“Do you know what NUS stands for?” My local kaki (friend) asked me one night, “National University of Stairs!”
Her joke rang in my head as I lay on the bathroom floor for the second time that night. My crutches had somehow managed to land far away from where I had slipped and my casted ankle throbbed painfully. Of all the things I had thought I would experience while studying abroad, I didn’t think I would be experiencing my first serious ankle injury.
On the night of January 31, as Singapore slept, I was wheeled into the emergency room by my fellow exchange friends. The dreaded question came next, “So, how did this happen?” I wish I could tell a tale of how I tripped while catching a pickpocket or something more heroic, but that was not to be. Red-faced and very embarrassed, I was forced to recount how I had stumbled while crossing a road. Worse yet, I hadn’t even fallen to the ground. Instead, I had squawked a very inelegant squawk and clutched at my friends who were walking beside me.
The nurses shook their heads in disbelief as they examined me for more injuries. “How did you trip lah?! This ankle injury happens more commonly while playing sports!”
Head swirling in pain, adrenaline, and shock, I could only hear bits and pieces of information that the doctor was telling me.
"No walking lah"
"Shower can. But no wetting the cast ah"
"You can’t go to class for a few days. Understand lah?"
So, after clothing me in a brand new pair of turquoise hospital pants and giving me a 5-minute crash course on walking with crutches, I was ubered off to my dorm.
This was where I faced my first challenge. To get to the wheelchair friendly ramp, I had to first climb down a flight of stairs. You can only imagine what a sight I made as I tried to climb down the giant stairs with one leg, all while trying to pull up my bright turquoise hospital pants and move my bright yellow crutches in coordination.
My poor friends, who had been forced to give me company at the hospital, tried to cheer me up by “driving the Ferrari” AKA my wheelchair. Until we hit another flight of stairs to access the elevator. Life wasn’t just giving me lemons, it was also giving me stairs.
Thoroughly inexperienced with the crutches, I soon realized that I needed to ask for help. So, I did. I reached out to new friends, school friends, family friends, and officials at my exchange university. The support I received was prompt and overwhelming.
My friends got me food and hallmates, who I had never seen before, got me water! The next day, I found my family friend, Najeeba Aunty, juggling packets of food, packets of wet tissues and a pillow outside my door. “How did they let you in?” I asked as she stepped into my room. She dumped the packets and started to leave to collect a few more bags of knick-knacks that she had left behind in the foyer. “Oh, I became friends with your security guard! Such a nice fellow, he is looking after some of the other things that I bought for you!” Najeeba Aunty replied. Who knew my ill-fated ankle injury would start an enduring friendship between my family friend and my dorm’s security guard!
However, my dorm and its common bathrooms weren't disabled-friendly. Anna Aunty, another family friend, invited me to stay with her for the duration of my medical leave. And so, I found myself in a cozy HDB flat in a quiet residential area of Singapore. At Anna aunty’s house, I began to practice walking with my crutches and more importantly, taking safe and long showers. Furthermore, at her house, I was able to interact with her three children. The kids not only gave me a great insight into the life of local Singaporean students but also kept me amused with their infinite curiosity about my crutches and fights about who would get to push my wheelchair.
The NUS administration also helped me a great deal. They arranged for alternative means of transport to get me to class after my medical leave ended and also arranged for me to have a wheelchair. Furthermore, they are now also helping me get a more accessible room.
In the last few weeks, stairs, cobbled roads, and wet surfaces have become my new nightmares. However, in addition to these new nightmares, I have developed a realization of how often we take MOBILITY for granted.
I wonder how many people ever think about wheelchair friendly routes and handicap accessibility when they plan to study abroad. Furthermore, now that I find myself quite limited in my ability to travel independently, I marvel at my own privilege. Mobility was never a factor when I was choosing places to study abroad. I can’t help but wonder how many students miss out on a study abroad experience just because of the lack of disabled-friendly infrastructure in cities around the world? Now, I find myself carefully planning where I travel, how many steps I need to climb and who can wheel me places. My discomfort, however, is temporary. For several individuals, such intense and careful planning is a way of life.
Getting sick or injured away from home can be a very challenging experience. In addition to the physical pain, you often also suffer from homesickness and isolation. So, here are some things to keep in mind if you are sick, lonely or injured abroad:
- Get medical help ASAP: Remember, you are in a foreign country and probably alone. It is not worth letting the injury or sickness get really serious before going to the local health center or hospital. Almost all GW exchange students are covered by a medical insurance provided by the university. In some countries, basic healthcare might even be free! Getting treated earlier might also factor into a faster recovery. Also, you might make friends with the medical personnel. I am now best friends with my Orthopedic surgeon, who speaks Bengali (one of my native languages), and a Singaporean nurse, whose daughter studies in DC as well.
- Talk to the exchange university or program: Officials at your exchange program and institutions are invaluable resources, who can help you navigate through logistical issues such as transportation, academics, housing etc. One of the officials from the disability services offices here at NUS sends me a lot of “take care” messages, which do help in cheering me up!
- Ask for help: Not only is the NUS campus huge and hilly, but it has a LOT of stairs, and sometimes I do need help with commuting from class to class. The majority of students and staff members go out of their ways to help me out. Many times people hold the doors open for me. One time, I was using the wheelchair on the public transport. The bus driver couldn’t position the bus to let down the wheelchair ramp. It took him 10 minutes to make sure that the wheelchair ramp was in place. All this while none of the passengers complained or even boarded the bus. Some even offered to pull the wheelchair into the bus. Ask for help, it is okay, and you shall get it!
My limited mobility as allowed me to explore the Singaporean society in a unique way! I have been able to see the kindness and respect that is present for people with special needs. However, I have also seen the struggles that some disabled locals and tourists may face while travelling around Singapore. Perhaps, I should start working on a blog about the most wheelchair friendly tourist places in the country!