How a disability bettered a man (inspiring story)

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How a disability bettered a man

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=77432

Joshko Wakaniyasi is confined to a wheelchair because he is

paralysed from the shoulders down.

For a man who thrived on the adrenaline-rush of daredevil antics, it

was sheer heartbreak when he was told that his disability was for

life.

His condition is a mystery, says Joshko.

Doctors have not been able to explain why a simple fall off a bench

almost seven years ago caused his paralysis.

Ironically, the mystery for his disability is what keeps him going;

it is what gives him hope, says Joshko.

" I have had many accidents, 23 in total and these included life-

threatening ones like motorcycle accidents, but I never thought that

a small fall would change my life, " he said.

" After that fall backwards from a bench while I was in Pacific

Harbour with a friend, I could not get up the next day. " From 1997

to 1999 I went in and out of hospital trying to find out what

happened to me. "

" I have been to see doctors, professionals.

" I have done medical tests but they still cannot tell me what went

wrong.

" There is no proper diagnosis. In 1999 some American neurosurgeons

came to Fiji and doctors at the hospital thought I had some kind of

brain tumour.

" When I went to see those American doctors they said I did not have

the tumour.

" Unlike most spinal injured persons, Joshko still has some feeling

in his limbs.

He says he is like any other normal person except he is confined to

a wheelchair and does not have the strength to carry his upper body.

" If you hit my leg or pinch my arm it will hurt, " he explained.

" I can feel the pain. I can even control my bowels unlike most

spinal injured persons.

" I cannot stand and my mobility is limited but that does not

discourage me from making a difference in someone else's life. "

" The fact that there is no diagnosis gives me hope.

" It has made me a better person. At this point of my life, I respect

and appreciate the little things in life. These are the little

things I take for granted before like holding a spoon. "

The 35-year-old, whose biological father is Hopson, an

Englishman, says he has tremendous respect and love for the man he

calls his real father, Etika Wakaniyasi.

When asked where he was originally from, the unmistakable proud

reply was: " I am a Fijian from the province of Yacata in

Cakaudrove. " Joshko's mother is of French Polynesian heritage.

Today Joshko is the interim president for the Spinal Injury

Association of Fiji, an affiliate body of the Fiji Disabled Peoples

Association.

He joined in February and it did not take long for him to realise

that the organisation was cash-strapped.

He was very concerned because for six months there was no source of

funding for the association and members were in desperate need of

medical supplies.

" I always thought disabled people in Fiji were taken care of. After

joining SIA, there were so many issues to discuss so since my time

as interim president, I have been fighting for the betterment of the

members of SIA. Some are people in wheelchairs who are not spinal

impaired but abide by the SIA Constitution.

He said the main objective of SIA was to empower its members to

identify their talents and use it and their knowledge to contribute

to the well-being of society.

He has lived by one motto and that is to take life as it comes.

He said no matter what the hurdles are in life, he planned on

resolving it one hurdle at a time.

" So long as you live and breathe, you have a purpose in life, " said

Joshko.