Deepa’s Story
Somewhere between Agra and New Delhi, India an accident happened. I was hit by a train as an infant, the train ripped out the nerves and muscles from the L5 (mid-back) down, avulsed (cracked) the hips and killed my mother. A random person found me and brought me to the Missionaries of Charity in New Delhi, which was Mother Teresa’s orphanage in the 1980’s. Mother Teresa didn’t believe in pain killers or anesthesia, she thought pain brought people closer to God. The leg was removed below the knee. The nuns gave me my name, my nationality, and my new birthdate. I was then shipped to the United States where I lived in Johns Hopkins. 97% of internationally adopted children between the 1970’s and the 1990’s were trafficked kids. They reattached my hips, and did 3 experimental nerve transplants. I had two half body casts as a toddler; what toddler doesn’t love to be strapped to a bed in a half body cast? If you put me in a room with a doctor or nurse in a white doctor coat, and know they are there for me I would freak out, start crying, run if I could, if I couldn’t I will go into the fetal position. I do have PTSD and I’ve had this reaction to white coats my whole life. Without the white coat I’m fine. I was eventually transferred from John’s Hopkins and put in Kernan Hospital (The James Lawrence Kernan Hospital and Industrial School of Maryland for Crippled Children, Inc.). Kernan and Hopkins were working together to put Humpty Dumpty back together again! The nerve transplants were never really successful, but I do wonder if I’m in some medical book from the 80’s.
(some details omitted)
Comments are closed for this post.