PGIMS doctors give 8-year-old a new lease of life after 23 months on ventilator
An eight-year-old boy, who spent nearly two years on ventilator support at the PGIMS Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), was discharged on Monday after making a remarkable recovery, bringing an emotional end to a prolonged battle for life.
Girish Saini
Oct 5, 2026 11:15
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Rohtak, October 5, 2026: An eight-year-old boy, who spent nearly two years on ventilator support at the PGIMS Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), was discharged on Monday after making a remarkable recovery, bringing an emotional end to a prolonged battle for life.
UHSR Vice-Chancellor Dr H.K. Aggarwal visited the PICU to encourage the medical and nursing team following the child’s discharge. He said the patient’s will to live, coupled with the doctors’ determination and sustained efforts, had brought him back from the brink of death.
PICU in-charge Dr Kundan Mittal said the child was admitted on October 5, 2024, at the age of six, in an unconscious state with high fever and an inability to move his limbs. He remained on 100 percent oxygen and ventilator support for 23 months. Along with medical treatment, he received prolonged physiotherapy and nutritional support.
VC Dr Aggarwal praised Dr Mittal and his team, as well as the child’s parents, who remained by his side for nearly two years. He said such recoveries not only give immense satisfaction to medical professionals but also strengthen public faith in the institution.
The child’s father from Garhi Sisana village, said he was a taxi driver in Delhi and the family’s sole breadwinner. He had to give up work to stay with his son, while his wife remained by the child’s bedside throughout the treatment.
Calling the doctors “no less than God”, Dahiya said, “PGIMS became our second home over the past two years. We can never repay the doctors and nursing staff for giving our son a new life.”
The discharge turned into an emotional farewell. The father touched the feet of doctors and nurses, cut a cake and distributed sweets, besides presenting mementoes to the medical and nursing staff.
A ward member, not just a patient
For the nursing staff, the child had become a member of the PICU family during his long stay. Staff members often brought home-cooked food for the family and celebrated his birthday together. As he finally left the ward on Monday, several nurses were seen wiping away tears of joy.
