Chadi Abi Fadel – After a traumatic accident
Chadi Abi Fadel – After a traumatic accident
Written by Marc Malha
Chadi had decided to combat toxic thoughts with productivity: “After the accident, I became more confident in my capabilities. I set some goals”, and he thus decided to write a book: Play Time, in which he poured his thoughts, doing so in a light-hearted way.
As he put it in the book: “This book will not be filled with motivational nonsense. You will not get a glimpse of what I learned through my experience. You will not be more enlightened. […] All you will get is a better understanding of my life.”.
Chadi needed to find ways to manage the consequences of the car crash; he kept the tasks small and manageable. He knew that the journey ahead was not going to be easy. He explained how he understood and overcame his physical constraints. He has shared with Cogs and Caffeine some of these tasks.
Where am I now?
“I type on my keyboard with my left hand only”
Where do I want to get to?
“I want to be able to write effectively. This is a vital skill for me in the near future”
How do I get there?
Chadi decided to return to AUB in the fall semester of 2018. His surrounding family and doctors were against it. He knew that his GPA would take a hit; he had difficulty studying effectively considering that he couldn’t write. He enrolled in challenging courses – that students generally avoided – as his electives, such as MATH 210 “Introduction to Analysis” and PHYS 212 “Modern Physics”. These topics have now become more appealing to him. Chadi felt fascinated when he realized that he could apply purely theoretical concepts in his day-to-day thinking.
On a more personal anecdote, I think that most of us can only be humbled by such courage and resilience. We are a set of lucky individuals who have been presented with opportunities most people have not. Do not get me wrong; I am not here undermining the hard work and academic commitment most AUB engineering students exhibit, I am simply pointing out the fact that we sometimes take for granted how lucky we are. Most of us have never been presented with the challenges and obstacles Chadi has had to overcome to get to where we are now.
Chadi Abi Fadel has succeeded where many have failed; he managed to subdue his physical handicap with great presence of mind and mental strength, and to separate himself as an individual from his physicality. I say with full confidence that I do not think that one could have better coped with the hand that Chadi has been dealt.
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