It was everything he could want. “I was going to Ipoh and Penang, doing that mini-tour life,” the 30-year-old recalled fondly.
Thatchnamoorthy – or Murty, as he is known – had grown up watching his parents struggle to provide for him and his siblings. “We didn’t have much but we had enough,” he said.
He worked odd jobs during the day while working on his DJ career at night. By early 2019, he was earning well enough to care for his household: he had his mother’s home renovated, cleared his debts, and was starting to see a bright future.
“I couldn’t believe I could do what I loved and get paid for it,” he told FMT with a wistful laugh.
Then, on a day much like any other that August, he was riding his motorcycle when a sand truck sped up in an attempt to turn right and clipped Murty’s foot. The momentum swept him off his motorcycle and dragged him under the truck’s wheels before he was flung away.
The accident resulted in his left leg being mangled, in addition to him suffering multiple broken bones and fractures.
Murty remembers begging doctors to save his leg, but they didn’t give him any false hope that it could be saved: the damage was too extensive.
“I begged and cried, I was hysterical but there was nothing they could do,” he said.
The doctors kept him sedated for several days as they worked to save as much of his leg as possible. In moments of lucidity, when the pain would wake him and before the sedatives pulled him under, he was filled with despair.
“I kept thinking, really? Now? When things are looking up for me?”
One month after the accident, he underwent an amputation. “I didn’t want to accept it. I still don’t accept it,” he admitted with a shake of his head.
Murty’s left leg ends just below the knee. The doctors managed to preserve most of the muscles, but they needed a skin graft from his right leg to wrap around the remainder of the left.
“I thought I was in pain before, but that was…” Here Murty paused, unable to find the words.
Now, the formerly active young man is housebound. Once an avid hiker, marathoner, shuttler and backpacker, he cannot go anywhere without being escorted, and these days gets around using crutches or a wheelchair.
He requires a prosthetic leg custom-designed for his needs – but it comes with the hefty price tag of just over RM680,000, which is far out of his reach.
His hope is that this amount might be attained through a settlement from the company that owns the sand truck that hit him. However, he is still awaiting a court date for the hearing as the pandemic and other legal constraints have caused delays.
“I’m just waiting for the prosthetic. I have to believe I will get it, so I can go back out and take care of my family,” he said.
Murty shared that a friend of his set up a crowdfunding page in 2019 to raise money for his everyday living. The amount so far was used to cover essentials such as food, bills, and other costs over the past two years, given how his mobility is restricted.
While the page has not seen much activity since – “I don’t really have any connections when it comes to raising money,” he acknowledged – the campaign is still running, and members of the public who would like to contribute towards his cause are welcome to do so.
In the meantime, the DJ and musician is trying to find it within himself to dream again. Instead of focusing on what he has lost, he has turned to making cover versions of songs he enjoys and sharing them on his social media.
It is, Murty said, the only way he can still feel connected to a world that seems to be passing him by.
“It feels good,” he added, describing what it is like to receive comments and compliments about his singing. “It feels like there is still something I can do.”
Those who wish to support Murty can visit his crowdfunding page here.
Follow Murty’s Instagram profile and YouTube channel to hear his song covers, and visit his blog to find out more about how he is coping with the changes in his life.