Photo/CHARLES KAMAU Diana Belta a 22 year old who lost use of her right leg following a road accident.
By CELESTINE MUSAVI celestinemusavi@yahoo.com
Posted Wednesday, April 4 2012 at 00:00
Posted Wednesday, April 4 2012 at 00:00
IN SUMMARY
- Diana Belta lost the use of her right leg after a road accident, but she is determined not to allow this to slow her down
She is difficult to miss. Not just because she uses crutches, but also because she is simply one of those people who somehow manage to light up every room they walk into.
Twenty-two-year old Diana Belta is no wallflower. Today, she is wearing a form-fitting purple T-shirt decorated with gold detail over fitting jeans. On her eyelids is purple eye-shadow that matches the colour of her T-shirt, a tiny nose stud glistens on her right nostril, while red lipstick adorns her lips.
But what really stands out are the stylish black high heels she is wearing. You see, Diana lost use of her right leg 10 years ago following a road accident. The accident left the affected leg significantly shorter than the other, meaning that she cannot use it.
But when Diana, (a self-confessed high-heels addict) buys a pair of heels, she adorns both legs.
“People stare. I guess they wonder why someone like me would want to wear high heels, why I would want to draw attention to myself that way,” she says.
Why does she, we want to know.
“I have learnt to love and accept myself the way I am,” is her immediate reply. She says that she is no longer intimidated by people’s stares.
But it has taken her years to build up this confidence, which was shattered when she was informed that she would never use her right leg again.
The accident
Flashback to August 2002. Diana was 12 years old then. She and her family were visiting relatives in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was two days before their scheduled return to Kenya.
One of Diana’s cousins who could drive suggested that they visit a mall. Excited, Diana eagerly jumped into the car with her 19-year-old cousin and two friends who had come visiting.
“I was engrossed in my phone, playing a game while my cousin chatted with her friends. A few minutes later, I heard her complaining about a truck that was behind us,” she says.
When Diana looked, she saw the truck zigzagging on the road, bearing down on them fast. The next thing Diana heard was a loud bang and the sound of breaking glass before she lost consciousness. When she came to, she was lying in a hospital bed.
“The first person I saw was my mother, seated by my side, holding one of my hands. One look at her and I knew that something was terribly wrong,” Diana says.
“My immediate thought was that my cousin had died in the accident, since I was alive,” she says.
As if reading her mind, her mother quickly informed her that her cousin and her friends were fine, that they had only sustained a few injuries. This disclosure left Diana wondering what else could be wrong.
“I could feel my mother’s sadness,” she explains.
Heartbroken
It is at that point that the doctor came in. He glanced at her mother, who gave him a slight nod. Without mincing words, he informed her that due to the extent of the injury on her right knee, she would never use her right leg again.
“It took a while for the news to sink in, and when it finally did, I was heartbroken. In just a matter of seconds, my life lost meaning and I wanted to die,” she says.
By the time Diana was discharged from hospital two months later, the jolly, outgoing girl she once was had become angry and resentful.
“I couldn’t stand being around people, I wanted to be alone,” she says, even though her family and relatives did everything that they could to accommodate all her needs and make her comfortable.
She and her family finally flew back to Kenya. Diana says that was when the healing, although difficult and gradual, started.
“I was in denial and wanted my old life back — I refused to learn how to use crutches, I refused to go back to school, and I neglected myself and no longer cared about how I looked,” she says.
It took a lot of convincing by her mother for her to agree to return to school, but she would not use crutches.
It took a lot of convincing by her mother for her to agree to return to school, but she would not use crutches.
“My mother would carry me on her back, to and from school daily. Luckily, the school was not far from our home,” says Diana, who says she owes her recovery to her mother’s selflessness and constant encouragement.
She says her fellow pupils and teachers welcomed her warmly and treated her with understa
nding and patience. They even went out of their way to help her to catch up with her studies. Diana’s heart began to thaw and she started to think that maybe, just maybe, there was something to live for.
