Dr. Cival Mills- A lifetime of goals, and hope, ended in a tragedy.
Today I want to do a tribute to a good friend of mine. He died last year. During his short stay on earth he did more, than what most of us do in the whole of our lifetimes. He was a wonderful person. He lived his life to the fullest and nothing could get him down. In school he was so motivated and wanted to achieve great things. At the end I believe, he achieved more that what most of us achieve in our whole life. He had a destination to reach and he succeeded in reaching his destination successfully.
On December 8th 2000, Dr Cival Mills was in a tragic car accident. Only 5 days away from completing his hospital internship. He needed surgery but woke up in intensive care. He was horrified to know, that he was locked inside his own body with no way to communicate.
noun: locked-in syndrome
a medical condition, usually resulting from a stroke that damages part of the brainstem, in which the body and most of the facial muscles are paralyzed but consciousness remains and the ability to perform certain eye movements is preserved.
This is a living nightmare condition where a patient can only move their eyes but are fully conscious. A machine was breathing for him while his body felt weightless and out of control. He could not swallow his own saliva. His mind would tell him to move his arm, but there was nothing. He could not speak.
"I would try to lift my arm or move my tongue and there was nothing. It was like living in a submarine and peering out a periscope at the world. ‘All I could hear was the sound of the different machines keeping me alive. And when I fell asleep I had terrible recurring dreams. ‘I remember thinking: “This can not be forever, please don’t let this be forever."
But it was forever. Dr Cival Mills did not recover. He was desperate to let his family know that he was aware of everything around him, and one day he managed to alert his mother through laughing. His sister showed him a cartoon, and at first they thought he was choking, but then his mother realized that he was laughing. They now realized that he could hear what they said and managed to get him a spelling chart. A few months later he managed to spell out "Love you mom"
This was a long process and it left him totally exhausted, but it was the first step to his new way of communication. Medically it was impossible for him to regain any movement, but Cival refused to believe this. After four months in intensive care, he was moved to the spinal ward and stayed there for nearly two years. He regained movement of his left thumb. The time in the spinal ward was enough to allow him to start writing about his experiences. He wrote his first book called "This too Will Pass"
Should you wish to read this:
https://www.amazon.com/This-Will-Pass-Cival-Mills-ebook/dp/B0046A9SDA
Dr Cival Mills believed that stem cell therapy could help him regain more movement, and possibly to speak again. He had two brain stem cell transplants in 2004. He was convinced that with hard work, determination, and his own experimental treatments there would be improvement. He was right. Cival could now move his left hand and arm, and had little movement in his legs. He underwent 3 long hours of physiotherapy each and every day.
‘I want to convince the medical world there is no such thing as a hopeless case,’ Dr Mills said.
‘If you lose hope you have lost your chance for a better future.’
Cival Mills THEN wrote another book called ‘The Truth About Wheels"
http://www.abebooks.com/Truth-Wheels-Mills-Dr-Cival/9971612691/bd
Cival became a real motivation to everyone who knew him. He regularly gave motivational speeches with the help of his aid Sam. (Sam was his driver and helped him at home. )
Dr Cival Mills experienced the joy of life when he drove on a special adapted quad bike from Johannesburg to Balito Bay in Kwazulu-Natal. A 350 km journey. He became a qualified level C scuba diver with the Handicapped Scuba Association and he enjoyed this because in the water he felt normal.
Image Credit: Jennifer Mostert
Cival Mills was a man of great character. He was an aspiration to many people. He inspired many people and on his life journey he had the opportunity to meet former president Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela described him as an"inspiration"
Please watch this video to see: NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE
Cival wrote:
IF I COULD
If I could speak YOUR NAME again
If I could pray with voice again
...bend my knees in prayer
I'll build an altar on the hill
...I'll sacrifice a star...
Oh let me walk the road again
Oh let me use my hands again
...free from this cocoon
I'll build an altar on the hill...
...I'll sacrifice the moon...
If YOU could give me wings to fly
If YOU could let me touch the sky
...unlock my hands and knees
I'll build an altar on the hill
..I'll sacrifice the sun
Dear Lord YOU have demand of me
How then shall I answer THEE
...maybe write a praise psalm
..build an altar on the hill
...unto Thee then lift my eyes..
Only Thee can set me free...Dear Lord..
only Thee can set me free.
Cival Mills 2010
Dr Cival Mills died on 3 April 2015. He choked on a piece of food, and he could not save himself.
Cival, we will always remember you. We will remember your jokes, and all the fun times we had together. You were a great inspiration. We miss you. ❤
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❤ Keep on steeming! ❤