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A survivor like none

ISP Mumbai Bureau 

Life changed for Paulomi Patel when she was visiting her paternal uncle’s house in Hyderabad for a family get-together. She was just 12 years old and was studying in class 6th. She got electrocuted while playing with her cousins. Twenty-one years of struggle and 45 surgeries after, Paulomi today is a winner in life. Her lost hand and life-threatening accident failed to suppress her will power and today she is an inspiration to many. 

Her resilience is a story liked and shared by many. Paulomi converted the agony of her accident to the energy which radiates from her writings and work. In 2001, she was admitted to the ICU fully bandaged and struggling to survive after the shock from the 11,000 volts wire which she got exposed to while playing.  She sustained 80 percent burn. One of her hands was severely damaged and with no skin or tissues left she was in critical condition. The gangrene in her right hand spread fast and to save her, on the advice of the doctors, the family had to take the difficult decision to amputate it. Life was never the same for this young school girl. 

Paulomi tells the media that her inspiration was her parents. The hand-amputated little girl in the family was supported by her parents to come out of the trauma. They ensured that their child was only exposed to positive thoughts and talks. It was a rule in the family that no visitors to their home can talk to her unless they have a joke or a lighter moment to share. Any show of sympathy or grief was strictly not allowed. She feels this whole set-up by the parents helped her to come out of the trauma to a large extent. 

She was given a prosthetic arm by the doctors which she had to get trained to use. Her writing capability almost diminished and she had to learn to write from the beginning. She took it up as a challenge and managed to bring down her alphabets from the size of one-page to a manageable level. She would daily write four to five pages in difficulty and pain and finally mastered to write as a normal person with an amputated hand. She completed her  MBA and she now runs a flourishing family business. Her company deals in heavy machinery and she married her long-time friend Sundeep Jotwani, a love story is another inspiring story for a potential bollywood movie. 

Paulomi is an online star and her stories and sessions are a craze for listeners. She drives, writes and takes up adventure sports and is employing hundreds of people with her in her entrepreneurship initiatives.

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