Chances worth travelling for

Getting into medical school was a dream come true. But, that dream was punctuated by a car accident. In seconds, I was paralysed. Years later, I came back to finish what I started – to become a doctor.

Before the accident, I always had the idea of an elective in the United States. After the accident, I thought that it was out of reach. How will I spend months in an unknown country with a wheelchair? What if something goes wrong?

"The worst thing that can happen is it doesn't work out, and you come back," my mother – the strongest person I know – once told me. With her advice, and Richard Branson's "say yes, then figure out how later," I began applying to U.S. medical schools as a visiting student.

I ended up with a few options, but decided to go to Boston. I emailed them to say that I was a student with quadriplegia. I had lost the use of my fingers and everything below the chest. I wanted to be open with them before I got there. They didn't seem to care, which surprised me. However, it did turn out that I was the first medical student of this kind that they were going to have.

I scraped together enough money to last a couple of months, as well as air tickets. I was given instructions not to make this a piece to talk about a company, but to share my experience. But, I want to mention Avant here. I was going to the United States. I needed travel insurance. I really needed good travel insurance which would cover me and the existing injury. As a student, I had signed up to all the different indemnity insurance providers, but knew that Avant offered travel insurance. After a conversation with them, I was covered. Still, I was cautious. I've heard so many stories about travel insurance nightmares.

For the next little while, I aimed to be a diligent student. I learned a lot in the time there. Having a spinal cord injury, I also emailed every single spinal cord injury research lab that I could find. All of them were welcoming. I ended up meeting a professor who we later collaborated with on spinal cord injury research. We stay in touch to this day.

Taking you back to Avant, though, I ended up using the insurance. I won't go into the details, but there was an event related to the spinal cord injury that required me to change some tickets and re-organise travel. Without any fuss, they covered it. This is why I remain a customer to this day, years later.

In Zulu, there is a word, ‘ubuntu’. It means, ”I am because we are”. I think it's important to acknowledge those who have played a part in our journey. There have been so many people who helped me get to where I am today, as, I like to think, the happiest doctor on earth. So, what have I learned? Instead of asking "why?", ask "why not?”. In the big journeys, just begin, and figure out how to do it as you go. Don't let those dreams go. Most importantly, remember the people who helped you get there.