Gulmehek with a 'get well' card made by her friends

Dubai - Gulmehek Khan suffered a severe concussion when she fell while riding a horse

It was an ordinary day in the life for the Khans, Canadian nationals residing in Dubai, and in just a split second, their whole life changed.
Their 13-year-old daughter Gulmehek Khan, who made news last year for being one of the youngest published poets in the world, had a violent fall while riding a horse and suffered a severe concussion that left her with short-term memory loss.
The talented teen failed to recognise her father, although she faintly remembered her mother. What followed was headache, dizziness, imbalance, confusion and a 'heck lot of irritation'. But she fought it all with her optimism. Almost two months after the fall, the teenager has shocked all by topping her school, writing and reciting a poem by heart in French and is all set to get back to horse-riding (without changing her horse). She shared her story of positivity, optimism and hope with Khaleej Times and called her fall 'a unique and learning experience'. She believes that she is now better prepared to face life and says one should live this moment to the fullest, because you never know, God may be planning a test for you.
Recalling the accident, her mother Naureen told Khaleej Times that Gulmehek had been taking horse riding sessions since she was just five and like any other day, she was riding her horse that is usually calm and friendly. Suddenly, something either excited or disturbed the horse and it got unruly, throwing Gulmehek off its back. "It all happened in front of our eyes and in split seconds, we saw her lying on the ground unconscious. The good thing she did was that she held the reins tightly, so the fall was not so strong and did not result in any fracture. But she became unconscious for a few minutes," said Naureen Khan.
It was a severe case of concussion and Gulmehek's immediate memory was completely erased.
"She was told to take complete bed rest and avoid any kind of mental or physical activity that could tire her mind or body. No music, no light, no games, no books, no loud sound, no activity what so ever," Naureen said.
"Immediately after Gulmehek's fall and the followed concussion, both my husband and I were in a state of shock. I guess no parents are ever prepared to see their children in such a condition. Her memory loss, especially her failure to recognise her own father, was extremely difficult to deal with. But a couple of days later, she came up to me, sat on my lap and told me: 'This is not the end of the world, and we will fight it out together. I am too confused to understand anything right now, but trust me, things will be better soon. Let's just try and stay happy'," her mother said.
"Her words gave me back my strength that I had lost in two days."
Talking about the support from Gulmehek's school staff and classmates, Naureen said: "After two-and-a-half weeks, her doctor suggested she should go to school as she needed to start some activity to keep herself busy. I must say that her school staff - Nord Anglia International School - right from the receptionists to her teachers, principal and all her classmates - cooperated, supported and encouraged her amazingly. She was allowed only five-minute brain work and her teacher would give her special attention and care, and followed the procedure of giving her rest after every five-minute activity."
Gulmehek has achieved outstanding results at school, even when she gave her exams - that were held just three weeks after her fall - without even being able to revise or look at her books. She has not only topped in all the subjects but has topped the entire section that comprises 180 students. She even won an award for best recitation of a French poem that she had written just two days prior to the fall.
"Honestly, I had never seen any other child recovering so fast mentally in my life. Her positivity, her acknowledgement and acceptance of the whole situation and her attitude of always listening well to her elders helped us through these difficult times. She listened well to her teachers, her doctor, and her parents and did everything she was supposed to as she just kept saying that she needed to recover fast. This completely prevented her from going into depression which normally happens with concussion patients," Naureen said.

Lessons learnt from the accident