"I was born with an abnormality that affects one in a million people. It's untreatable, so I grew up listening to comments like 'lula', which meant disabled. My schoolmates laughed at the way I ate or held a pencil. So I'd sit in a corner to avoid them. I was a lonely kid without any friends, and cried at home everyday; questioning– why me? No one had an answer.
In Grade 7, a teacher, who'd seen the bullying, called me in front of the class and asked, 'Rohit, do you want to tell your classmates anything?' I broke down. After that, people began talking to me, but only out of sympathy. But soon after, I switched schools.
There, I was scared. I'd wear full sleeved shirts and walk with my hands in my pockets to hide them. But finally when my classmates saw me holding a pen, they just said, 'We don't care.' It felt surreal, to finally be accepted after so long of being sidelined. But in junior college, things took a bad turn.
I started wearing half sleeved shirts again and walking the way I do normally– that’s when the imitation started. I'd try to ignore and develop a thick skin, but it still affected me and my grades took a hit. I barely managed to pass.
My parents were my only support. They'd comfort me and say, 'These things don't matter.’ The only thing that mattered was who I was, as a person and what I made of myself. So I began preps for MBBS and studied 18 hours a day, 7 days a week– I simply didn’t have time for the haters. A year later, I got into the program on my first attempt! Dad just said, 'Finally all those hours paid off!'
I was excited for a fresh start. In the first year, I asked a girl out, but her friends told her, 'He has a deformity!' But she didn't care, and we were together for 5 years.
It didn't work out between us, but medical school completely changed me. I found things I was good at– like presentations, debates, organizing conferences. And with each task I undertook, my confidence rose.
I realised there was more to me– beyond how I walked or ate; things that actually made a difference. Like for one of the courses, we had to dissect a body. And out of my whole group, I did most of the task– it became about the little achievements.
Over the years, my passion for serving others has only grown. So currently I'm doing my Masters and am a doctor in training– I work on the frontlines to treat Covid patients.
My friends and parents worry about me because even the way I hold an injection is different, but it doesn't matter. I'm still able to help people and save lives; and if I'm doing it a little differently, that's okay. Afterall, I’m one in a million."
