Play it again, Renju

Renju Kuruvilla, 26, radiates happiness when he remembers the day he got his letter of appointment to work as a computer teacher in the primary section of Delhi Private School in Sharjah in May this year.

For someone with Down's syndrome, this is best described as a watershed moment.

Before this, for two years he worked at the school - three times a week - as part of a job placement programme through Al Noor Training Centre for Children with Special Needs.

He sent his first salary to the centre and his second to his grandmother in India. His parents - Dr Jacob Kuruvilla, a specialist physician, and Dr Ivy Kuruvilla, a specialist gynaecologist - were overcome with emotion.

"Being an earning member of the household has increased his confidence tremendously. We still remember how difficult it was accepting a child with special needs.

"He had viral encephalitis (inflammation of the brain caused by a virus) when he was 9 months old, which left him paralysed except for his left hand. He was in a coma for a week. He couldn't recognise us," says Dr Jacob.

Days and nights were spent in observation rooms. Dad and mum wondered how they were going to manage this unplanned and unexpected turn of events.

"We were anxious. When he regained consciousness we were there by his side. He looked at us, and smiled. It was at this moment we realised God has chosen us to look after Renju, and we were going to do our best," says Dr Ivy.

But it wasn't going to be easy. He was also diagnosed with Down's syndrome. Simple activities were laborious. Circumstances weren't propitious either. Renju needed physiotherapy. He had poor balance and weakness in both legs. He had to use a walker and a wheelchair whenever he went out. (He still does.)

But efforts from family and friends were sedulous. Dad introduced Renju to swimming, so he could improve muscle tone. First in the bathtub, then in the sea and the pool. They took lessons together. Today Renju swims without help.

He studied at the Al Noor Centre in Dubai. The teachers and staff played an important role in his development; the work placement staff helped him secure a job.

"My principal, Abha Sahgal, and senior teacher, Mamta Muraledhraan, encouraged me a lot," says Renju.

Apart from academia, he enjoys playing and watching sport.

"I have autographs of tennis stars like Boris Becker, Leander Paes and Sania Mirza," beams Renju.

When he was at the Centre, he participated in sport - wheelchair tennis and horse riding.

Renju is the couple's second child. His elder sister, Renu, a paediatrician, lives in California with her husband and their three children.

"I adore them. I love visiting them. I also love to travel," says Renju, who speaks fluent Malayalam, a South Indian regional language, and English.

In addition to sport, Renju enjoys music ecclesiastical activities, yoga and travel.

It also helps that his parents run their clinic, Dr Jacob Kuruvilla Clinic in Dubai, so they can devote extra time to Renju.

"It is hard to describe our journey as a family ... we often wondered how life would turn out for Renju. But God has taken care of him until now."

When you meet Renju, you may not see signs of the numerous moments of frustration and disappointment he has experienced, but what you will see is the reward of the love and support showered upon him by his family and friends.