The man who had 16 surgeries is now soaring the skies. Syam Kumar S.S. in conversation with Ajish P. Joy, Senior Assistant News Editor at THE WEEK, says, “I have lived with strain after strain. Even when I had urine tubes and bags attached and was advised not to do much activity, I pushed myself. I took the risk and cycled 100 kilometres. For three years, I kept stretching my limits until I reached 250 kilometres. I even had a catheter inside my bladder once that started bleeding after 12 kilometres, but I continued until I completed the full 250,"
Syam Kumar faced a stem-cell rejection three months after his kidney transplant. Despite having just 42 per cent of a functional kidney, he refused to let his pursuits suffer. Studying Psychology helped him survive some of these darkest phases.
" I always wanted to be a Paralympian. For three years on dialysis, I kept climbing mountains, learning new skills, proving to myself that I was capable of more than my illness. There were moments during dialysis when I felt like life was slipping away and I should just shut down, but I didn’t let it sit heavily upon my mind," said Syam.
" After my transplant, I had severe food restrictions. It was extreme. With those limitations and that physical condition, I still wanted approval to do things people considered ‘crazy’. Slowly, I regained some ability. If I took steroids, I could move a little more. I turned every hardship into a challenge; that is what I thought I should do and did. Even with a surgical wound still healing, I pushed myself and did 100 push-ups a day, all while taking immunosuppressants," he added.
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He kept going even when he slipped into depression. He remembered how his mother kept him alive and it would not be fair to give up easily.
"That thought changed everything. What began as suicidal despair transformed into a will to survive. I saw a video of skydiving, and something clicked. It triggered a new determination inside me. I decided I wanted to do it. I wanted to live. I applied everywhere and I was rejected 144 times by skydiving associations. But I didn’t stop trying. Between all those challenges, that dream kept me going untill I finally managed to skydive solo with this challenging body," he added.