Sheesh Ahmed with Dr Utpal Anand and his father at Paras HMRI Hospital in Patna on Tuesday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

A 12-year-old boy from Katihar crushed under an earthmoving machine last month has received a second shot at life.

The family of Sheesh Ahmed, a 12-year-old boy from Marghiya village in Katihar, 325km east of Patna, expected the worst when he got trapped under the arm of an earthmoving machine. The boy was at a construction site in his village where his father was working when the accident occurred on November 19.

He was rushed to four hospitals, including Patna Medical College and Hospital, and refused. Finally, after 14 hours of the accident by when it was November 20, he was admitted in to Paras HMRI Hospital in Patna. Immediately wheeled into the operating theatre, he was saved. Discharged on December 4, the boy has been asked to come for check-ups every week.

The private hospital in Patna held a news meet on Tuesday. Gastro-surgeon Utpal Anand led the team, comprising a cardiothoracic surgeon, operating upon Ahmed.

Anand said: “The injury Ahmed suffered was very rare for he was crushed under the earthmoving machine. The boy’s spleen, stomach and other organs could be seen from the back when he was brought to the hospital. His condition was critical. His blood pressure was low and he had difficulty breathing. He had serious lung injury too. A portion of the injured lung and stomach were resected and then operated upon. He was kept on ventilator for a day and gradually brought under a normal diet.”

Anand called the case a unique one because Ahmed survived despite severe injuries to his spleen and stomach till 14-15 hours of the accident.

The Telegraph spoke to Ahmed’s father, Tanveer Alam, a labourer, over phone. He said: “Till 12 hours or so of the accident, we took him to Katihar Medical College and Hospital, Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences and PMCH, apart from another Patna-based private hospital, for treatment. None of them agreed to take the case.”

Recounting the accident, he said: “A new driver was operating the earthmoving machine on the day of the accident. He pushed a wrong button for which the machine started moving in the opposite direction. My boy got trapped under the machine. Premier hospitals of the state such as PMCH and IGIMS refused to conduct the surgery. They claimed of lacking the infrastructure required for the surgery. I was crestfallen.”

Brajesh Mehrotra and Anand Kishor, the principal secretary and secretary, respectively, in the health department did not take calls from The Telegraph. S.K. Sharma, joint secretary in the department, said he would speak later on the issue.