Limb Loss and Faith

For many, the narrative of limb loss is defined by the clinical reality of surgery and the physical grind of rehabilitation. For Nish Afinwala, an IT professional in Perth, the story is far more internal—a journey that began with a life-threatening medical crisis and culminated in a profound spiritual awakening.

Born in India and raised in Tanzania, he moved to Australia in 2006 to complete his masters, eventually falling in love with the country and settling in Western Australia. Life was “smooth” until a genetic heart condition, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, began to obstruct his blood flow.

In 2018, he underwent open-heart surgery, but complications arose. “The blood flow from my heart, it started seeping into my lungs and I was struggling to breathe,” he recalls. To save his life, doctors placed him on an ECMO machine. While the machine kept his heart pumping, it compromised blood flow to his extremities. On 18 April 2018, doctors performed an above-knee amputation on his left leg to prevent sepsis.

The two years following his initial discharge were a “vicious cycle” of medical instability. While his left leg was gone, Nish fought desperately to save his right leg, which had suffered muscle loss from ischemia. “It was me holding on to it, thinking that, no, I need to salvage, I need to salvage,” he says.

However, the right leg remained an open wound. “That whole year in twenty nineteen, I kept on getting infection every three months,” Nish explains. “I go back, they put me on antibiotics. I go back again home, I have infection, I come back”.

The physical toll led to a spiritual and emotional breaking point. “I was so much depressed… why am I going through infection every three months? And why am I going through this depression and anxiety?”. During these months, Nish was surrounded by symbols of his upbringing, yet he felt a growing sense of emptiness.

Nish came from a Hindu background. “My bed had all the idols… I had a picture of Jesus Christ as well… but I was so lost in my own issues and in my own world of losing my legs”.

The turning point arrived in mid-2020. A non-Christian friend visited Nish “out of nowhere” and pulled a Bible from his bag. Initially, Nish’s mind was switched off: “I just rejected. And I said, ‘you know, take, take the take the Bible back. I don’t want to disrespect someone’s religion'”.

The very next day, Nish fell from his wheelchair while attempting to weight-bear on his weak right leg, resulting in a fracture. Returning to the hospital, he was told the right leg also required amputation. In that moment, he felt a “thought put in my head” to finally read the Bible. “I read the Bible and words like love, mercy, forgiveness where all, you know, talking to me,” he says. On the second day, he experienced a vision: “I saw a vision of the cross… I know that day I saw a vision of Jesus Christ. And, the very next day I accepted him as my Lord and Savior”.

Transitioning to life as a double amputee required a shift in perspective, especially regarding his family. His son, who was only two years old when the surgeries began, has only ever known Nish as an amputee. Nish recalls the heartbreak of his son once asking, “I wish daddy could grow a leg,” but now finds strength in their shared journey.

Nish initially returned to his career in IT, feeling a calling to change his work to “give back to the community”. He now works in IT in aged care specifically. “I’m able to give back to the community… they see me in a wheelchair and some some people are in a wheelchair as well. So I can give them a hope. Look, it’s not the end”.

Today, Nish views his challenges through a lens of “eternal hope”. He is trialling prosthetic legs and remains acutely aware of the support available in Australia. “I’m really grateful for this country, for NDIS, that they give us this opportunity,” he says.

He finds peace in surrendering the need for control. “I just take it day by day… things are not in my hands anymore. And I surrender to the one who has one who is in control”.

For Nish, his identity is no longer tied to his physical limbs, but to his faith. “All this is just… a breath of air. It’s just a breath of air and it just blows away”.

https://www.instagram.com/nishmania23

As part of The Limb Shift podcast I am working on, I spoke to Nish Afinwala about limb loss and limb difference. The interview with him will appear in the podcast when it launches later in 2026.