A man who was crippled in 2016 from a spinal cord injury, and had written a plea for passive euthanasia then, has now begun looking at life more optimistically, thanks to an NGO and a physiotherapist who could help him walk again.

Two years after a spinal cord injury had crippled him and took away his desire to live, a 24-year-old man from Malda district, West Bengal has now started looking back at life with new hopes. The man had raised the euthanasia debate in West Bengal by seeking permission to end his life in the face of serious illness and abject poverty.

But now his focus has changed. "No, I do not want to die any more," said the man, who is now able to walk with the help of a walker, thanks to the effort of a physiotherapist who is treating him free of cost. The man had shot off a letter to the District Magistrate on October 28, 2016 praying that he be allowed to opt for euthanasia after returning from a Bengaluru hospital following a spinal cord surgery.

He had to return from Bengaluru as the post-operation physiotherapy procedures involved high medical expenses which the poor labourer from Englishbazar block could not afford. "My son could not move his hands and feet after the surgery in Bengaluru in mid-2016 and the hospital advised prolonged physiotherapy there which was very expensive," said his mother.

On return the man had slipped into acute depression and wrote the letter to the district administration. A local NGO and his neighbours then came to his side, the mother recalled. While the neighbours motivated him to come out of depression, the physiotherapist who is attached to the NGO came to his residence in the middle of 2017 and took the responsibility of bringing his life back on track.

A couple of months back the man showed signs of improvement managing to move his limbs, his mother said adding that her son can now move a bit with walker. The man said, "I don't want to die any more. I had almost given up hope of any recovery and hence wrote that letter in a moment of extreme depression. But there is a new ray of hope now. I know I will be able to move out of my room and see the world again."

The man had lost his father at a young age and has a brother. He recalled he had suffered spinal cord injury in early 2016 while unloading sacks of rice and had been referred to Kolkata by Malda Hospital. From Kolkata he was referred to a medical facility in Bengaluru. The physiotherapist said the man is young and his entire life lies ahead. "It is our job to treat patients and bring them back on life's track." Earlier this week the Supreme Court had recognised a 'living will' made by terminally-ill patients for passive euthanasia.