Three days ago, a miracle took place in Room No. 528 in Hinduja Hospital at Mumbai. After 695 days, Parag Sawant, a 7/11 Mumbai Train blast victim, who has never spoken since (the result of a devastating brain injury), looked up at his mother and, very clearly, called out to her "Aai" (Mother). It was just one small, simple, word — aai — but it left his family weeping with happiness. The Sawant Family had waited for this day for exactly one year, 10 months and 25 days. Parag fell into a state of subconsciousness and barely responded to stimuli since July 7, 2006. He was a victim of the terrible train blasts that saw 187 dead and nearly 900 injured. “He was almost like a vegetable,” said Dr Amit Kohli, Parag’s physiotherapist.
Parag Sawant with his physiotherapist Dr Amit Kohli. Parag can now say small words like Hi, Papa, but his speech is impaired because of the food pipe in his throat.
His mother and Parag’s daughter, Prachiti, who was born three months after the tragedy.He was in the first class compartment of the Churchgate-Virar train when the bomb went off inside the compartment between Mira Road and Bhayender at 6.29 pm.
“This is my son’s second balpana (childhood),” said his father Jaiprakash emotionally. Recounting the moment, he said, “My wife and I go to the hospital every day and spend the whole day there. On Saturday, we were in Parag’s room and Dr Amit Kohli, his physiotherapist, came in for a routine check. He always asks Parag questions, hoping to get a response and so he said, ‘Parag, how are you?’ And pointing to my wife, asked, ‘who is she?’, without expecting a reply.”
The next magical moment, changed life for the Sawants forever.
Parag looked up at his mother and said, “Aai”. “My wife and I broke down. It was so overwhelming. We now hope and pray that he learns to walk again and leads an independent life,” said Jaiprakash.
Parag had opened his eyes earlier, but they were unfocussed. “That day, he actually looked at my wife,” said the father. Parag was a marketing manager in a private company.
Parag was admitted to Hinduja Hospital on July 7 with severe brain injury, a piece of his skull missing and he had superficial wounds.
Dr Kohli, said, “Parag is fed through a food pipe, which hampers his speech. Once that’s removed, he will be able to communicate better.”
The doctor added that though Parag was making progress, it was too early to say to what extent he would be able to regain complete movement. The skull was affixed in March this year, said the doctor.
Added Parag’s father, “My daughter-in-law was six months pregnant, when tragedy struck. He is now father to a lovely daughter, Prachiti, but has never held her.
The Sawants live in Mira Road — Jaiprakash works at the docks, while the mother, Madhuri, is a homemaker.
They said their son’s progress was solely due to the efforts of the doctors and nurses at Hinduja. I also have to thank Western Railway for footing all the medical expenses, which would have beyond my financial capacity.”
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