My name is Ashikeen but you can call me Kimi.

I met with a motorbike accident back in 2008. A drunk driver hit me from the back out of nowhere. I fractured my spinal cord T3-4. I am now paralyzed from waist down, and use a wheelchair. I’m grateful that I survived that accident and was able to go around with my awesome wheelchair.

Ashikeen was in rehabilitation for almost six months in Singapore. She had to relearn almost everything. From transferring to her wheelchair, dressing up, showering etc. Besides being thankful that she was able to adapt to it.

"I believe that I was given a second chance to restart my journey in my life."

I continued my education in psychology and work as per normal. I even entered a pageant just for wheelchair users and won Ms Wheelchair Queen Malaysia 2018. I have written a book called “Wheels of Success", which is available on Amazon. It’s a fiction novel about a paraplegic lady who met with an accident and found love. How cliched is that!

I made a promise to myself to set up a company to help other women and persons with disabilities (PWDs) like me to have a job! I hope in future I’ll be able to achieve this dream.

I strongly believe that we should never stop educating ourselves. Learning to me is crucial! I strongly advocate for women’s right and for PWDs like me.

My all time favourite quote is “ Why are you trying to fit in, when you are born to stand out?”.

That’s a little bit about me. Feel free to pm or follow me on iG. @kimiblackmusic.

This story by Ashikeen was originally featured on The Unique You Facebook page and has been reproduced in Astro Ulagam.

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Photos source: The Unique You.