A SPINAL cord injury may have taken away Taariqa Archary's ability to walk seven years ago but it did not deter her from completing her first Midmar Mile on Saturday.
"Sometimes there is hope even in tragedy. We just have to fight for what we want," said Archary, 37, a quadriplegic, soon after she completed her first aQuelle Midmar Mile, in the disabled category.
"I will definitely swim again next year. I need to improve my time of 1 hour, 26 minutes and 32 seconds."
Archary said her focus would now be on driving again.
Through her journey, she said she had learnt to try her hand at anything she wanted to do
"And if you fail, it's okay. Just try again," she quipped.
Archary, an electronic engineer from Sandton, said two weeks after her 30th birthday, a drunken driver hit their stationary vehicle at a red robot.
"I was in the back seat with my sister. She suffered a traumatic brain injury and my spinal cord was damaged. The rear of the car was completely crushed. At the time, I had no idea what my injuries meant. It wasn’t in my realm of imagination. I was heavily medicated and didn’t even know how to process such information.
"I know people say it’s shocking, but I never had that. I would panic at the word ‘quadriplegic’, but didn’t really learn what it meant to be one until I left the hospital and my life began again. That was when the real challenge began.
"I was in the ICU for 21 days, followed by another three weeks in the neurological high care, and then three months in a rehabilitation hospital. This was where most of the techniques were taught, but the real progress started with ongoing rehabilitation therapy. Here I was able to train what muscles I still had active, to be able to build the strength to do more for myself and become more independent.
"This is why I’m so passionate about ongoing rehabilitation therapy. It has made the biggest difference in my life. I meet so many amazing people at rehabilitation centres, who progressed so well, but suddenly they stop showing up. It was never for lack of motivation but always for lack of funding."
She said prior to the accident, she was "never into swimming", having only learnt to swim in her 20s.
"I started hydrotherapy after the accident as a way to maintain muscle mass and circulation. My therapist, Nicole Fish, is a Midmar Mile swimmer, and this crazy idea started from a conversation around setting a stretch goal. From there all my other therapists got on board and put together a plan to train the functions necessary to achieve this. They’re an unbelievable, passionate bunch and I owe them all so much."
Archary said she started training for the Midmar Mile a year ago.
She said Fish, who she described as "incredible", swam with her before joining the elite race later on Saturday.
Archary's husband, Hamresin, as well as her family and friends were there to support her.
She said her initial goal was to set a target to grow towards, in terms of her fitness and independence.
"But as we drew closer to the event, so many of my family and friends expressed awe of my simple goal. It’s since grown into something beyond just my personal wellbeing. I’ve been a supporter of the Trojan Neurological Trust (TNT) for a few years. TNT provides funding to those who can’t afford ongoing therapy, or the equipment necessary to live an independent life. The work they do is nothing short of saintly, hence they were the obvious choice for all proceeds collected By Hands that SSServe."
The Hands that SSServe is a non-profit organisation, which was started by her family in the name of two community leaders in Chatsworth - Sundress Archary and Steve Chockalingam.
"My father-in-law and uncle had lived a life of community service, and so Hands that SSServe was started to continue their legacy and service to the less fortunate."