She realised that she was not ready to sit for her end of year examinations and so informed her mother that she wanted to repeat Standard Seven the following year.
“I figured that repeating would give me a chance to perform better. I also wanted enough time to learn how to use crutches,” she says. Diana says that even though she and her mother had always been close, the accident brought them even closer.
“We started to talk more, and she would use every chance she got to remind me that I could still do the things that I used to enjoy, that I was still beautiful, and that there was a lot to live for,” she says. Diana started to laugh again and to warm up to people, to reach out to them.
Her decision to repeat turned out to be a good one when she scored 401 marks out of 500 in her KCPE examinations.
“I was pleased with myself. My performance was proof that I could still excel in life, and at that moment, I believed that there wasn’t anything I couldn’t accomplish,” she says. Determined to prove to herself that she could lead a normal life, she informed her mother that she wanted to go to boarding school.
“I wanted to learn how to be independent because I knew that I couldn’t live in my mother’s house for the rest of my life,” she explains.
Moving on
Although not comfortable with the idea, her mother gave in and started to look for a convenient and accommodating school for her. They settled for Kinyui Girls High School in Kangundo District.
“I made a conscious decision to observe all the school rules and regulations; for instance, I woke up earlier than the other girls so that I could make it to class in time,” she says, and adds that she did everything for herself, including washing her school uniform, making her bed, and carrying her water to the bathroom.
“This would astonish all the new girls, who would stare at first, but with time, they got used to me and interacted with me just like everyone else.”
Just a year after completing secondary school, Diana did what many young people her age are reluctant to do. She moved out. She was 19.
“With the help of my mother, I had set up a small cosmetics shop, which I figured was making enough for me to survive on,” she explains.
This time round, her mother, who had seen how steely her determination could be, did not stop her. Instead, she gave her blessings, but with a stern remainder to ask for help if she needed it.
Starting off, she admits, was not easy. Before her shop picked up, she would literally hawk her products and hand out fliers to potential customers, explaining where the shop was located. Diana later enrolled at the Kenya School of Business Studies, where she is pursuing business management, even though she is “on a short fund-raising break”.
“I needed to know how best to run my business,” she explains.
Recently, she and a friend registered an events organising company, which she is now focused on getting off the ground. Diana, who says that she finds lots of joy in singing, has recorded a single, titled Wewe Tu (Only You).
“I have a feeling that singing is what I will spend the rest of my life doing. I plan to audition for upcoming singing contests because I know that I can sing,” She says with a smile. Diana lives in Kasarani estate, in Nairobi. She says that living on her own is a constant learning experience that has made her more responsible and self-reliant.
“It was challenging at first, since I had just about everything done for me.
“I not only had to learn how to cook and do the house work, I also had to learn how to budget my income so that I could cater for all my needs — I’m getting better at it.”
Fun-loving
Diana, like most young people her age, enjoys “going out”. “I always get stares from people, even though I suspect that most of them are impressed by my bravery and determination to enjoy my life, just like everyone else,” she says.
She adds that whenever she goes out, whether she is with friends or not, she always makes sure that she has enough money to pay her bill and get home.
“I once went out with a friend who abandoned me without paying her bill. Luckily, I had enough money to cover what she had spent. That experience taught me that it is important to choose my friends wisely, and to be always careful,” she says.
Careful also means remaining sober and having a trusted taxi driver to take her home.
About two months ago, a male friend of long standing asked her to be his girlfriend, and she agreed.
“After careful thinking, I realised that we are a good match — he also genuinely cares about me, accepts me, and respects me,” she says of her beau.
Diana may just be beginning her life, but she is happy with what she has been able to achieve.
Her mother’s unconditional love, she says, and support from relatives and loyal friends has given her the strength to overcome the challenges that have come her way. At the beginning of this year, her mother gave her a DVD that changed her mindset and made her more determined to become a better person.
“The speaker points out that we limit ourselves from achieving all that we were meant to because of how we have positioned our minds.”
She adds, “I have chosen to be liberated, I choose to dream big and to look for ways to actualise these dreams.”
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