For Dhara Shah, the day she went into labour was supposed to be the beginning of a new chapter. She and her husband had spent months waiting to meet their baby. But after 27 hours of labour, a series of severe medical complications changed her life forever. Sharing her story on Instagram through her account, dharaswonderlife, Shah recalled the devastating events that followed the birth of her son, Mahir. “7 years ago, my husband and I were counting days to meet our baby. Then, the day I went into labour for 27 hours, everything changed,” she shared. Shah said she finally saw her baby for the first time, but moments later, she fainted. “I saw my baby, Mahir, for the first time, moments later, I fainted. And then my heart stopped.” She went into a coma for seven days. During her treatment, she said the medicines caused gangrene in her limbs, leaving doctors with no option but to amputate both her legs and her right hand.
A mother who woke up to a completely different life
The complications did not end there. Shah said she also underwent surgeries to remove her uterus and ovaries. After spending four and a half months in hospital, she finally returned home. Despite everything she had lost, there was one moment she had been waiting for. “I finally came back home and held Mahir for the first time,” she recalled. Her physical condition had changed dramatically, but Shah said she tried not to let her pain take away the happiness she felt while being with her baby. “I had lost so much but I never let my smile fade when I was with my baby,” she shared. For those months, Mahir became a source of strength and hope. Shah was learning to navigate life in a wheelchair while also caring for her newborn son. But another devastating blow was waiting.
Ten months later, she lost her son
Shah said the family eventually discovered that Mahir had a genetic disorder for which there was no cure. His health continued to deteriorate. “His health kept getting worse. Just 10 months later, I lost my baby,” she wrote. Losing her son after everything she had already endured left Shah emotionally shattered. “After losing my son, I lost myself. I broke completely,” she said. She described months of grief in which memories of Mahir remained everywhere. “For months, I would see him everywhere, feel his presence and hear his voice around me,” Shah recalled. The loss was not something she could simply move past. She had survived a life-threatening medical crisis, undergone multiple surgeries and returned home after months in hospital, only to lose the child she had fought so hard to hold. Yet, eventually, her grief became a reason to keep going.
“If my little boy could fight so hard, I had to fight too”
Shah said that thinking about Mahir changed the way she looked at her own life. “Then I thought, if my little boy could fight so hard in his 10 months, I had to fight too,” she recalled. Her recovery began with small steps, both literally and emotionally. “I started with the smallest things. From doing everything in my wheelchair to using a walker. And eventually standing on my own.” The journey was difficult, but Shah said her husband remained a constant source of strength. “My husband gave me the strength to keep going,” she says. Slowly, she began rebuilding the life that had been altered so drastically. What started with learning to manage everyday activities eventually took her towards something she may once have found unimaginable. She began running.
Her first 5K was for Mahir
Shah eventually completed her first 5K run, dedicating the achievement to the son she lost. “Then, I ran my first 5K. And dedicated it to my son, Mahir.” For Shah, the run was more than a physical achievement. It represented the distance she had travelled from a hospital bed, through grief and rehabilitation, to standing and moving forward again. Her story is not simply about overcoming a physical disability. It is also about surviving the loss of a child and finding a reason to continue after grief had left her feeling broken. “Life took so much from me but my little Mahir taught me the biggest lesson,” Shah wrote. “Keep fighting, even when life breaks you.”
Her words capture the heart of her journey. She does not describe herself as someone who escaped tragedy untouched. Instead, her story is about learning to live with an enormous loss while continuing to find strength in the memories of her son. For Shah, Mahir’s life may have lasted only 10 months, but the impact he left on his mother continues to shape the way she lives. Her first 5K became a tribute to him, but it was also a declaration that despite everything life had taken away, she had chosen to keep moving forward.
