He is sitting, but not really sitting still

It started with a walking stick. Then came the stroller. Now, I am 50 years old and I am in a wheelchair. I am Narayana Rao and I suffer from Multiple Sclerosis.I am a mechanical engineer and I graduated from a prestigious institute in 1983. I worked in India till I left for New Zealand in 2000. But before I left the country, something strange happened to me when I woke up one morning. I clearly remember getting up to the clear morning sky only to realise a strange numbness on my left leg. I started dragging my foot around. Later I went to the doctor. Tests and steroids followed. They said it could be the sign of a stroke or a nervous infection. Later they suspected Multiple Sclerosis. But the steroids helped me. For a long time I had been planning to go to New Zealand for a job. Since I was feeling much better, I packed my bags and made my way to a new place of possibilities.My job was good. And my stay was even better. I made progress at work. But the numbness kept coming back. One day, at a hospital in New Zealand, I was confirmed with Multiple Sclerosis. When I first heard about Multiple Sclerosis in India, I was not scared. I thought there’s a cure for it. After all, it’s just a muscle disorder. But sitting in the lime green hospital ward in New Zealand, I realised it would be more than that. I knew it was here to stay with me forever. It’s a neurological dysfunction — the protein sheaths of my nerves were disappearing, and I could do nothing about it. The doctors gave me steroids and other medicines. Of course, they could not cure it. But the medicines kept my nerves intact. I continued working. There’s one thing I have to say — the Government of New Zealand couldn’t have been more helpful. They provided me free transport and ambulance services. They even compensated the company I was working with, for the hours I couldn’t be at work.I came for a holiday to India in 2005. I was about to return to New Zealand when my situation started worsening. My parents pleaded that I stay with them. And of course, I didn’t have the heart to say no. I needed constant medical attention and a stroller. In 2008, I started using the wheelchair. My physical constraint limits me to working from home now. I take tuition for schools students.  And now I also plan to work with The Association of People with Disability.My movements might be limited to where my wheelchair takes me. But am I deprived? No. I am grateful for the emotional support I have. That’s what keeps me going. I can see. I can smell and I can talk. I can see the sunrise and the sunset. I can smell the fresh morning air, rest over the creamy sweetness of a freshly brewed cup of coffee, get lost in a book for hours together and talk for endless hours to my friends and family. I am happy. And that’s all I need.