For the past four years, Akshay has been confined to bed after suffering a stroke on the night Brazil were knocked out of the 2022 World CupFootball has always had a special place in Kerala, but for one family in Kakkanad, Brazil’s World Cup campaign means far more than sporting success. For the past four years, Akshay, 26, has been confined to bed after suffering a stroke on the night Brazil were knocked out of the 2022 World Cup.As the five-time champions return to football’s biggest stage, his family and friends are clinging to a different kind of hope that the excitement surrounding the tournament might help spark his recovery.According to a Times of India report, that hope grew stronger when, last week, some of Akshay’s friends visited him and shared the news that Brazil had qualified for the World Cup. What happened next surprised everyone.“For the first time in four years, he smiled,” his family said.The moment has encouraged those around him to reconnect him with the sport he once loved so deeply. A local club arranged a public screening near his home for Brazil’s match against Haiti.“It will be Akshay’s first outing, apart from hospital visits, in four years,” his father, K T Purushothaman, a headload worker, was quoted as saying by TOI.“We are trying to arrange a television so he can watch Brazil’s matches at home,” Pradeep N K, regional secretary of Kanivu Palliative Care, which has been helping the family over the last four years, said.Story continues below this adBefore illness changed his life, Akshay dreamed of becoming a footballer and was an ardent supporter of Brazil.A stroke and slow recoveryHis family still struggles to come to terms with what happened on that fateful night in 2022. Purushothaman remembers growing worried when his son failed to return home after watching Brazil’s match at a public screening. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brut India (@brut.india) “More than two hours had passed after Brazil’s defeat, but Akshay hadn’t returned home. He wasn’t responding and we rushed him to a nearby hospital,” he recalled.Also Read | Lionel Messi responds to Kerala man’s birthday wish in Spanish, watchDoctors soon discovered that Akshay had suffered a stroke caused by a blood clot in his brain.Story continues below this adFriends who were with him that night initially misunderstood what was happening. They noticed Akshay sitting silently after the final whistle and assumed he wanted some time alone to come to terms with Brazil’s heartbreaking exit.Only later did they realise that what appeared to be disappointment was actually a medical emergency.Since then, recovery has been painfully slow. For years, the only visible signs of his response came through his eyes, leaving his family unsure of how much he understood.“If someone visits us, he closes his eyes. He opens them only after they leave,” said his mother, Jaya.Story continues below this adBrazil, currently ranked sixth in the world, began their World Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw against Morocco and are expected to progress to the knockout rounds. While few see them as favourites to lift the trophy, Akshay’s family views every match through a very different lens.