My Brother Changed My Life

Life is always full of challenges but kind efforts by some extraordinary humans make it worth living. The essence of this mystery lies in the fact that these people live like ordinary beings, with their own daily struggles yet they never make a show of their good deeds or the impact they had on someone’s life.

I suffer from Anti Phospholipid Syndrome and Lupus, my immune system mistakenly attacks healthy parts of my body. My life has been under the spell of lupus for a while now.

From very tough pregnancies, miscarriages, premature babies to Transient Ischemic Attack and even a trip to the ventilator I had seen it all before I touched my early 30s.

Each episode was devastating on its own but once it was over, I recovered, and life went back to some sort of normal. Each challenge made me a little stronger. I accepted my disease and learned ways to cope with it.

Time proved, things in real life are not always this simple.

There was another trial waiting round the corner. It started with occasional discomfort in my right leg and within a few months, it became the unbearable pain that took over my whole life.

I was diagnosed with Avascular necrosis in my right hip

Avascular necrosis is the death of bone tissue due to a lack of blood supply. Also called osteonecrosis, it can lead to tiny breaks in the bone and the bone's eventual collapse.

In my case, in the span of the single year the disease progressed to a point of no return. I could not walk without support and was subjected to extreme continuous pain which hardly ever got bearable with a high dosage of pain killers.

When you are in pain everything else goes in the background. I started losing my self under the shadow of the continuous pain, it felt like I would never recover.

My loving family felt like a burden because I couldn’t play my part. I couldn’t enjoy my toddler's cheeky ways or play with my beloved daughter. I felt broke physically and emotionally.

The only thing that kept me going was my faith in my creator and His blessings. We ( my husband and I) consulted many specialists within our reach and found that the only solution to get rid of the pain was a hip replacement.

Hip replacement is a surgical procedure in which the hip joint is replaced by a prosthetic implant, that is, a hip prosthesis.

It is a major surgery that involves high levels of risk. Considering my medical history hardly anyone was willing to take the risk.

This is when my brother stepped in. My elder brother is a medical specialist, and he is aware of my medical complications, in fact, he is the first person I consult for my health issues. He had been discussing my situation with the best orthopaedic surgeons in different parts of the world.

He made all arrangements for expensive private surgery and convinced my highly concerned family members. To be honest he didn’t leave any stone unturned to make my quality of life better.

My brother and his wife took care of all the surgery expenses and offered me to stay with them for the best possible medical care. I travelled 4,000 miles and stayed with them for 3 months. The surgery was painful and staying away from my kids and husband made it worse but the financial, physical and emotional support I received from my brother and his family was extraordinary.

It has been 4 years. I have fully recovered now, and I lead a pain-free life which would not have been possible without his efforts.

We, my brother and I, still fight on petty issues and we still have never-ending arguments but one thing he never mentions, and I never forget is the fact that ‘he changed my life forever’.