Mahalingam, as a 14 year old, worked in a copper ware cottage industry. In May 1997 copper spilled on him and destroyed his wind pipe and food pipe. He suffered a great deal since then. He eats liquid food through a tube. He sneezes through another tube.

His right lung had to be removed as well and so he has difficulty speaking. In Oct. 99, a couple of years of after his accident and prolonged treatment, we came to know about him through Mr. Selva Kumar of Dinamalar. He then underwent Tracheotomy in General Hospital , Chennai. Later he was admitted in Tuberculosis Hospital in Tambaram Sanitarium, and in 2000 in Apollo Hospital and later in Soorya Hospital -all in Chennai.

In Dec. 2000 he had speech therapy in AIMS, Cochin , and he can speak a little now. In Mar. 2001 Dr. Rajkumar performed esophageal reconstruction in RIGID hospital, Chennai. In May 2001 Dr. Sashank and Dr. Rajkumar had to remove Mahalingam's right lung to save his life. In 2002 he was admitted in Rigid Hospital again, and he later had another major surgery to reconstruct his food pipe.

He was then under medication for a year. From then on he has been leading a more normal life. He finished his Plus Two, joined B.A. Economics in Govt. Arts College, Nandanam, completed Computer courses-Software and Hardware courses (DTP, Tally, MS Office etc.), and developed English speaking proficiency. He is quite self sufficient now.

He, however, still needs two more surgeries to restore his food pipe.