Premchand does not know when his birthday is, but his family and the entire Modha village in Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh knows that September 4, 2008, was the day when he was reborn. On that day, was rushed to AIIMS, 14 hours after his spine was broken into two following a freak accident.

An eight-hour long operation, has given, the boy a new lease of life. The operation had to be followed by months of physiotherapy. On Saturday, when doctors at AIIMS held a press conference, Premchand walked with a confident smile.

Premchand, was playing on September 3 last year, when a tractor driver asked him for a glass of water. The driver kept the glass on the ground and reversed, forgetting that the boy was behind it. The harrow cut into the boy’s back and his spine snapped into two.

Father Mukund Singh went from one hospital to another carrying the boy who was in critical shape by then.

They finally reached AIIMS after being turned away from five hospitals. “All the hospitals pronounced the same verdict — he would not survive, and if he did, never walk again,” said mother Usha. The ambulance drivers suggested taking him to AIIMS. The child had lost 30 per cent blood and had gone into shock. At AIIMS, a team of doctors led by consultant neurosurgeon Dr Deepak Gupta operated upon him. “Titanium rods were screwed in to keep the spine in place. The patient was discharged after 10 days,” said Dr Gupta.

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