A Healing Experience

Huda Dini Effandi recounts her healing process from an accident she will never forget.

Story by: Kaitlyn Loh

Pictures by: Huda Dini Effandi

It has been five years since that fateful day, but Huda Dini Effandi, a third year Lasalle student, is still recovering from the trauma of an accident that took place four years ago.

“I was just crossing the road along Geylang Street with my mother and sister when it happened,” the 22-year-old recalled that she was turning 17 that year, during her first year of Junior College when a speeding car turned the corner and collided with her.

“A part of me just wanted to run as I was already close to the curb but I was shocked and frozen in place when I saw the car,” she recounted.

Dini managed to pull herself over the curb. Thankfully, amidst the chaotic crowd, the driver of the car stepped out immediately and helped to control the situation.

“It took a few seconds for my mother to process what had happened before she called the ambulance. I think she was more angry than upset that I had recklessly ran across the road like that,” she admitted.

When asked about the pain level on a scale of one to 10, Dini replied that it was a seven. “It felt like my skin was burning. I wasn’t able to feel or stretch my right leg at all,” she said slowly.

The doctors told her later that the bones in her right leg were shattered from the car impact and they had to insert a metal rod into her leg permanently.

As the accident happened right before the June holidays, it did not affect her school schedule and she had a month to learn how to walk again. Dini described that month as the hardest stage of her recovery.

“I was discharged from the hospital after a week, and (thereafter), I wasn’t aided by nurses or painkillers,” she explained. Since her house had stairs, she was confined to sleeping in the living room on the first floor. Luckily, she had a friend, Qurratuain, who lived nearby. She  came over almost every day to help her move around and cook for her while her parents were working. “She was very patient and angelic,” Dini gushed with a smile.

Dini spent most of her June holiday undergoing physiotherapy sessions. Each session was two hours of non-stop exercise that included lifting weights and doing lunges. Through the sessions, she also met a girl of her age who had suffered from a similar accident. They became friends and often helped each other with the exercises.

These days, Dini still gets occasional discomforts from the accident. Due to the metal rod inserted in her leg, it causes pains when there is a change in weather. “My leg will take about eight years to heal fully and even now, I’m still relying on the metal rod to walk,” she said.

“I initially thought I was never gonna walk again (after the accident),” she admitted. Her confidence level had dropped drastically and she wanted to give up during her physiotherapy sessions as she saw very little progress.

Family trip to Spain

“My family are my biggest pillars of support,” she exclaimed. “I’m really thankful to them, Qurratuain and the hospital staff that went the extra mile to care for me.”

This accident shed new light on Dini, it taught her to cherish her legs and to always be grateful for the things that she has, in particular, her travels. Taking a year off after graduating from Junior College, she visited countries such as Turkey, China and Spain. In these places, she found the will to overcome her trauma of crossing roads. This has also inspired her to get her driving license despite her broken leg. “After getting my license, I am certain that I must overcome the trauma,” she said hopefully.

Trip to the Great Wall of China