“The affected persons can join any of the LPU programs free of cost, and they and their spouses can also apply for jobs at LPU. Their children will also be provided 50% fee waiver in our programs.” – Chancellor, LPU
Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Mr. Vijay Sampla inaugurated the two-day Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Conference ‘Vistaar’ at LPU yesterday. The dias was graced by Lovely Group Chairman Mr. Ramesh Mittal, LPU Chancellor Mr. Ashok Mittal, Pro Chancellor Mrs. Rashmi Mittal, Medical Director of Indian Spinal Injuries Center Dr. H.S. Chhabra, and President Spinal Cord Injury Association (SCIA) Mr. Parvinder Singh. The two day conference was organized by LPU in collaboration with SCIA.
An emotional Mr. Mittal offered all possible help to the SCI affected to help them live fulfilling lives, “The affected persons can join any of the LPU programs free of cost, and they and their spouses can also apply for jobs at LPU. Their children will also be provided 50% fee waiver in our programs. Moreover, our physiotherapy center will provide free care for the affected whenever needed. We will also try to introduce a short course of awareness in the curriculum so as to sensitize people regarding SCI and how to seek help in the early stages.”
Students and faculty from the department of physiotherapy, 200+ SCI affected people, and their families attended the conference. The atmosphere got thick with emotion as they shared the stories behind their injuries and an inspiring book ‘Yadon Ka Safarnama’, written by a spine-injury affected person, was released. SCIA President Parvinder Sonu, Vice President Davinder Singh, Abhay Dogra from New Delhi, Harminder Singh (Punjab), Nikhil Gupta (Ghaziabad), Manoj Dawar (Delhi), Nisha Gupta (Mumbai), Rajiv Virat (Delhi), and Mandip Kaur (NurMahal) all shared that it was their will-power, the support of their family and friends, that helped them lead a respectable and self-dependent life.
Police officers, politicians, doctors, counselors from NGOs and more than 1000 other people actively participated in the conference to motivate, encourage and inform the SCI affected and the public at large. LPU distributed wheel chairs among the affected to offer them better mobility and independence
Addressing the gathering, Minister Mr. Sampla said, “I have learnt how to live a life of strong will-power and positivity from the persons affected with spinal cord injuries. Life is best lived heroically, in service to others.” Appreciating the benevolent and humane endeavours undertaken by LPU regularly, Mr. Sampla promised the Spinal Cord Injury Association to forward their proposal of a Rehabilitation Center to the Central Government for acceptance. A memorandum in this regard was handed over to the Hon’ble Minister.
The second day of the conference proved an emotional and intellectual roller coaster. Education Coordinator at Indian Spinal Injuries Center (New Delhi) Mr. Shivjeet Singh Raghav came to address the conference on living a meaningful and haelthy life after SCI. Mr. Nekram Upadhyay who is the HOD Assistive Technology, himself a patient of SCI, spoke about the importance of proper seating and mobility. He informed the affected people present, “Do not sit in the wheel chairs but sit on the wheel chairs. Continue exercising and try to move every part of your body which you can.”
Demonstrations of wheelchair skills for quadra-plegics; day to day physiotherapy exercises; strengthening of core and abdominal muscles; daily living and bed mobility; upper limb strengthening exercise; advance matt and yoga exercises, were also made by experts in the related fields. An extensive question-answer session satisfied different queries on nutrition, pressure sores, bowel management etc.
The SCI affected shared stories of making Vaisno Devi trips, one Raji Virat, who is suffering from failures of both the kidneys demonstrated how to descend and ascend steps and ramps in a wheel chair. He motivated others by saying firmly, “There can be a 1000 things I cannot do but there are 90,000 others which I can.” The concluding session was the high point of the conference when the SCI affected participants played basketball and grooved to the DJ.
