I SURVIVED

Hello there, my name is Kyeserwa Hermione Sheridon. But you can call me Brianah or Bria for short. I am in my early teens and currently studying at Taibah International School. I am here to tell you about my story and how I survived.

Well, this happened when I was born. I was born with a tumour that affected my femur making it shorter than the other. So, I used to walk with a limp all the time. Until one day one of my aunties saw a woman who heals dislocated and short bones. You may be wondering how. Well, rumours are; she uses cow ghee. So, my aunty took me there for about two weeks. And I was so happy because I knew my leg would be normal again.

But suddenly, my leg started growing a green-like structure. So, I went to the doctor and he said I had Gumbora disease. The doctor told us that the cow ghee affects the skin pores. Since I had a very sensitive skin, the doctor couldn’t just scrap the skin off. The only option, therefore, was amputation.

You may be wondering what the heck amputation is. Well, this is when someone has to have his arm, leg, finger or any limb cut off during an operation. So, the doctor suggested thigh amputation, medically called Trans-femoral amputation. I was so scared because it was my first time going to the theatre and I was only 7 years old. My mother was so encouraging at that moment. But I knew she was just feeling sorry for me. Luckily, the operation ended successfully. So, they took me to the waiting room and I saw my mom burst into tears. I couldn’t even stand up to hug her as all I could do for two weeks was seat and sleep while I waited for the wounds to heal. Finally, my leg healed and at first, the doctors gave me crutches. It took me about two weeks to master how to use them, and do other things like washing dishes, brushing my teeth and bathing myself. But then the doctor gave me a prosthetic leg, you may call it an artificial leg. This made me angry because I had just mastered my crutches. But anyways, I tried it out and it took me two weeks to walk without a rail, one week to kneel down also without a rail and one week to seat down without the prosthesis pinching my other butt. But even now as I speak, I am still not very good at it since everything takes time.

For many years I have not been comfortable in my own skin that even at some point I imagined that I would never find love or wear the clothes I wanted because of my disability. But one day, while I was heading to the beach, an old man approached me saying “You can swim, I have seen something in you”. So he told me that I could join his swimming team which I got to know later was called Malta Swimming Club”, it has about 15 members. Ever since I joined this club, I have been so confident and my self-esteem has improved because I have gone to places like China, the Olympics and Paralympics. Can you imagine I even appeared on TV on Magic 1 HD? But you can still watch it on Youtube Travel with Jaqi and Enock channel. Even though my parents still think I lack confidence and self-esteem, I really don’t care. And that is exactly why I joined TISS, to prove them otherwise.

In my conclusion, I would like to thank TISS, my parents, CORSU hospital, my coach, doctors and friends who were there for me every step of the way. I would also like to encourage other girls, and amputees to never give up because anyone can do anything at any time with the help of Jesus, the Lord Almighty.