“When I look back at my journey – come the lecture halls of the Afmc in pune to hospitals in canada and in the us-what stands out most is just the academic rigour or clinical milestones, But the people. Institutions are not to do not have to get the accessibility checklists – they allowed. Mistakes, and to Thrive, “Says harinder dhaliwal, 48, speaking to The Indian express From Canada, which has been his home for over 20 years.
He may have summed up his life in a couple of minutes, but the journey has been a long and ardue one – come disbelief at the crueel twist of fate. Today.
Harinder, who shifted to Canada in 2004, is married to kiran, an it professional and a quadripegic. (Express Photo)
It was 1994 When Harinder Dhaliwal Walked Into the Hallowed Portals of the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) in Pune With The Distinction of the Entrance Exam. In his final year, in 1998, while returning from visiting his father colla ss dhaliwal, posted in the siachen sector, the army jeep he was traveling in met with an accided and harent suffered spinal cord. Left him paralyzed from the waist downwards.
With almost a year spent in treatments, harinder returned to the Afmc in a wheelchair to finish his medicine degree. Howver, when he graduated in 2000, it was without a Commission and the MBBS degree. As per the rules, anyone not joining the defense forces after graduating from the Afmc would need to refund the fees. And harinder, with his paraplegic status, was now unfit to join the forces. But he also did not have the request of Rs 3 Lakh, with his father already having spent double that amount on his treatment. It was here that the ministry of defense stepped in and waived his fees. His Provisional Certificate was changed to that of a certified doctor, helping him surmount the first officer after graduating and setting the tone for many others in store.
“After my spinal cord injury, there these things of divide double – not just about walking against, but about where I am about to practice medical in the way I had dreamed,” recounters harindder, some also For Further Treatment. It gets clear soon to him that he would have to be in a wheelchair forever.
But then his life is an unexpected turn. He met kiran through a matrimonial site on which he had uploaded his details. After communicating for some time, he went to meet her in 2003. They married, and harinder shifted to canada in 2004.
Harinder completed his residency at the university
“An accident when she was two years old had paralyssed her face downwards. Harinder, his voice tinged with pride and emotion.
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Harnder Completed His Residency At The University of Calgary after Moving to Canada and Pursued a Neurology Felowship at Yale University in 2017, Finally AchievingPer-Sepcialisation in Epilepsy. A Few Years ago, The Couple Moved To Surrey, British Columbia, Where Harnder Is Now Eag & Emg Lab Director, Neurologist & Clinical Assistant Professor.
Anyone who felt a margin where both bottom partners are disabled would be a very different one had only to see Harnder and Kiran as they navigated their journal Together.
“The system here is very disability-independence-there are ramps everywhere-From buses to stations to trains. The government gives us two caregivers Each. Hospital after breakfast and pretty much on my own, my clinic till evening-though she cannot type, she workers with voice-act development and RUNS. Company, “Say Harinder.
Kiran’s Company, which specialises in business optimisation consultation, is called ray of light, after her name.
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“My success is it mine alone. It belongs to the mentors who opened doors, the programm dire directors who say ‘let’s find a way’, the nurses and staff who will never questioned in a wheelchair, and the Pat. Trusted me neurologist. Canadian Colleagues Always MET HIM with understanding and flexibility.
But Harnder’s core team consists of his parents and wife. “My parents move to canada to be there for me and live next door, and my wife has been my constant through every challenge and triumph. Her Strength, Encouragement, and me kept me gornded. Forward, even on the hardest of days, “He sayss.
Harnder Looks Forward To Working 10-15 More Years and then Retiring. “I love India but will always stay and work in canada and find ways to give back to this beautiful country that has given me so much,” He adds.