A story of change
A Road Crash That Changed Everything
The full narrative
One family's journey through tragedy, resilience, and the long road to recovery
"If only he had worn a helmet, he might have been spared a lifetime of disability."
These are the words of a relative of Mr. Dan Bahadur Shrestha, a 40-year-old resident of Lalbandi Municipality, Sarlahi District. His story reflects the harsh reality faced by countless Nepalese families who continue to struggle, often with very limited resources, in the aftermath of a road traffic crash.
The Day Everything Changed
At the age of 37, Mr. Shrestha — a father of two — bought a brand-new motorbike. Eager and excited, he decided to take it for a test ride the very same day. Without a helmet and with limited riding experience, he lost control and crashed into a roadside electric pole.
The impact caused a severe head injury, and he needed to be rushed to a higher-level medical center in Kathmandu without delay. His family, already living under significant financial strain, somehow managed to arrange an airlift to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, where he remained under treatment for seven long months.
The Cost of Survival
The expenses of the airlift and prolonged hospital care far exceeded what the family could bear. To save Mr. Shrestha's life, they were forced to take out loans and sell off property — a catastrophic expenditure that pushed the family deeper into poverty. As a result, they could not afford the intensive rehabilitation care in Kathmandu that he urgently needed to regain independence in his daily activities.
A Livelihood Lost
Before the crash, Mr. Shrestha earned his living through local farming and small-scale contracting work in his village. In a single moment, the crash took away his livelihood and placed his family's future in jeopardy.
A Glimmer of Hope, Close to Home
Fortunately, the Prerana rehabilitation center — run by a local NGO — operates within just five kilometers of his home, offering outpatient rehabilitation services, including wheelchair support. This has meaningfully improved his mobility, both within his household and around his community.
Even so, Mr. Shrestha will need continued, more intensive rehabilitation to achieve the fullest possible independence in his everyday functioning. His family considers themselves fortunate that a rehabilitation center happens to be so close by — but for many other Nepalese facing similar circumstances, this is rarely the case. Rehabilitation services remain scarce across much of Nepal.
A Call to Action
Mr. Shrestha's story is deeply moving, and it speaks to an urgent need for stronger action on road safety across the board. It brings into sharp focus several critical issues:
The life-saving importance of helmet use
The need for grassroots-level awareness to build safer road behavior
The financial burden of post-crash emergency response and life-saving treatment
The scarcity of rehabilitation and assistive product services at the community level