Convener News Desk
Kathua, Aug 16: For eight long years, the Sharma household in Duggan village lived in a strange quiet. Their son, Akshay, born with a cleft lip and palate, had undergone surgery as a toddler, yet no words ever followed. His parents waited, prayed, and despaired in equal measure—resigned to a silence that seemed permanent.
But this month, that silence was finally broken. And it wasn’t through a medical institute or costly treatment—it was through the compassion of an Indian Army doctor stationed in the area.
The turning point came when the officer, during a routine interaction in Duggan, met Akshay and his family. Struck by the boy’s condition and the family’s inability to access specialized care, the doctor refused to accept defeat. With no speech therapy available in the remote village, he turned himself into a teacher.
He read medical manuals, learned basic speech therapy techniques, and spent his spare hours working patiently with Akshay—first on sounds, then words, and eventually sentences. Progress was slow, but steady. Then one day, after months of effort, the boy called out to his parents.
“They could not believe it. Their eyes filled with tears,” recalls a villager. “For them, it was no less than a miracle.”
Today, Akshay speaks with growing confidence, filling his modest home with chatter and laughter. For his parents, each word is a priceless gift; for his community, his recovery is a testament to what dedication and empathy can achieve.
The story has resonated beyond Duggan, becoming a symbol of the Army’s quiet work off the battlefield. “This act of kindness shows that the Army not only protects borders, but also heals lives,” said a Defence spokesperson.
In Duggan, Akshay’s voice is now a song of hope—not just for his family, but for an entire village that learned how one soldier’s compassion could restore what poverty and circumstance had taken away.
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