Sheryl Rose Dira: ‘Destiny is a matter of choice’

"There is always a reason why we are where we are and why we are who we are. Life has a profound meaning and purpose and we only discover that when we make God the reference point of our life." – Sheryl Rose Dira

When life deals you a blow of such force that it makes you lose your bearings, there are two ways you can respond: you can slink away in defeat, or you can get a hold of yourself, stand up, move on with courage – and best of all, inspire and help others not to lose hope, too.

Life may have dealt one particularly severe blow to 29-year-old Sheryl Rose Dira, but even if it literally left her unable to walk, Sheryl stands taller than many others blessed with mobility.

In November 1997, Sheryl was in a public swimming pool in Guagua, Pampanga, when she saw her three-year-old niece about to fall into the pool. Rushing to rescue the child, Sheryl slipped, and her left butt hit the gutter. That one seemingly harmless fall resulted in a compression of her spinal cord that has since rendered Sheryl unable to move her legs.

Being wheelchair-bound and dependent on the care of her family was initially difficult for Sheryl, a Nursing graduate of Our Lady of Fatima College in Valenzuela, who had been active all her life. Dealing with pain ("there was one time when I had difficulty breathing and I felt like dying") and the grueling physical rehabilitation that followed also sapped her strength. But what her lower extremities lacked in power, Sheryl more than compensated for with her spirit.

"Depression still comes, especially at night, but I try to fight it," Sheryl relates. "So in the morning I read, I play the computer or write. I share my thoughts and feelings with friends."

"I had a lot of questions about why it happened," Sheryl admits.

But, just like magazine editor Cathy Babao-Guballa who experienced the heart-breaking death of her son Miggy, and who once wrote that one’s greatest suffering can be the springboard for discovering one’s mission in life, Sheryl found herself fervently praying, "Lord, narito na rin lang ako (since I am already in this condition), please maximize me."

Sheryl also considered creating a foundation for those with spinal cord injuries like herself, but since she was handicapped, she wondered how she could accomplish this.

Sheryl has always believed that "When you do good, God will provide." True enough, her prayers were answered when she met Edwin Abelardo de Villa, a quadriplegic who became a very good friend. Together they founded the Spinal Cord Injury Foundation, Inc. (SCI Foundation, Inc.) of which Sheryl is chairperson and president, and Edwin the vice chairman.

The non-profit foundation is the Philippine counterpart of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation. What differentiates the SCI Foundation, Inc., stresses Sheryl, is its orientation – it does not subscribe to handing dole-outs, but in helping those with spinal cord injuries to help themselves, to "be more, to do more," as she puts it.

Sheryl considers this point important, for she acknowledges that her own parents, Dario Dira and the former Rosemarie Manlulu – however much they have loved and supported their daughter ("they are my roots and my wings") – won’t be around forever.

"The world does not owe us anything just because we are handicapped," believes Sheryl. "For us to change the world, we have to change ourselves first. We must help ourselves and not just rely on the government or on others to do so."

Following that belief, the Foundation’s mission has been "To provide comprehensive rehabilitation programs to restore the physical, emotional, mental, psychological and spiritual aspects of a person with spinal cord injury, and to restore hope, will and aspiration to achieve or enhance the individual and (his) quality of life."

Because it is not easy sustaining a foundation, Sheryl and her fellow members also raised funds, which they did last Aug. 27, with the dinner-dance, High Energy with Salvador Vaca, at the Dusit Hotel Nikko. It featured RJ Jacinto and John Lesaca as special guests and John Y. Cash and the Jukebox as back-up band.

As in anything she does – and despite being wheelchair-bound – Sheryl put her whole heart into the project. "We should not let others dictate what we (the handicapped) can do, like not going out or not working," Sheryl reckons. "We shouldn’t be gauged by our limitations, but what we can do."

Since she is a woman, one asks Sheryl how her condition has affected her love life. "I know that a man will have to adjust a lot to me," Sheryl muses. "It is hard to find someone who will love me for who I am... and this frustrates me at times. But I just pray that I will find someone who will love God first because if he does, then he will then (not find it difficult to) love me."

If there is one thing that Sheryl would like to share with disabled persons – or even with the able-bodied who have problems of their own – it is to "always trust in God. He is always there to guide us no matter what happens."

"Destiny is not to be waited," Sheryl concludes, "it is to be achieved. It is not a matter of chance, but a matter of choice."

(For inquiries on the Spinal Cord Injury Foundation, Inc., call 921-3745. Look for Sheryl.)