Defying Disability, This Is How A Wheelchair Bound Woman Fulfilled Her Dream Of Becoming A Doctor & A Model

It is amazing when people prove that disablity is not a problem and do something that no one has ever thought of. This 31-year-old dentists, Rajlakshmi SJ did something like this.

Rajlakshmi SJ was felicitated by the President of India Ramnath Kovind, on the occasion of International Day of People with Disability. She received the award under the locomotor disability/cerebral palsy category for being a role model to others.

Rajlakshmi SJ/ Facebook

Born into a family of doctors, and wanting to follow the footsteps of her parents, the life of Rajlakshmi, who was a BDS student changed for ever, after a car accident which severely damaged her spinal cord, leaving her dependent on a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

Like anyone in her age, Rajlakshmi was shattered to see her dreams crumble in front of her. But she did not give up, supported by her family and driven with a passion not to let her dreams fade away, she took on the challenges, one by one and there was no looking back.

Rajlakshmi SJ/ Facebook

She completed her BDS, began practicing as a dentist in Bengaluru in her own clinic all while moving around on a wheelchair.

She has also visited 13 countries on her wheelchair and even drives a customised car on the streets of Bengaluru.

Being a fulltime dentist is just one part on part of who Rajlakshmi is today.

Rajlakshmi SJ

In 2014, she participated and won the Miss Wheelchair India and went on to represent India in the Miss Wheelchair World in Warsaw, Poland earlier this year where she was voted Miss Popularity.

Rajlakshmi SJ/ Facebook

Talking about her journey so far, Rajalakshmi said the first thing she did was to accept the reality that she won't walk on her feet again and move on.

"What has happened has happened, you cannot go back. You have to accept it and focus on what you can do with what you have," Rajlakshmi recalled.

"My family was and is still supportive of me, and that has been crucial. No matter if you are abled or disabled, the support of your loved ones is really important," she said.

Talking about her participation in the Miss Wheelchair contest, Rajlakshmi said both being a doctor and a model were her passion and she didn't want either of them slip away because she was wheelchair bound.

Rajlakshmi SJ/ Facebook

She also said that being a part of the Miss Wheelchair World gave her an opportunity to meet people from across the world in similar situation and understand their problems.

"When I went to the Miss World, there were girls from different countries. When they talk about the problems they face in their country, you realise that it is not just you that face difficulties, but every country have problems in different levels," she said.

Rajlakshmi SJ/ Facebook

Rajlakshmi, whose work today involves spreading awareness among people about the issues faced by people on wheelchair.

Rajlakshmi divides her time between her clinic, SJ Foundation that is also associated with the World Health Organization through her NGO Mobility India to provide better wheelchair access.

"You cannot give a chair which has a wheel to anybody. It is like prescribing a medicine. The wheelchair should be prescribed depending on your need. The WHO has come up with a guideline on how to prescribe a wheelchair," she explains.

Rajlakshmi is one of the regular speaker on Ted Talk. She spoke about her dream to inspire

Rajlakshmi SJ/ Facebook

Knowing first hand the difficulties she faced as student, Rajlakshmi fought a legal battle in 2010 to get education reservation for disabled is now campaigning for job reservation for them.

Rajlakshmi who has overcome what many would have considered a dead end says, "Keep exploring your life and potentials. Because, life is a learning process, a new lesson every day."