Every beautiful face has a hidden scar that tells a story of lessons and experiences. With one such stunning smile of confidence, former radio jockey and aspiring singer 23-year-old Aditi Joshi carries her scar as remembrance of her past to stay humble.
Sharing her story, Aditi said, “I was a pampered child coming from a normal family.” Unlike many other girls in her family who preferred to make dress up, she was a brat.
“I had a decent childhood in terms of my family, but in terms of my health and exposure in school, it was adventurous and tough,” Aditi said. She looked almost normal during her childhood except a natural tilt in her neck that was barely noticeable.
Sharing an incident that changed her from a delicate doll to strong warrior, Aditi said, “I was ten year old, studying in class fifth in St Mary HS School when the accident happened.”
She was returning from a birthday party with her family. “My brother Aditya and I had recently changed places on the bike when suddenly, we had a crash,” Aditi said.
In the crash, their bike dragged with the road and Aditi was severely injured. “I remember being grateful that nothing happened to Aditya because it would have hurt me more,” Aditi said.
Left side of her face had a plaster to heal numerous injuries. “I had to skip school for a month and I actually liked school so it was not good time,” Aditi said. Her dressing was refreshed every day for a month and then once in a week.
“When I saw my face after a month when dressings were changed weekly, I was scared,” Aditi said. While relatives and people around were questioning her future with such scars, her parents (homemaker Sandhya and audit officer Sudhir Joshi) stood by her.
“Even I was worried about my life as I could not gather to see myself in my mirror, but life moves on and I had to move ahead too,” Aditi said. However, she did not have friends in school or college after that incident.
“When I was in class 12, I got sick and doctor detected disorder in my thyroid,” Aditi said. As the treatment for thyroid began, the specialist doctor observed the tilt in her neck and examined it.
“Doctor told me that my right neck bone was higher than left one that had blocked circulation in the left area of my face,” Aditi shared. Her left face was underdeveloped and became worse with scars.
Taking the suggestion of doctor and opting for surgery with its risks, the family came together supporting her. “For one and half days, I was not conscious after the operation and even after that I could not move the left side of my face at all,” Aditi said.
Motivating her to live a life that she remembers, her parents sent her to physiotherapy sessions and helped her in regaining life to her face.
“It took months, but eventually I was able to move my face then it grew to balance in a year and I felt good again,” Aditi said. Aspiring to live the life of her dreams, she worked in radio and is now learning classical music.
“My dream is to become a singer and I am learning to become that by following the necessary steps,” Aditi said.