Class X student with spinal cord tumour gets ready for CBSE exam after surgery
Times of India | 15 February 2025
123 Kolkata: A CBSE class X student who was left paralysed from the waist down by a tumour in his spinal cord last month will walk into the exam hall for his first board exam paper on Saturday, following a successful surgery at a city private hospital three weeks ago.
For Rohit Yadav (16), it seemed impossible to be able to take the exam when he suddenly went numb in his legs and was not able to walk or even sit straight. Though his parents wanted him to drop out of the exam this year, he was determined to give it a shot and urged his parents to consult a doctor.
With barely three weeks to go, time was running out for the Kendriya Vidyalaya, Fort William student. Doctors suggested an immediate surgery, which was conducted on Jan 21 at CMRI Hospital, to remove the tumour. Yadav was put into a rehabilitation and physiotherapy routine even as he grappled with his last-minute preparations. He has now recovered and has no trace of the debilitating tumour.
For the last month and a half, Yadav has been preparing for the boards, lying in bed. "I can move around freely now. It seemed impossible at one stage, but I didn't lose heart. Despite the pain and the debilitating impact of the tumour, I was keen to get a surgery done and appear for my first board exam. Fortunately, everything has gone right, and I feel perfectly fine," the youngster said.
CMRI Hospital neurosurgeon Amitabha Chanda, who conducted the surgery, said: "It was a hard tumour that compressed his spinal cord, leading to a complete paralysis in his lower limbs. His parents asked me if the surgery could be done after his exam was over on March 18. But that would have been too late, and he might have been left completely paralysed by then. His tumour was on the dorsal spine and was showing signs of rapid progression. Yadav was keen on getting the surgery done, and we went ahead with it."
After an MRI confirmed the tumour, a two-and-a-half-hour surgery removed it. Yadav responded well to both the surgery and the post-surgical rehabilitation. "His recovery has been quick, and he is fit to take his exams," Chanda said.
Yadav is happy to be over the nightmare.
"It started with a tingling sensation in my legs, and, within days, I started losing sensation in my feet. Within a few days, I could not even sit. But the worst is over, and I am now focused on my exams," Yadav said.