Rising above disability for my son

Aparna Tiwary

Mobilization Associate Manager – Accenture in India

Balancing parenthood and a career is challenging for anyone. If you have a disability, it can be like walking a tightrope each day.

I wasn’t born with a disability. In September 2016, I was walking my son to a local event near my house in Mumbai when I had an accident. I didn’t see an open drain as we hurried along, and I stepped right into it with my left leg.

I was rushed to the nearest hospital, where doctors told me I had ruptured my leg at two different points and my knee was completely damaged.

The next six months were agonizing as I went through multiple surgeries and treatments to regain strength and mobility. Thanks to constant support and encouragement from my wonderful doctors, Accenture colleagues and family, I was eventually able to stand again and walk with the help of crutches.

But everything was different from the life I lived before this accident. Completing a simple chore at home or even playing with my son now strained me, physically and mentally.

I had to accept the challenge head-on and get my life back on track for my son and our future.

A week after my final surgery, I came back to work. I was overwhelmed by the way my leaders stepped forward to help me—from allowing me to work from home to showing immense faith in the way I managed my work and encouraging me to wrap up my day on time to rest.

After almost 11 months, I felt confident about being back in the office. I still remember how happy everyone was to have me back. I was touched to see my colleagues waiting to greet me at the reception.

The moment I was back in office, I hit the ground running and seized every opportunity that came my way. One such opportunity was to lead a mobilization program for a leading bank in the United Arab Emirates.

While I took charge of the entire project transition, I could still work from home, take breaks for my physiotherapy sessions and help my son in his studies.

The best part? Soon, I was off to Abu Dhabi with a senior colleague to recruit 30 professionals for the client team.

After setting up the team from ground zero, I finalized a knowledge-transfer plan and got all the relevant material to train the new folks for this project. We were successful in training the new recruits and the project went live on time.

I’ve spent 14 years building a successful career at Accenture. After joining as a customer service associate, I went on to take on diverse roles within Accenture Operations, Digital Marketing and then Mobilization, with ample opportunities to learn, innovate and grow my career.

As a high-performing individual with a disability, I didn’t have to give up on my drive or ambition.

I believe in empowering myself and others. So, I never miss an opportunity to attend leadership trainings that help me accelerate my career and persons with disabilities events organized across India to support and motivate other colleagues.

My son is busy preparing for his class 12 exams. He often tells me how he dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur like Bill Gates someday.

I’m fortunate to be there for my son as he takes steps to conquer his dreams. And my amazing support system—at home and work—gave me the strength to stay positive, never give up on my career.

Life may sometimes seem unfair, but it is up to us to turn every adversity into an opportunity and do things with a positive attitude and a winning smile.