First published:16 Apr 2013;
Aged just five years old, Thusha Kamaleswaran, became the youngest victim of gun crime in the UK when she was horrifyingly caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting two years ago.
She’d been innocently dancing in the aisles of her uncle’s shop in Stockwell, south London, when thugs from warring gangs mindlessly sprayed bullets and little Thusha was shot through the chest.
'The bullet passed through her back, shattering her spine'
Incredibly, she survived the attack in March 2011 – but the bullet passed through her back, shattering her spine and leaving her paralysed from the waist down. Devastatingly, doctors said the ballet-loving schoolgirl would never walk again.
But miraculously, Thusha, now seven, has defied doctors’ predictions. And, after two years of intense physiotherapy, in January she took her first steps with the help of a hospital harness and treadmill.
To celebrate her amazing progress, Closer treated Thusha and her family to a day out at Sea Life London Aquarium and a Thames River Cruise ride.
Standing with the help of a walking frame, the courageous youngster tells Closer: “I do exercises every day – learning to walk again is so exciting. I want to run around with my friends and, when I grow up, I want to be a dancer or a doctor to help other sick children.”
Her mum, Sharmila, 36, who couldn’t ever face telling Thusha she was permanently paralysed, says:
“I burst into tears when doctors told us she’d never walk again. I had no idea what her future would hold – how she’d manage at school, work and whether she could start a family one day.
“We didn’t tell Thusha she could be spending her life in a wheelchair. We wanted her to keep her spirits up. We just told her that her legs were bruised and they’d get better.
“She’s worked really hard to strengthen the muscles in her legs – doing intense physiotherapy in hospital and exercises at home with the family – and, when we saw her on her feet again, it was like a miracle. The whole family was there and couldn’t stop smiling – she was beaming with happiness and so were we.
“All she wants to do is play with her friends like other children. We will never forgive her attackers for what they did – but Thusha refused to let them steal her future.”
'Doctors are now more confident about her recovery-we're so happy'
Sharmila adds: “Her prognosis has changed and doctors are now more confident about her recovery – we’re so happy.”
Doctors at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire – where Thusha receives intensive two-week physiotherapy every three months – have been left stunned by her recovery.
Sister Karen O’Donnell, from Stoke Mandeville Hospital’s spinal injury rehabilitation centre, says: “The likelihood of a child walking again after sustaining injuries to the spinal cord depends on the extent of the damage. Thusha has been monitored regularly to see how her spinal cord is recovering and has made great progress.
“After she began experiencing more function in her legs, doctors decided she was ready to practice walking with the help of a harness, treadmill and physiotherapist. We are very proud of her – she is thriving. Hopefully, she will continue to improve, although how well she will be able to walk is not yet known.”
Recalling the moment Thusha, from Ilford, Essex, who has an older brother Thusan, 14, and younger sister, Thushaika, five, was shot, Sharmila says: “I heard gun shots and saw Thusha fall to the ground. I found her in a pool of blood. She mumbled: ‘I can’t breathe’ before fainting. I was terrified.”
Thusha was taken to hospital, where she had two heart attacks and lay unconscious for a week.
Sharmila says: “We stood around her bedside and sobbed. We nearly lost her.”
And although she won her battle for life, heartbreakingly, a week later, the family were told there was little hope Thusha would regain feeling in her legs.
“Our lives were completely shattered,” recalls Sharmila. “It was devastating – Thusha loved to dance, she was so energetic. All we could do was pray for a miracle.”
Thusha spent three months in King’s College Hospital’s spinal unit – where she began her physiotherapy – before moving to Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where she received treatment for a further nine months.
In March last year, 12 months after the shooting, Thusha finally came home and, a month later, three gang members – Nathaniel Grant, 21, Kazeem Kolawole, 19, and Anthony McCalla, 20 – were jailed for attempted murder.
Grant, who fired the gun that hit Thusha, was given life, to serve a minimum of 17 and a half years. His accomplices Kolawole and McCalla, were both imprisoned for 14 years. In court, the judge said the evil trio had shown “no shred of remorse” for their actions.