When David Simon left home for work on February 18, 2014, he never imagined his life would change forever. At just 18 years old, the Ebonyi-born apprentice mechanic was helping a friend save his shop from demolition at Apo Mechanical Village in Abuja, but a tragic accident left him without both arms.

David, now 29, recalls that the shop owner, who sold vehicle spare parts, pleaded for help to move his container before it was destroyed. While lifting a metal pole near the container, it accidentally touched a high-tension wire overhead. The powerful electric shock burned his hands and legs severely.

“I didn’t even know there was a high-tension wire above me,” he says quietly. “The next thing I knew, I was on the ground.”

He was rushed from one clinic to another until doctors at the Asokoro General Hospital in Abuja performed surgeries. But complications set in, and his arms became black and lifeless. His family, desperate for alternatives, tried herbal treatment, but the infection worsened. Eventually, the National Orthopaedic Hospital in Enugu had to amputate both arms to save his life.

“It wasn’t easy. At first, I relied on others for everything,” David explains. “But I realised people won’t always be there, so I taught myself new ways to do things from washing clothes to picking up my bag.”

Despite the stares, stigma, and daily struggles, David refuses to let his disability define him. He dropped out of secondary school due to financial hardship and was learning Peugeot repairs before the accident. Now, he’s focused on independence and refuses to give up.

“There were methods I tried that failed, but I kept trying until I found the ones that worked for me,” he says with a faint smile. “Life is not easy, but I won’t let it bring me down.”

David’s story is a sobering reminder of how quickly life can change and how courage can keep hope alive even in the darkest moments.