Never Stop Fighting For What's Yours : Your Life - Anuja Mohanty

“My parents were told that I had asthma, because I used to cough often. Slowly, my coughing grew intense and I used to cough for nearly 18-20 hours continuously everyday, so much that I ended up coughing out blood. Then, it was discovered that I had a hole in my heart, which no doctor was able to detect till then.

At that time, anyone with VSD had to get operated before turning a year old. In my case, it was detected when I was 7, and even SCB gave up hope. I was taken to AIIMS, Delhi, and even they said that nothing can be done, and that I would die soon. My Mom was devastated. I was the youngest child, and my other two siblings had to be left back at Odisha. My father had to exhaust a lot of his savings to spend on our travel and my treatment. 

A young Dr. Naresh Trehan, who is now a Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awardee, asked if he could take a chance, because anyhow I was going to die. After much thought, my parents agreed. I was kept under observation for 8-9 months, and with a leap of faith I was operated in 1998. I remember my father collapsing when he was asked to sign the consent form.

My doctors and my parents say that I wasn’t afraid when I was taken into the OT. After a 14-hour long operation, I became one of the first survivors of a VSD operation being conducted at a later age.

My family never treated me as a special child, and once the operation was done with, they never raised that topic. I was punished on doing something wrong, I was given a bicycle, I went into extreme sports and have now done almost everything that a weak hearted person would not do.

The mental strain that this operation made me go through, was that I had to start my life all over again. People could never comprehend that a girl who could dance so well for hours at a stretch could have such a heart issue, and even now they throw judging eyeballs at my scar.

I am honestly proud of my scar, and I did not agree to remove it surgically, because it’s my natural tattoo. It’s a symbol of my victory over not one, but two rare and major problems.

However, that was not everything life had in store for me. When I was in the 2nd year of my MBA, I started having a lot of pain in my abdomen. I started skipping classes due to the same. For the second time in two decades, I was detected with another rare condition. This time I was outside, working, and only my siblings and my closest friends knew about it. Again, the doctors were unable to detect it. There were times when I would be vomiting and bleeding, and still be presenting in the office. I would go back, take injections, come back and present, sleep in the office bunker for 1-2 hours, come back again and work for 7-8 hours. Through all this, I did not give up on my career. During this while, I volunteered in a rehabilitation center and an orphanage and it gave me strength, because I realized that there are people who are going through lot worse than I am. 

During my second disease, as a side effect of the medication, I used to lose my temper. At that time, my best friends (from Birla- Jasmit, Ankita, Aniruddh, Jai)  used to call me and ask me to take out my frustration on them and then go to work. They’ve even travelled and come over to my place to help me during that time. 

I never let my diseases stop me from travelling, dancing, painting, debating, or anything else that because I know I am capable of doing them. The operation and life, in general, has taught and prepared me well.

Lastly, I would ask people to stop seeing someone’s disease as his weakness. It’s never the fault of the patient that he was detected with cancer, or a hole in his heart.  You should always fight back for your life. At least that's what Dr. Iyer (the one who did the Operation) said. My current doctor, Dr.Roohee is another bad-ass! I hope to be surrounded by such people. Like the Avengers, or my own Dumbledore's Army. It helps me fight. No?” – Anuja Mohanty