Prashant Bhaiya
Interacted one of the great life warriors. Mr. Prashant Varma. Whom I call Prashant bhaiya. He fought and is still fighting Myositis, one of the worst diseases I have ever heard of. His immune system is eating his muscles.
Because of this disease, he forgot which muscle was to be activated to swallow the water he took in his mouth. Just to excrete the excreta, he had to use his fingers as he could not think of which muscles to activate. He needed to apply his engineering basics, to stand up tall, find the CG of the body, and walk accordingly.
Even a newborn baby knows a few basic muscle movements, but he had to learn all those things again. He had to watch his grandson's videos and learn, how to crawl, grab, walk, stand, gulp, and whatnot.
Today he looks fine and no one would say that he had gone through so many things. But, there was a time when he wanted to give up and even doctors had suggested that they have no treatment for this. During this time, one of his friends became an angel for him and shared a story about an Olympic Athlete who was a Myositic patient. That gave him hope, and he started believing that there was a cure and that he could live longer.
One of the true live inspirations I could interact with.
It's always easy to see such stories in a movie or read in a book. But this guy suffered this. And came out of it. I do remember the Hrithik Roshan’s film Gujaarish. This guy has changed its end. He fought all those things and stood tall against all odds
When asked, he said, he wanted to attempt suicide, and he could find almost 34 ways of doing it. But for every possible solution, he had to be dependent on at least one helper. And if he had the courage to attempt suicide on his own, he thought this courage would help him fight the disease.
It was a celebration time for him when after almost a couple of years, he could go to the toilet on his own. And do his routine on his own. He says he wanted to shout and celebrate that moment.
While listening to him, a thought comes to mind, that such disease should not happen to even an enemy. And if at all someone suffers, he/she must be as strong as Prashant Bhaiya. His fight has made him the PATIENT AMBASSADOR for this disease. He is a case study for many doctors and patients. His story should help many many people worldwide.
During 3-4 years of time, it was not only Myositis he fought with but there were many challenges. 4 members of the family were COVID-19 positive, and the pregnant daughter was denied by hospitals for pregnancy treatments as she was COVID-19 positive, he already had expanded his business, and running that show was also a challenge, and many more challenges he fought in a short span of time
His Family's support, willpower, and attitude to fight helped him to achieve this.
Many things to hear from him, and get motivated and inspired.
He says, that during this fight, he learned one thing, a balance of earning money and enjoying life must be attained. Earn good memories and nice relations and that will always help you to keep a smile on your face. No materialistic things like a Car or extra clothes will help in tough times. Just Live, Love, and Laugh. !
