Getting Back on Track

             Have you ever thought of life as unfair? Giving you nothing but temporary things? One day, you feel so happy that you can go run and shout high above the mountaintops, and the next day you find yourself stumbling down, unable to stand up due to the problems and unfortunate events that burden you? Well, you may ask Karla Grengia that.

     It was never easy for a sporty person like Karla Joy Grengia, a fourth year Mass Communication student, to get into an accident that would change her life completely.  Her life went into a complete halt when her motorcycle crashed at SRP around 8:30 in the evening last May 26, 2016 which resulted to a broken leg, a fractured right femur in particular.  

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        “It was quite depressing knowing that I was an active athlete all my life. I abruptly got stopped from doing the things I love which were sports, adventures, and basically just going out, and it was not easy for me to accept everything that was happening in my life”, Karla said.

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          With her one leg broken, Karla was banned from taking up sports which means she cannot participate in any of the Pakiglambigit events. In fact, she just stood as a mere spectator during Pakiglambigit 2016. Because of this, the once-active, go-getter athlete had no choice but to accept her fate.

            Since of the abrupt change of her lifestyle due to her unexpected accident, she had to do a lot of adjustment in order to cope with her condition.

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           ”There were days that I thought of just giving up--of giving up the fight for survival in this world thinking that I already lost my life and that it just wasn’t worth living anymore. But here I am, alive and still fighting”, she said.

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           Getting strength from God was what she did during one of the most challenging times of her life.  Also, she considers her family and friends as the best support systems she had during her recovery period because they gave her the love and support that she needed to assure her that she was not alone.

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          “They all helped me stand on my own two feet again and get my life back together”, she added.

           

            Despite the accident she met, she was still hopeful. The recovery time for this kind of accident is said to be six to twelve months but luckily, Karla was able to recover in three months’ time. Due to her fast recovery, she was able to train once again 10 months after her accident and was allowed to play again after a year, just in time for the next Pakiglambigit.

         

“(One’s) recovery time all depends on the patient. And when one is truly determined and disciplined to get better, he or she will recover in no time. It’s all about mind over matter. We have to continue to push ourselves in all aspects-- push ourselves to conquer battles against physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health”, she said.

       

        Even before her doctors and physical therapists cleared her and gave her the permission to do physical activities, she already prepared herself.

         

 “I prepared myself over the summer both physically and mentally. I slowly got back on track and prepared my body for the upcoming intensive practices and games for this year’s intramurals”, Karla confessed.

           

                And during the Pakiglambigit 2017 their team was proclaimed champion in Soccer-baseball (female division), besting out other teams in the college department.

 

“For me, champions are the teams that have a good foundation of trust between players. Team sports require trust so much that this is actually one of the main factors as to why teams win. This year, and in all the years I have played for TCO during intramurals, I could say that our trust and teamwork truly led us towards all of our wins. There is no “I” in “TEAM”, and each player of the team truly gave their best in all of the trainings and the actual games., Karla said when asked what made her team brought home the championship.”, Karla shares.

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               Indeed, Karla’s journey was never an easy one but she proved that no matter how hard life gets and no matter how impossible things may seem, if there’s a will, there will always be a way to get back on track.