CONGRATULATIONS to us all for having survived the dreaded Mayan doomsday last Friday. What an incredible year it has been for the disabled community.

Looking back, I think 2012 has had its share of celebrations. The start of the year gave me plenty of reasons to be thankful. I managed to keep pressure sores at bay. My canines did what they do best – keep me focused on the positive things in life. My human pals, on their part, helped out with hospital visits and errands, and provided a listening ear whenever I needed one.

Personal matters aside, advocates for the handicapped in Malaysia called for the inclusion of disabled persons in all matters involving them.

They also asked for more bite in the Disabled Persons Act and urged all relevant authorities to observe the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, of which Malaysia is a signatory.

Zhar the Doberman, who turned one year old in January, is quite grown up now; he will be celebrating his second birthday next month.

He can adeptly pick up things for me that I can’t do from my wheelchair. He’s an expert with portable urinals and can even pick up small items like toothbrush and coins.

Volunteers are a blessing to people living with a disability. Early this year, Amir Tayebi, 24, from Seremban, spent three months helping me out during the weekends, as part of a leadership programme.

And who can forget how Sally Lim, 68, and her husband Ivan, 74, battled Parkinson’s. Ivan was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 25 years ago but the couple refused to be beaten, and have become stronger than ever.

“The secret is to never give up, even when the going is tough,” said Sally, who is Ivan’s caregiver.

It’s tough enough living with one handicap, but Choo Kim Yoon, 44, has to grapple with two.

Choo lost his sight when he was a toddler, and his hearing when he became a teenager. As a result of his condition, he had a difficult time making friends.

Choo pointed out that the deaf-blind would also love to attend social events such as parties and functions.

Elsewhere, imagine if you were disabled and had to live in your car for two years! In June, I joined 30 people in a wheelchair protest against a local council which made a wheelchair-user do exactly that out of sheer apathy.

The council acted at once and got him a flat of his own within 48 hours. But that was only after seeing some fuming and red-faced Malaysians in wheelchairs.

However, the question remains: Do we need so much drama before people who truly need help are given priority?

In August, I wrote about two foreigners who threw a hapless puppy into a manhole in Cyberjaya. The heinous act left us wondering what drives people to behave in such a manner.

In the same month, the blind community lost a crusader, Francis Chan. What a sharp contrast he was to the two guys who threw a puppy into the drain.

Francis, 64, was always cheerful and ever ready to help anyone in need. He was known for his great sense of humour which endeared him to one and all.

On a final note, the 13th Paralympics in London in September offered scores of disabled sportspersons an opportunity to shine like the sun. The more than 4,000 disabled athletes from 164 countries displayed the tenacity of the human spirit at its best.

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