Manpreet Singh, who hails from Lasara Village inJalandhar, was like any normal kid until the age of five. It was in 1989, whenhe turned six; he felt a severe pain in his left hand and was rushed to thenearby hospital by his family. He was then prescribed some medicines anddoctors said he will be okay within a day or two. But who knew his wait torecover will never see the light of day.
He says the worst days of his life weren’t when his painfrom left hand started spreading to his whole body (from the neck down) andwhen he lost control over all four limbs and got bedridden. But it was afternine years when he turned 15; he faced the real tough times and thought that hemay now die anytime soon.
“I was eight years old when my body below the neckstopped working. My family and relatives then took me to every hospital inPunjab and other states to find the best treatment for me, but all in vain as nodoctor was able to diagnose the root of my illness”, he said.
“When I turned 15, my condition further deteriorated andI complained of having breathing issues, high fiver and unconsciousness. It wasthen my mother took me to a local clinic to get me medicine for fever, butsurprisingly that doctor within seconds found the real reason behind mysickness and asked my mother to get the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of myneck done”, said, Manpreet, adding that it was then he was diagnosed with stageIII neck tumor.
He further said that he was then referred to PGIChandigarh for treatment but all the while, he had no idea about what was goingon with him as his family never informed him about his critical condition. “Iactually overheard doctors who were discussing my case outside the room I wasadmitted. I then got to know I had tumor and asked my parents if I am going todie. But all they told me was I will be fine soon”.
Andlife changed
“My surgery was successful, doctors saved my life but mycervical spinal cord nerves were completely pulverized and I was neck downparalyzed for life. The doctors then gave their verdict that my condition wasincurable and I would remain in this vegetative state for lifelong”, he said,adding that he was then devastated; he felt like there was no light at the endof the tunnel and he was being sucked into an abyss. “But I refused to acceptthis feeling and reality; I decided to not give up at any cost”.
He said over the years, he learnt living withquadriplegia and he realised if he can live like this that means nothing isimpossible for him. “I requested my mother to buy me a computer and the firstthing she asked was how I would use it. Also, we could not afford it so shedenied my request. But, one of my uncles luckily gifted me a laptop and then Istarted learning video editing and mixing. I since last many years have beenworking on editing marriage and others videos.
Usescomputer with mouth
When asked how he operates computer and do editing, hesaid he used computer or laptop with mouth and presses the keys of keyboardusing a small ' wooden neem stick'. “It took a lot of time to me to get learnhow to use computer this way, but I never gave”, he said, adding that threeyears back he has opened a small cyber cafe near to his house and is alsogiving free computer classes to the school going students of his village.
Thebiggest supporter: Gurbani and Mother
He said living with a body that has no movement below theneck was not easy. “I at times get bedsores and other related problems, but mymother (Avtar Kaur) has always come to my rescue and motivated me to crossevery obstacle by reciting Gurbani. I really can’t thank her enough”, he said.
The die-hard optimist
Manpreet said that he feels there is a spark in each oneof us which lights up in the darkest hour of adversity. “All that lies behindus and all that lies in front of us is too little in comparison to what lieswithin us. We can always overcome all our hardships and turn our dreams intoreality. All you have to do is never give up”.