By the time Prasad was a year old, he wasn’t walking like other kids. We took him to a doctor who told us not to worry, that he was probably not walking because he was a chubby child. But after a couple of months, Prasad couldn’t even sit. A muscle biopsy revealed that he was afflicted with SMA. We were told that he would never walk, that even his voice would go after a while, because his lungs would not work too well.

When the doctors told us that, for a day or two, we went into deep shock. The atmosphere of the house was just as after a sudden death in the family.

A lot of people told us this has happened because of the paap Prasad must have committed in his previous life. Or that God has punished us for our sins. However, I never felt angry with God. I felt that God had instead sent Prasad to us because he thought us capable of taking care of him, of having the strength to give him love. God had given us a challenge and it was my honour that God thought us fit.

After we got over our initial shock, we asked ourselves, what was the fault of this child? If we continue being sad,

he would also have to deal with the burden of his parents’ sorrow for no fault of his own. So we decided to be happy with what we had, deal with every problem as it came along and think of solutions rather than what could have been.

We had a very practical approach. Despite people telling us to have mannats etc, we never tried any of those things. Then as he grew up and we discovered he was extremely talented – that was the greatest reward of all, beyond our dreams. We encourage each other, live for each other.