Despite being shot by thieves and unable to hold a pen or a book, Anam Najam has spent almost nine years putting up a remarkable fight against her disability.

Read her story in her own words:

“When I was a student of 3rd year of MBBS, I lost control of more than half of my body. It happened one day in 2008 – on the way back from a wedding when some thieves shot at our car. A bullet crossed my arm and hit my neck, resulting in a spinal cord injury.

I was diagnosed with quadriplegia; which left me unable to move most of my body on my own. I had no grip in my hands and legs and the only parts of my body I could move were my neck and head. After a prolonged hospitalization and surgery, I came home, caged in a wheelchair. The doctors had told me there was no cure for my condition and that time became the most crucial in my life.

I had to make a decision; I was either going to lead a life of wheelchair-bound helplessness and self-pity, or I could ask for help and try to overcome the challenges. I chose the latter.

Despite being unable to hold a pen or open a book, I resumed my studies in a wheelchair. My mother gave the biggest sacrifice and shifted from our hometown to my hostel in Abbottabad to help and care for my every need.

Every day was a massive challenge, but by the grace of Allah, I completed MBBS without wasting a single year and now I’m working in Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Muzaffarabad, having specialized in Psychiatry.

People have asked me whether I wish I could go back to being the way I was before but I know that whatever I am doing now is exactly what I would have been doing if I had been able to walk.

I work with the same passion for giving help to people; I know I may do a task in ten minutes which would be done in two minutes by a healthy person but I know that nothing can replace my passion.

No one is free from pain; everyone is fighting their own battles every single day.

We can’t waste our lives waiting for a miracle to happen. We are already miracles.”