Chandigarh: Thirteen days. That’s how long 17-year-old Kanishka Best spent on a ventilator in the intensive care unit, where machines were breathing for her and doctors were constantly monitoring her.
On Friday, she was carried on a stretcher, still strapped to an oxygen cylinder, and wrote her Grade 12 exam. No writer. Just Kanishka and her courage.A student of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa Higher Secondary School in Sector 26, Chandigarh, Kanishka has been living with muscular dystrophy since birth. This degenerative condition has always made everyday tasks difficult, but the past few weeks have tested her stamina like never before.
Her final illness began with a hacking cough and cold.She was very clear that she didn’t want to miss the exam: DadHer father, Prem Singh Bist, a businessman from Zirakpur, near Chandigarh, said the medical emergency began with what seemed like a routine illness. He added: “She started suffering from a cough and cold on January 30, but her health condition quickly deteriorated.”On February 2, she was admitted to a hospital in Panchkula. As complications increased, she was referred to Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh.
She was quickly transferred to the intensive care unit and put on a ventilator.“She was on a ventilator for 13 days. She did not have proper consciousness for about 10 days,” Kanishka’s father said. For most people, the focus will be solely on recovery. For Kanishka, there was another date looming on the horizon – her first CBSE paper, Physics. The father noted: “She told us on Thursday evening that she wanted to take her exam on Friday.”The family rushed to coordinate with the school authorities and the examination centre, a government school in Manimajra, about 10 km away.
Due to her health condition, the Central Board of Secondary Education granted her an additional hour. “During her 10th class assemblies also, we took an extra hour of CBSE due to her health issues,” he said.Kanishka chose to write the paper herself. “Since it all happened at the last minute, we could not get permission for a writer from CBSE,” he said, adding that her determination astounded him. With four more scans to go, Kanishka is now balancing recovery with preparation. Her older brother and family remain a constant source of support. “Doctors are confident she will get better,” Best said, adding: “After what she showed us, we believe she will get better.”
