Dr Vithal Rane has no complaints whatsoever from life. Living a blissful life with wife Vishakha and children Sneha and Vedang at Zuarinagar-Vasco, Dr Rane holds an MBBS degree and works as a Group A Gazetted Officer (medical officer) in charge of ESI Dispensary at Vasco. Dr Rane, who graduated in 1987 from Goa Medical College has a locomotor disability of both lower limbs and spine.
“My disability is 84%, and the reason can be attributed to post-polio impact that occurred when I was a 15-month-old kid,” said the 59-year-old, who walks with a stick for support.
Dr Rane is a singer and has performed over 1,500 live stage shows in orchestras across Goa, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. Dr Rane sang for the first time on stage in 1980 and received much appreciation from the audience, motivating him to continue singing in public.
“I used to perform for several orchestras in Goa, and in 2006, I formed a team of a dozen members and created my own orchestra ‘Goan Zapata.’ For the past 25 years, we did stage shows across Goa, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. I had to slow down from 2017 as age is making my polio worse,” he claims.
Admitting that his family and his willpower are his strengths, Rane got full backing from his parents, two brothers, friends, and teachers. Recalling his academics, he admits that he had to face a lot of challenges due to accessibility issues.
Dr Rane began using a cycle during his college days. He got a driving licence for a scooter with a side attachment in 1987 and was the second person in Goa to get a licence for a four-wheeler under the disability category after he learnt to drive in 1997. He modified the car and got all gears in one hand. There was no looking back after that. An avid traveller, he drove his modified cars across India.
“Till date, I have travelled 5 lakh kms relying on hand gears,” says Dr Rane.
“After marriage in 1991, my better-half Vishaka became my backbone. My family is with me in ups and downs in life,” says Dr Rane, who is financially independent.
“After privately practicing for six years from 1989 at Zuarinagar and Vasco, he joined as a medical officer in ESI Hospital in 1995,” shares Dr Rane.
He has also participated and won Gold medals twice at the district level Para table tennis tournament. He was also honored for his outstanding achievement for a person with a disability by ‘We Care Film Festival’ in 2015.
“Nothing is impossible, and where there is a will, there is surely a way,” he believes.
