15 June,2017 07:57 PM IST | Mumbai | Faisal Tandel
Ruchira Patwa is a fighter. She was just 18 months old when she underwent her first open heart surgery for a hole in the organ. The 15-year-old resident of Kurla has now proved, once again, that she can take on whatever life throws at her
Ruchira Patwa
Ruchira Patwa is a fighter. She was just 18 months old when she underwent her first open heart surgery for a hole in the organ. The 15-year-old resident of Kurla has now proved, once again, that she can take on whatever life throws at her. Not only did she sit the SSC examinations this year despite having undergone another open heart surgery to remove a membrane from the organ in May 2016, she also aced it be scoring 76.40 per cent.
Patwa's mother, Suman (40), an operational and marketing manager with a merchandising firm in Mumbai who is raising the child all by herself, says the period after last year's surgery was a difficult time. "While other students were going to coaching institutes for the board examinations, I was trying to raise a loan of R10 lakh for my daughter's surgery."
Patwa, a student of Swami Vivekananda School in Chembur, was confined to the bed for nearly three months after the surgery. The girl's frail condition forced her to skip school all through the year. "Her teachers asked her to give the semester and preliminary examinations a shot to motivate her."
Patwa is raring to continue her education. "I want to prove that I can be like any other student," she says.
