What happens when your daily life is a high-stakes battle against biology? What happens when a "terminal" diagnosis meets an unstoppable spirit? If you are the Hatkar's, then you 'Dance on wheels.'

In this episode, we are joined by the powerhouse duo Monisha and Keya Hatkar, a mother and daughter who are transforming the narrative around Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) from one of limitation to one of limitless impact. Keya, a 15-year-old, is a recepient of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, a three-time author (Dancing on my Wheels, I M Possible, A book on how to write books) , a TEDx speaker and a podcaster. She has won multiple awards at the National Young Authors Fair for her books. She doesn't view her wheelchair as a limitation but a platform to dance on.

Her mother, Monisha Hatkar, is a professionally qualified architect who spent 25+ years in corporate real estate before pivoting her life to become a "Chief Belief Officer" for her daughter. A podcaster and community builder, today she is building the world's largest community on Inclusion. Through iniatives like I M Possible, SMAARTR, they aim to generate revenue to build sustainability and self sufficiency for people affected by rare diseases.

At month 10, Keya was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a rare progressive genetic disease. The doctors gave her 2 years to live, with Monisha's approach to life, they have far from beaten those odds.

SMA affects 1 in 10,000 people and is one of the world's most expensive medical interventions costing crores of rupees each year.

#rarediseases #SMA #resilience