Life's Road
- Poonam Rose Abraham
"You don't meet people by accident. There is always a reason, a blessing or a lesson". Krishna Kumar, famously known as KK among his friends and family, is a Becker Muscular Dystrophy (BMD) patient. There was someone with him and later moved away from his life, which made him come out of the shell and be proud of his disability.
Born as the second son to Mr. Krishna Namboothiri and Mrs. Indira. K. Namboothiri, in Vakathanam, Kottayam district, KK even as a kid was well determined and focused. Even though he was not able to run as fast as other kids, he never backed down from participating in any sports, whether it is a 100-meter race or cricket. He never cared about being last or was made fun of, but he took his failures as a stepping stone to the next adventure. It was when he was in his teenage, he noticed that his health was deteriorating as if climbing stairs was wearing him off.
Though his favourite subject was mathematics in school, for graduation KK took up chemistry as his major with a hope to learn more about Muscular Dystrophy and to do research on subjects like the human genome, molecular biology, etc. Unfortunately, after graduation, his path changed, and after many jobs in between, he did a diploma in Computer Science which led him to work in the IT field and is currently working in an MNC as Senior Project Manager.
Other than a few friends and family no one else was aware of his disability and he was not comfortable discussing the same. After getting a stable job, at the age of 29 he got married. His fiancée and family were informed about his ailment. Everything was fine at first, later she started showing uneasiness in accepting his Muscular Dystrophy condition, and the marriage ended in divorce after a few years. This whole scenario changed his life.
He became bold, positive and a comfortable person with a disability. He started to open up with people about his ailment and started a Facebook page in 2015, where he wrote about Muscular Dystrophy awareness and shared the ordeals he has gone through in his life because of the progressive disease.
Krishna Kumar always wanted to do something to help people with muscular dystrophy and atrophy in Kerala. His posts on Facebook led Prajith Vasudev, a person with LGMD (Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy), to contact him and tell him about the situations and problems of patients with muscular dystrophy /atrophy and their family faces. Along with other warriors like Asha Mary, Sakeer Hussain, Mahesh Kumar, and many others with the same disabilities, they conducted an event in Thrissur in which almost 70 members with SMA / Muscular Dystrophy from different parts of Kerala got together. They formed a trust called Mobility in Dystrophy (MIND) and a WhatsApp group was made on 1 May 2017 where people with dystrophy and atrophy kept on joining.
As the co-founder and chairman of MIND, KK's wish for helping people with muscular dystrophy and atrophy has come true. He shares his knowledge and findings about the ongoing research and its progress regarding the disease with everyone and thus helping the families and patients who are unaware of this progressive disorder.
Apart from working in the IT sector and managing MIND projects, KK loves travelling and exploring. One of his dreams is to drive through the Golden Quadrilateral highway network that connects most of the industrial, agricultural, cultural centres of India. In addition to that he wishes to begin a business involving people in the MIND group so along with him they also have a safe and secure future.
"We might be slow but we do things steadily, so never give up on your confidence and will power and also to learn to say ‘no’ when needed", says Krishna Kumar to his fellow community. He also reminds a person with a disability to stay positive and always keep a smile on your face because nothing can beat a happy mind and heart.
