People who make a difference

Life is often complicated. It doesn't matter whether you are a person with a disability, or not.

So don't worry, even if you happen to be in a wheelchair.

The good news is – with a little bit of help from some exceptionally great and wonderful friends and forces out there – you will be able to overcome the obstacles that come along life's way.

I discovered this pleasant truth recently, when confronted with a string of problems.

The other day, while flossing my teeth, one of my tooth chipped.

Now, everyone who has been to a dentist knows that ignoring the problem will only worsen it – and end up with plenty of pain.

And if you are in a wheelchair, there's that awful worry about wheelchair-unfriendly dental clinics.

Experience has taught us that most of them are found upstairs on the first floor for some unknown reason.    

Not Pristine Dental Centre, thank God, where I go to. It's in Mid Valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur – one of the friendliest places for wheelchairs.

From the underground car park to the clinic on the second floor – there are no steps to stop you.

My dentist, Dr Suresh Nair, is simply the best.

Because it is extremely difficult for me to physically transfer myself in my condition to his dental chair, he kindly treats me on the one that I came in with: my wheelchair. (Besides, weak bladder and bowel movements, together with brittle bones that are rather unpredictable, are not normal issues that any dentist wants or should mess around with.)

So with one of his nurses to hold my head in support as I arch myself backwards, the good dentist does the rest. Bending the body and turning around when necessary, he performs the unimaginable as he zeroes in on the troubled spots – and fixes them.

Dr Suresh even goes the extra mile for me. He gives me the fastest possible appointments. At certain occasions, he has even accepted me within a few hours’ notice.

Every session ends on a positive note and new information I didn't know about with regard to the condition of my teeth.

I think, not only should every dentist also do this – but regular doctors, too. There is nothing like leaving the doctor's clinic at the end of each visit, feeling on top of the world – and in control of one's ills.

Last week, my darling Dobermann Zhar, suddenly fell sick. He started throwing up every time he had his meal.

You can imagine how difficult and worrying this situation was for a wheelchair user and his loyal service canine like me.

Zhar is entrusted to assist me in daily chores which I am unable to do on my own.

For instance, he picks up objects from everywhere on command and hands them over safely to me. He is able to do this while I am seated in my wheelchair, laying on my bed or even in the bathroom.

He can pick up virtually anything: from pens to shoes, filled bottles (imagine the weight of it) to clothes, wheelchair add-on parts and more.

Even while Zhar was sick, he insisted on helping me until he no longer could. And that was when I became more worried for him.

I was simply amazed by the number of people who came forward to help Zhar and me.

My best friend Andrew Martin, as usual, took over the most important job. He drove Zhar over to Gasing Veterinary Hospital and helped to feed and clean the Dobie.

Gasing veterinarians, Dr Prem Anand and Dr Adah Malar, were brilliant in paying attention to every detail of Zhar's problems. They ran needed tests and prescribed the proper medication.

I kept in close contact of Zhar's progress with them on the telephone.  

Despite my numerous calls (and even when one of them was at home during his off day), they never became fed up.

Instead, they were always enthusiastic, and remained positive about Zhar's recovery.

As I write this, Zhar's vomiting has ceased and his tests are clear. Although they didn't want to be too optimistic, the veterinarians told me not to worry.

"Should further problems crop up, (we'll) be right here to deal with it."

I was also deeply touched by my Facebook friends. Dozens of them, including those I have never met, were also praying and pitching in for Zhar's healing.

They kept me constantly on my toes, insisting on frequent updates on Zhar's progress with photographs.

This helped me to take some of the worry for a while.     

As the week ended, I had to call Maxis, my phone provider, to settle some technical problems I was facing.

I was delightfully surprised to come across a "customer care consultant" who settled all my issues within minutes.     

He was an "angel on the phone line" as far as I was concerned. He had all the patience in the world to listen to my problems, did not interrupt me – not even once, and took me through the entire process in a language which I could perfectly understand.

The young man also cracked a joke or two and made me laugh. He valued my time, had all the knowledge ready at his fingertips, and was cheerful all the way.      

His name is Lenard Arul. (I sincerely hope the Maxis CEO is reading this right now.)

Despite our conversation lasting only about 10 to 15 minutes or so, he joined the rest of the army of wonderful people who made my week an incredible and unforgettable one.

Have a great week, everybody! – January 19, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.