How I walked again.

How I walked again.

Power story by Kang Wei Chin, Law of attraction practitioner (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kangweichin)

29^th December, 2014, the day that changed the way I live. It had never occurred to me that I will be the one. I had a stroke that resulted in the paralysis of my entire right side. I was hospitalized for a week. That was my very first experience staying in a hospital as well as moving toward the new year in a hospital. 

I’m so grateful that every day there were friends, business associates, family members visited me when I was hospitalised. Get well wishes and words of encouragements were received daily. 

There was this community of business owners that I belong to, who subscribed to the philosophy of Givers Gain. They were there throughout the process of my recovery. When the news announced that I was about to be discharged from hospital, some went to my home and helped me carried some of the furniture from upstairs to a room at downstairs. One even built a ramp so that I could be wheeled in and out of my house. I am so forever grateful for all the help I received.

If you resonate with this statement of “WHY ME?” you will know how I felt when all quiet down during my stay in hospital. It was really a frustrating when it was repeatedly playing through my mind and I couldn’t find the answer to it.  

I didn’t know how appalling I was until the 5^th day in hospital. I was advised to get off from the bed and learnt to sit on the wheelchair. I couldn’t balance at all as the right side of my body was not responding to me. I have to be assisted by nurses. That’s when I was distinctly aware that I was unable to walk. At that very moment I realized I need to reply myself positively on “Why me?”, and I answered it with “WHY NOT!”

I then started to focus on what I want, not what I don’t want. Yes, to change from what you don’t want, you can always ask yourself, “So, what do I want?”.

I’ve mentally created the desires I wanted after I’d be discharged from the hospital. One of the priorities was – I want to walk again! Subsequently, I want to be able to hug my loved ones again!

The best referral I got when I was discharged from hospital was to go to National Stroke Association Malaysia (NASAM), a support group for strokes’ patients. It is the centre where they guide and teach family members how to take care of the stroke’s patient. I also learned how to take care of myself and what would I do and how would I do it, if I’m alone in a house in-case accident happens. 

I remembered very clear the first day I entered NASAM. The physiotherapist Mr. Kathiravan was attending to me. Mr Kathi shared with me that NASAM has a new program and they introduced me to GOALS setting. I was like “Great, this is what I want!” and without further thinking I replied ‘I want to walk again’. 

The first week of attending my physio session was really tiring as I have to use my less dormant side of my body to support me while learning to walk again and doing other physical activities. Most of the activities really needed the mind-control, especially when using my fingers to pick up objects. Opening up the fingers is really challenging compared to closing the fingers. 

As I mentioned, my goal was to walk. Hence, the first thing is to learn to get up from my wheelchair and remain balance with both of my legs, assisted with a walking stick. 

Every moment, at home, I’ll just get up and walk, and walk. I remember the proudest moment when I was able to carry my then 4 years old daughter as I walked. 

2 weeks later, I have discarded the used of wheelchair. By February, I was walking without any walking aids.

Every leader and gurus have mentioned that having a goal is vital in every bits of your lifecycle. And I have experienced it. And yes, it proves it can be achievable effectively when your goal is shared with your family. They are part of your team too. 

Every day my wife will be the one sending me to NASAM for all physio therapy session, as well as other weekly checkups. The next goal that I wanted to achieve was to drive again and by March I received the approval from my doctor! 

How often do we set goals? How often do we revisit our list? We all know that setting goals is important, but we don’t often realize how important they are as we continue to move through life.

Setting Goals helps trigger new behaviours. It helps with your focus and to sustain that momentum in life.

Goals also help to align our focus and promote a sense of clarity. Tony Robbins quoted, Clarity is Power. I was fortunate that I have learned and certified as the Law of Attraction (LOA) facilitator by the author himself, Michael Losier in 2013. That helped me to focus on what I want instead of what I don’t want. In Law of Attraction, it states that everyone attracts to themself, their life and business, whatever they give their attention, energy and focus to, whether Negative or Positive. 

You read it correctly, whether negative of positive, and LOA responds to how you feel about what you say or think. So, I was strong in my desire of walking again and I chose to use words that make me feel good. I had to check every moment how I feel so that I could got what I desired to receive. 

One of the tools of deliberate use of Law of Attractions is to celebrate the closeness of your Goals. Which I did, and I make sure I celebrate whenever there is an improvement in me.

Taking this opportunity to send thanks and my gratitude to my wife, parents, my daughter and my son, my sister and brother-in-law, all my family, my friends, physiotherapists who attended to me, BNI members and leaders, those who visited me during my stay in hospital and being there for me throughout the process of recovery! I could not have recovered so quickly without all of you.  

p.s. I was the one who drove my wife to hospital to deliver our son in September that same year.