Burn victim survivor is excited to live life 'one day at a time'

Manoj Rana at commencement exercises with family, Dean Dan Dunn and Chancellor Howard Cohen.

Having survived deep tissue burns to more than 90 percent of his body, a comatose existence for four months and some 40 surgeries, Manoj Rana says he is pleased to take life "one day at a time."

A special one of those days occurred Dec. 19, 2006, when the 24-year-old native of Noida, Uttar Pradesh India walked across the Radisson Star Plaza Theatre stage during Purdue University Calumet Fall Commencement Exercises to receive a baccalaureate degree in computer engineering.

Rana was in the final weeks of his final undergraduate course when a fire gutted his Hammond apartment, July 2, 2005. Rana's roommate, fellow Purdue Calumet student and friend Prabhat Singhal, and two others died in the blaze.

Rana's recovery has been difficult, if not amazing. Yet, through it all, he has tried to stay upbeat and looks forward to returning to Purdue Calumet to pursue graduate study.

"After what happened, I didn't know when I would graduate, but I knew I would graduate some day," he said.

After battling for his life following the fire, he began rehabilitation/physical therapy last January and has made impressive progress. He walks most every day while receiving constant encouragement from friends and family.

"I get depressed once in a while when I cannot do some things," he said, "but my family and friends and therapists and doctors are so good to me; they encourage and help me. I talk to Marsha (Gordon, Purdue Calumet director of graduate and international student services) all the time. I just try to take things one day at a time."

Gordon, who assists and befriends Purdue Calumet's some 300 international students, calls Rana "an inspiration... In spite of the pain he has suffered, he has such a beautiful attitude toward life and people and himself. One cannot help but love him and the spirited excitement he displays with every accomplishment he makes as he works to rebuild his body and carry on with his life..."

Rana came to Purdue Calumet as part of a partnership program in which students who have studied engineering in India for three years can complete their undergraduate study at Purdue Calumet. The program has been so popular that many international graduates remain at Purdue Calumet to pursue a master's degree.

During his rehabilitation, Rana has lived in an Indianapolis nursing home connected with Wishard Hospital.