without support from both sides, I didn’t know when I was hungry, or even when I had to go to the bathroom.”

Virali Modi

“My parents worked on me though. My mom would get five different bowls and fill them with my favorite foods; she’d put them in front of me, in all directions, but out of my reach. She made me get them myself, without touching the bowls. I would fall forward, and with my weak arms, try to get a cookie out of the bowl” Modi said. “My mom wouldn’t cry though. She was always my motivation.”

“After battling depression, two attempted suicides, and many broken relationships – I overcame my hurdles and hardships,” Modi said.

Virali Modi

This is her today. She has regained approximately 70% of her mobility.

Virali Modi

“I started writing about my life’s experiences on Quora and earned 58,000 followers who are getting inspired and motivated by my writing, while I create a future for myself,” she said.

“I picked a goal, my goal was to walk. That wasn’t achievable yet, I had a long way to go. I picked a smaller goal; I wanted to be able to sit without support and without falling over,” Modi wrote on Quora.

She currently lives in Mumbai with her mother. She is a writer, an actress, a motivational speaker, and a disability rights activist.

Virali Modi

In 2014, she even won second place in The Miss Wheelchair India pageant.

Virali Modi

“I kept believing because my parents kept believing. I had no other support. They were there for me and they kept encouraging me. It’s because of their continuous encouragement and my effort that I kept pushing,” Modi said.

Virali Modi

Now, she’s eyeing Bollywood.

Virali Modi

“Trying to break into a community that isn’t diverse, because I want people to know that despite their situations, their dreams can come true,” she added.

Virali Modi

Here’s a full transcript of Virali Modi’s Facebook post.

This date, exactly 10 years ago, I was lying on my presumed deathbed. I was in a coma, living on a ventilator. My mom and dad decided to have a birthday party, which my aunt, uncle, two brothers, and sister-in-law so graciously planned. They brought food, cake, and decorated my hospital room so beautifully. My parents invited all of my family because the doctor had given my parents an ultimatum – If I didn’t show any signs of improvement on my birthday, then on the 30th of September, they’d pull the plug from my ventilator - eventually causing my death.

My family started singing Happy Birthday at exactly 3:05 pm, when I was born. As soon as I cut my cake, I opened my eyes. Everyone started screaming and the doctors rushed in. After a full check up, they hugged my parents saying that my improvement was a miracle! THEY SAID I’D SURVIVE! I went back into my coma after approximately half an hour and finally came out of it on October 5th (which is when I celebrate a second birthday).

I didn’t realize the severity of my health until I went to physical therapy. There I realized that I couldn’t even hold up my head. I was paralyzed from the neck down. After many excruciating hours of physical therapy, both by my parents and by professional therapists, I regained the use of my arms. I always was a fighter and I promised myself that I wouldn’t give up.

Except that I did at one point while battling depression. After two attempted suicides and continuous wishes to be normal and independent, I decided to live up to my name, quite literally. Virali means strength, warrior, beauty, uniqueness, and love. I desperately needed to live up to my name. I couldn’t give up, I just couldn’t. I started focusing on myself, I started working hard, and I started loving myself.

After battling depression, attempting two suicides, and after many broken relationships – I overcame my hurdles and hardships (even though I have many more to overcome as of yet). I’ve regained approximately 70% of my mobility and started following my dreams.

Within the last 10 years, I gained more self-confidence and won second place in The Miss Wheelchair India pageant in 2014. I started writing about my life’s experiences on Quora and earned 58,000 followers that are getting inspired and motivated by my writing, while I create a future for myself. I’ve become a motivational speaker and have been graced by standing ovations. I started pursing modeling and acting, although I’m still waiting for my big break. Last but not least, I’ve started to bring awareness about disability through my writing, because there isn’t much awareness in India, unfortunately.

What I want to say is that nothing can stop you from pursuing your dreams. It’s easy to focus on the negative, but you shouldn’t. Look past the negative and focus on the positive, you WILL prevail.

So, it’s been 10 years and I’m now 25 years old. Here’s to a more beautiful life and an extraordinary future! CHEERS!

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