It’s been some time since I’ve had a blog. Life’s been something and I’m relatively happy with how things have turned out.
For starters, I completed my first work trip. It was also my first trip without reliance on the walking stick. Although I’ve given up using the stick at home and even for local ventures, going to a new city (1000km) away and without the walking stick is cool.
Over the past few months, I’ve noticed, I like to point out the small victories that I have. For eg. going somewhere for the first time without my stick, my first venture in an auto or the first time I go back to Kendrapada. I’ve liked to keep these memories although now that I am writing this, i realize I should probably save them as such as well.
So what have I been up to?
Firstly, I took my whole family to Kolkata. The pretext was obviously to book a prosthetic cover for myself, but I also turned it into a mini vacation. Pretty much sponsored all of our travels and we had a good time overall.
We visited most of the touristy stuff, we also went to Science Park, Victoria Memorial, Birla Museum and more. The Science City was cool and definitely enthralled me. I can only imagine what the young students who were going there must’ve felt. It was an expansive area and had a lot of science experiments. It also had a thrillarium-esque ride which costed ( I believe) Rs. 60 for 5 minutes. Based on feedback, it was definitely worth it. There were a lot of cool stuff from that trip that I remember. I am especially very excited to learn about history and how things have shaped Indian history over the years.
We visited Ottobock Kolkata on the 14th, where they took my measurements. The prosthetic cover serves two purposes - to protect the costly prosthetic and secondly to give my prosthetic leg a semblance of normalcy. Since they take measurements based on my other leg, the prosthetic cover is curated to mimic the shape of my normal leg.
Initially I wanted one of those colorful Unyq covers, but just glancing at their material and the way they are covered around the leg - I did not like it at all.
I went with the traditional C4 leg prosthetic cover. The delivery would come a month later.
Hyderabad Trip
Soon after the Kolkata trip was me planning to do something on my own. Going to Kolkata, albeit flanked by my parents and my brother increased my confidence significantly. I also was not using the walking stick at all, my dad was mostly holding it for me … just in case.
But I started making plans of going to Hyderabad to the Valorant India Invitational. The event turned out to be a dud, but my trip was memorable and definitely one I feel is a turning point in my post-accident life.
The Hyderabad trip was a work trip, although I did end up spending a considerable amount at the hotel. I switched to Novotel, spending a lot of money on my own even though my company expensed the flights and the initial hotel. That being said, the Hyderabad trip was fun - a self-sufficient trip and one that definitely increased my confidence. In terms of work experience, it was a trip that could’ve had more. But I also found myself short of time if I were to try to experience the entire event at the venue and then go back to the hotel to write articles.
I do feel I slacked off post-trip because immediately following the Hydererabad trip - I had the repeat Kolkata trip. Here I got my prosthetic cover, it looks good. I also went to Hard Rock Cafe with Quincy - we had a good time, racked up a bill obviously, - but had a good time.
We came back via train on November 25 and the next day came to Kendrapada.
That was a massive step for me - mostly because I am basically crossing one of the areas that remind me of my accident. I’ve avoided Salipur area since the accident and aim to do so for the foreseeable future. Even getting to Kendrapda reminded me of my accident, but I really wanted to go and meet aai. I really like my maternal grandparents and I would be livid with myself if something happens to her and I am not able to meet her.
I will be writing more about my experiences in Hyderabad and Kolkata later.
But post-Kolkata I’ve faced some troubles with my prosthetic, mostly because the liner has been trimmed further. Now the prosthetic feels like a snug fit, but I also feel like I might soon require a change in the socket size - another big expense btw.
Tomorrow is Grandad’s anniversary and I’ll be going to Marshaghai. I’m glad I’m going. I want ot meet aai.
Let’s hope for the best.
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