Once Paralysed, How Harshita Goyal Walked Again With Willpower And Treatment

During the pandemic in 2020, Harshita Goyal was travelling with her Uncle's family when they met with an accident. Goyal, who lost her uncle to the unfortunate incident a few days later, found herself paralysed from the neck below.

It took years of recovery, patience and a whole lot of mental health struggle for Goyal to finally be able to walk again. In this conversation, Harshita Goyal recalls the unfortunate accident that left her paralysed, how she dealt with mental health challenges, and why undeterred willpower and a strong support system made her feel alive again.

Harshita Goyal Story

"I was travelling from Roorkee to Faridabad on November 28, 2020, with my uncle, his wife, and their 19-year-old son when, all of a sudden, we had a head-on collision with a truck driving on the wrong side of the road. I lost consciousness, and we were rushed to the hospital in Muzaffarnagar. My uncle was severely injured, and my aunt had a fractured shoulder.

My cousin was absolutely fine. Everything changed in the flash of a second. We were then shifted to Delhi in their ambulance as my parents waited over there. I kept losing and regaining consciousness, but everything was a blur. My uncle and I were immediately operated on that night. We both suffered major spinal injuries. After the operation, I started to recover, but his condition deteriorated. We lost him after a year.

While we grieved his loss, we were thankful for the improvement I was showing. Every day was a battle as it required so much strength for physiotherapy. The hospitals were a tough experience as there were too many questions asked, which made me feel that I would never recover. I was bedridden and couldn’t even move my hand.

I walk using a stick now; it took almost 2 years to do that. I learned how to block all the negative energy.
The constant battle of educating people about my condition at a health facility only made me mentally weak, but I knew that giving up was not an option. My friends and family became my biggest support.

My brother asked me to talk about my struggle and let people know that no amount of negativity can affect you if you have a strong will. I did that, and the response was overwhelming as I realized that a lot of people have issues, but no one is putting out their story.

A couple of times, the doctors did make mistakes, which slowed the process of recovery, but I just wanted to get well. Today, I have almost recovered and am thankful to everyone who showed faith in me and supported me.”

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