A story of grit, courage, triumph

Author: IANS
Publication: The Times of India
Date: May 18, 2004
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/682600.cms

It's a story of grit, survival and success that many could draw inspiration from.
 
In the last five years, 23-year-old Prashant Chadha has battled blindness, paralysis and even death. Yet next month he will walk into the portals of one of the world's top B-schools.
 
A bright future awaits him as he enters the Indian Institute of Management- Ahmedabad (IIM-A). Right now he is busy celebrating with friends and family. The flood of congratulatory messages has not stopped.

After all, his is not just another story of academic hard work and success.
 
In September 1998, the world went topsy-turvy for him and his family after a scooter accident led to serious head injuries.
 
He was in coma for 24 days and doctors at the premier Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here almost gave up hope.
 
Prashant does not remember anything about that period, not even the accident that almost took his life.
 
"They said either he won't survive or will just be a vegetable," his father Rakesh Chadha, a businessman, said.
 
When Prashant finally opened his eyes, there were problems aplenty. He couldn't recognise anyone, he couldn't talk and his entire right side was paralysed.
 
He had to drop an academic year when in Class 12, but that was hardly on the mind of his family as they tried to pull him out of the jaws of death.

His mother Poonam took it upon herself to resurrect his devastated life. From making him move his fingers to make gestures to helping him lift a pencil, Prashant had become dependent on others for everything.
 
"It was a tough period but I did not lose hope," Poonam said.
 
"Sustained physiotherapy over the next six months saw him recover to a great extent. Luckily, the severe head injury did not do any damage to his memory."
 
Gradually, Prashant started picking up pieces. He competed for an engineering degree at Punjab Engineering College (PEC) here. Things looked good for a while.
 
But then came another accident, this time while driving a car. The incident led to almost complete blindness as the smashed car windscreen hit his eyes.
 
Doctors at PGIMER opined that one eye was probably gone forever. Thanks to a delayed surgery though, they realised there was still some visibility left in that eye.
 
For the family, it was another trying time. Over half a dozen trips to Chennai's Shankar Netralaya eye hospital helped save the damaged eye somewhat.
 
Even now, he has less than 10 per cent vision in one eye.
 
But that hasn't deterred him from completing his engineering degree and then cracking the highly competitive IIM-A examination.
 
Said Prashant, "I feel happy and relieved now. It was a tough ordeal for my family, especially my mother. But I am looking to the future."
 

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