President of the Spinal Cord Paralytics Association in Turkey, Çetinkaya, warned before the Feast of Sacrifice: ‘If you do not know first aid, please do not intervene’

Semra Çetinkaya, the President of the Spinal Cord Paralytics Association of Turkey, became wheelchair-bound after an accident in 1994. Drawing attention to the fact that many people become paralyzed due to incorrect interventions after accidents, Çetinkaya warned before the Eid al-Adha holiday, ‘Eid al-Adha is approaching. Please, those who go out on the road should wear their seat belts and take precautions. Those who do not know first aid should not intervene in case of a traffic accident.’
Semra Çetinkaya, the President of the Spinal Cord Paralytics Association of Turkey (TOFD), set off from Istanbul to Adana with a friend for business in 1994. At that time, Çetinkaya, a businesswoman and mother of two, was only 32 years old. Due to the inability to take a turn in the car controlled by her friend, Çetinkaya had a traffic accident. People who wanted to help at the scene intervened in pulling Çetinkaya out of the car without knowing first aid, causing her to have a spinal cord injury, which has left her unable to walk for 30 years.
‘Usually when you are close to your destination, your attention is distracted.’ Recounting her story, Çetinkaya said, ‘At that time, I was a businesswoman. I had an insurance agency. I was perfectly healthy, young, and beautiful. I thought ‘nothing will happen to me.’ I hadn’t even taken out life insurance. We set off from Istanbul to Adana for business with my friend. The journey was going well. I even saw the signboard for Adana and called my company to say ‘we’ve arrived.’ At that time, there were no cell phones, only car phones. I was sitting cross-legged and reading a book, and I had nuts next to me. The traffic police stopped our car. They warned both of us to fasten our seat belts and fined us. We continued on our way, but unfortunately, we did not fasten the seat belt. Usually, when you are close to your destination, your attention is distracted. More traffic accidents happen during these times. Ours was one of them. Further down the road, we rolled down an unreachable death bend. I suffered a lot of damage inside the car because I didn’t fasten the seat belt. My friend, on the other hand, was thrown out of the window and died because he wasn’t wearing a seat belt.’
‘Due to unconsciousness, they took away my last chance.’ Çetinkaya said, ‘The spine is a bone chain consisting of 33 bones from the base of the skull to the coccyx. It ensures standing upright. At the same time, it protects the spinal cord passing through it. I think I hit the dashboard because both my chest cage and spine were broken. I was completely unconscious. I know the people who came to provide first aid were well-intentioned, but unfortunately, they were unconscious. They took away my last chance without stabilizing my neck and back before trying to pull me out of the car. In this case, the broken spine cutting my spinal cord took away my last chance. That’s why I say if you don’t know first aid, please don’t touch. I have often said ‘who pulled me out, I wish they had let me die.’ Because sitting in a wheelchair with a healthy body is a very heavy price.’
With the approaching Eid al-Adha, Çetinkaya addressed the individuals and said, ‘Please make sure your travels are belted during the holiday. Even if you are sitting in the back seat, wear your seat belt. I have friends who sit in the back seat and get paralyzed by falling out of the window. Every spinal cord injury we talk about today is definitely due to a first aid mistake. Therefore, if you are unconscious, call 112. But everyone should also know first aid.’
‘I chose to be a hero.’ Saying that she aims to be the voice of disabled citizens, Çetinkaya concluded, ‘Since 1998, I wanted to pave the way for disabled friends like me with our association. I chose to be a hero. As we opened their way, I succeeded. As we said ‘you can succeed too,’ I succeeded.’