What a bleak Deepavali

Anthony SB Thanasayan

Anthony SB Thanasayan is a wheelchair user who is powered by his service dogs who help him stay on top of life. He is president of Malaysia's first and only animal-assisted therapy society called Petpositive.

Published: 16 November 2015

While last Tuesday’s Festival of Lights was marked with lots of happiness and prosperity for many, it took on a more solemn meaning for some of my friends and me.
 

I had to turn down many Deepavali open house invitations.
 

This was because of a special water-drinking (hydration) exercise I had been following according to doctor’s order since I had a bad attack of urine infection about a month ago.

I mentioned this in my column last week. It requires me to drink about two litres of water daily and then promptly empty the bladder every three hours in order to prevent another infection from recurring.
 

House visits are not good in such situations, especially if you can’t fit a wheelchair in the toilet.
 

The good thing that came out from the experience though is that I’ve succeeded in changing my drinking habit and lifestyle.
 

I now have learnt to pay more attention to my bladder – something which we wheelchair users are often guilty of not doing until it becomes a serious problem.
 

One of my good friends suffered some bad news when his therapy dog of 10 years of age died of cancer on the eve of Deepavali.
My friend is in his 80s and has diabetes.
 

His canine companion had been keeping him company – and motivated – since his wife’s death.
 

The two grew extremely close, making the perfect bond between man and dog.           
 

His dog managed to have an incredible positive impact on his health.
 

My friend was in tip-top shape because of his daily long walks with his dog. He never missed his hospital appointments or his follow-up treatment.
 

My friend was always careful about his diet in keeping his blood sugar count at healthy levels. He did this because he didn’t want to end up in hospital and be separated from his dog.
 

This is one of the goals in animal-assisted therapy.
 

His dog shared every part of his life.
 

My friend would take his dog on long drives, share every part of his home with his furry companion and even sleep with his pet in his air-conditioned bedroom.
 

Despite his loss, however, the good news is my friend is thinking of getting another dog.
 

He is thinking of a rescued canine this time round.
 

He, however, said he would do it only when he was ready for all the responsibilities involved with that decision.
 

Some of the hardest hit during Deepavali were Hindu wheelchair users who were looking forward to the festive season.
 

Quite a few of them – particularly from Ulu Selangor – did not get their monthly allowance of RM350 from the Welfare Department (JKM).
 

And they still haven’t paid.
 

Some told me that they kept going to the bank every day until the eve of Deepavali and were disappointed to find their money, which usually comes in by the first week, not there.
 

While the lucky ones managed to borrow some money from their friends, others had to cut down on their celebrations.
 

This meant their children could not get new clothes and gifts, or watching the latest Indian movie in the cinema. There were also no special meals or treats.
 

Trips to their hometowns were also cancelled simply because they could not afford to travel. The goods and services tax has especially taken an unkind cut on them since its introduction.
 

Not disbursing their monthly allowances in time, especially during festivities, should be solved at once.
 

JKM must understand how important the money – no matter how tiny the sum – is for disabled recipients during such occasions.
 

There is simply no excuse for such a thing from happening.
A truly caring society would have taken the initiative to avoid such an incident.
 

My disabled friends in the poorer areas also told me they were left out of receiving “goodie bags” handed out by state assemblymen in their areas.
 

Some even claimed that the vouchers ended up with “friends of resident head representatives” or “persons valued for their votes” instead of those truly needy.
 

Other disabled people said they never received the allocations despite approaching the sources directly for help.
 

Centres for the disabled also reported a decrease in visits and financial support from organisations and the public this year. – November 16, 2015.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

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