I

was struck by a motorcycle and fell to the side of the road. At 9:10 p.m. on April 16, 2023, in India.

I didn’t know what to do, but I had that much grace in me to try to stand up on my own. I was in shock when I saw that I was unable to walk with my right leg.

It took me eight months to get back on my feet again without crutches or my fracture boot.I was riding a motorcycle to visit my friend, and suddenly another motorcycle hit me.

We both fell on the road. My motorcycle fell on my right leg, which weighed 240 pounds compared to my 77-pound frame.

People around me were so helpful; they asked if they could take me to the hospital and drop me off at home. I said, “No it’s just a small pain, and the road I had fallen on was outside my house.”

A few minutes later, I stood up and tried my best to slowly walk a few steps. The people who gathered around me told me to sit down because I could barely walk.

My parents were out of town and they also had an accident the same day at 9 a.m. So, I called my sister first to pick me up, but she didn’t answer. I called my neighbor and she asked: “Were you at that road accident?” I replied with yes and told her to tell my sister to pick me up.

First, my neighbor arrived looking for me. “I am down here,” I said because everyone gathered around me, so it was difficult for anyone to find me fallen on the side of the road.

Then my sister also came and took me home. From my home, road accidents, voices could be heard and people gathering can also be seen from my community lawn.

The funniest thing happened at that moment when I asked my sister why she didn’t pick up my calls.

She said, “I saw an accident from our home garden, and the lady standing beside me was continuously telling me that you might have been in that accident. But, I told her it’s someone else.”

I thought that God was giving everyone signs, but no one could think of such events happening together at the same time.

My right leg was fully swollen, and I could not walk a single step. The next day my X-ray showed I had a fracture in my fibula bone, and the doctor said it can take six to eight weeks to recover.

My face now went from happy to sad.

I was feeling bad for myself. It was hard for me to digest that I had to be in bed until I recovered fully. I never cried about it in front of anyone, not even my family. I also never prayed to God to recover it soon or reduce my pain because I knew I could go through everything. I never lost hope in myself.

I knew it would recover though it was not my fault, it could have happened to me just because God wanted me to become stronger and wiser. I believe he only gives his toughest battle to the one who has all the capability to go through it, and one of them was me.

I was going to settle in the U.S. within the next month with my family, and I didn’t know when I would return to my home country, India. The biggest regret at that moment struck me was that I would be unable to visit my town and friends for the last time and I had to fly to the U.S. with this fractured leg which was another difficult thing for me.

After coming to the U.S., I did dancing, swimming and cycling at my own risk. My family scolded me because my doctor advised me to take complete rest, but I was so impatient, and I couldn’t wait until recovery. It has already been more than eight weeks. It made me cry a lot just because now my biggest wish was to just run.

I am an outdoor person who doesn’t like to sit at home doing anything. I also prayed to God, please recover soon no matter how much pain you want to give me, but I can’t wait to go out.

My fracture was healing but still not fully. Whenever someone asked me how long I had to wear fracture shoes, I just said with a smile “I don’t know, it heals naturally.” Though I smiled,  I cried a lot when I was alone because it took almost eight months instead of eight weeks and still it’s not healed.

At 3:45 p.m. on Nov. 29, 2023, after a follow-up with my doctor, I got the confirmation that my right leg was fully healed.

I was so happy and felt blessed that finally now my long journey had ended and I did not have to wear a fracture shoe anymore.

The biggest lesson I learned was to be patient. For the first time in my life, I felt not be able to use my leg. It taught me to thank God for giving me the biggest gift ‡ a life and a healthy body. I learned to walk with my left leg though I am a right-handed person.

Now, I can easily walk around with one leg only by hopping. I did not cry for physical pain but for mental stability.

I inclined toward spirituality which led me to know more about myself.

I scored a 3.5 GPA in my first semester. It didn’t affect my studies, instead it helped me to keep myself busy.