How Samson Collins's strong will trumped his paralysed arm

Six months before the SSC board exams, a major bike accident hit Virar boy Samson Collins like a bolt of lightning. The accident left his right hand paralyzed and his speech impaired. Samson had written with his right hand all his life. He displayed his grit and attempted the SSC exams with his left hand. He had never before written exams with his left hand. Last week, when the results were declared, Samson's parents Karen and Yournus were filled with pride, because their son had secured 57% marks.

Samson, though, was teary-eyed as he talked to dna on Friday. He recounted the troubles he faced while he scribbled away with his left hand. Geometry problems, especially, gave him a lot of trouble. "Normally, we hold the scale in the left hand and the pencil in the right to draw lines and designs. My right hand would not work. I held the scale with three fingers of the left hand, moving the pencil with the thumb and the index finger of the same hand. Also, I faced the most difficulty in writing the complex letters of Hindi and Marathi," said Samson.

In September last year, he had incurred internal injuries that made him lose a lot of blood, after the motorcycle that his friend was driving skidded on the road. Samson was riding pillion. He was unconscious for a week in hospital, following the near-fatal accident. He underwent two neuro-surgeries to remove blood clots in his brain. When he regained consciousness, it dawned upon him, as he lay in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Wockhardt Hospital at Mira Road, that his right arm would not move. Doctors told him and his parents that his right arm was completely paralyzed.

Yournus, the sole breadwinner of the family, is a driver. Samson's sudden hospitalization made his father nervous. Back-to-back neurosurgeries and the long term hospitalization of Samson drained Yournus's funds. He had to spend nearly Rs7 to 8 lakh on medical bills. "I have sold my flat and two vehicles to pay for Samson's medical expenses. But nothing is more precious to me than my son's life," Yournus told dna.

Samson, too, was determined not to disappoint his father. For three months after the accident, he was bedridden. In January, though, he picked up the pen with his left hand and started practicing writing for three hours every day, apart from reading for his exams. Karen, his mother, said, "Samson is a bright boy. He had aspired to score over eighty percent, but for this tragedy, which robbed him of the energy to write with his right hand. The saddest part was that despite his right arm being paralysed, he was not given extra time by the board to write his papers. As a result, he had to leave all his papers half-written."

"The SSC board asked us to procure a disability certificate from Thane Civil Hospital. The hospital did not provide us with the certificate. We were rendered helpless, as the board refused to give him additional time of 30 minutes to an hour to attempt his papers," said Yournus.

The SSC board had asked Samson's parents to get a writer for him. But Samson was not able to speak as his speech had been impaired after the accident.

Samson has passed his exams beating all odds, but that means little to him. "I aspire to be an engineer. But with my low marks I am finding it difficult to secure admission," he said. Samson secured 67% in his Science and Technology paper.

Yournus said that the education system in India was very non-inclusive and rigid. "We have faced challenges at every step in Samson's case. The board did not provide my son extra time to write his papers despite our pleading with them. His physical difficulties were ignored by the cold-hearted persons in the board. No one notices the grittiness of my son and his resolve to tackle hard situations. Marks matter more than a child's aptitude to learn the subjects of his choice. The colleges are turning us away, saying he has scored low marks. The peons do not so much give us an audience with the principals, so that we can put across our case for admission," said Yournus. "But we have not lost hope. After coming such a long way, he has to study further."