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They told her she’d never walk again, but a young girl from south London wouldn’t take “no” for an answer.

In an exclusive interview with the Mirror, seven-year-old Thusha Kamaleswaran proudly revealed that she has taken her first steps since being shot in a store in south London two years ago. Using the help of a harness and treadmill, she defied previous prognoses, determined to get out of her wheelchair on her own.

“I want to dance around and play basketball with my friends,” Thusha told the Mirror. “I want to travel around the world, too.”

In March 2011, Thusha was caught in the crossfire of a gang fight that broke out in her uncle’s store. A stray bullet landed in her spine, stopping her heart twice and paralyzing her from the waist down. According to the BBC, after a year of surgeries and extended hospital stays, doctors gave her a slim chance of ever walking again.

The shooting of the then-five-year-old sparked an outpouring of support. The detectives who worked on her case set up a trust to help cover her medical expenses, participating in fundraising challenges that have raised at least £185,000, the Press Association reports.

Shortly after she returned home from the hospital in May 2012, ITV caught up with Thusha and her family. The girl’s family had made the conscious decision not to tell her the doctors’ grim prognosis in order to keep the girl’s hope alive. In the heartbreaking segment above, Thusha spoke of her desire to dance again and return to school, not knowing just how slim a chance she had at ever standing on her own two feet.

Perhaps being kept in the dark about her condition aided Thusha in her recovery. Ever optimistic, she has been undergoing intense physiotherapy for the past two years and performs hours of rehabilitation exercises every day, the Mirror reports.

“Thusha never gives up, she works so hard,” her older brother, Thushan, told the Mirror. “Nothing will stop her from achieving her goal.”

Earlier on HuffPost:

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• United States

  The a href=”http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/10/us-usa-shooting-guns-fb-idUSTRE7096M620110110? target=”_hplink”U.S. Constitution/a’s Second Amendment affords Americans the right to “bear Arms,” but each state has its own regulations.

  emPhoto credit: Whitney Curtis/Getty Images/em

• United Kingdom

  Only licensed gun owners can a href=”http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/united-kingdom” target=”_hplink”buy and possess weapons/a in the UK. Hunting, target shooting or collecting are considered valid reasons to acquire a license, but a href=”http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-06-26-2026227487_x.htm” target=”_hplink”self-defense is not/a. Civilians can’t possess semi-automatic or automatic firearms, handguns or armor-piercing ammunition. a href=”http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uks-gun-laws-are-among-the-toughest-in-the-world-1990075.html” target=”_hplink”Criminal offenders/a who have been in prison for more than three years are banned from having a gun.

  emPhoto credit: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images/em

• Australia

  Australians can only possess a firearm with a license, anda href=”http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/australia” target=”_hplink” licenses are only granted/a for hunting, target shooting, historical collection, pest control, and occasionally for occupational reasons. Civilians can’t keep semi-automatic rifles or shotguns, and a href=”http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-06-26-2026227487_x.htm” target=”_hplink”gun ownership for self-defense/a is not permitted.

  emPhoto credit: Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images/em

• Mexico

  Mexican law allows civilians to possess handguns and semi-automatic assault weapons, but a href=”http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/mexico” target=”_hplink”only with a license/a. Valid reasons to request a license are hunting, target shooting, rodeo riding, collection, personal protection, or employment. Applicants must pass a background check and renew their licenses every two years.

  a href=”http://articles.cnn.com/2012-04-26/us/us_mexico-crime-guns_1_mexican-crime-scenes-gun-sales-gun-dealers” target=”_hplink”Nearly 70 percent/a of weapons found at Mexican crime scenes can be traced back to the United States, according to CNN.

  emPhoto credit: LUCAS CASTRO/AFP/Getty Images/em

• Russia

  Russians a href=”http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/russia” target=”_hplink”must prove/a that firearms will be used for hunting, target shooting, historic collection, personal protection or security in order to get a license.

  License applicants must be 18 years old and pass a background check. Licenses need to be renewed every five years.

  emPhoto credit: DMITRY ASTAKHOV/AFP/Getty Images/em

• China

  Chinese citizens are a href=”http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-04/21/content_856308.htm” target=”_hplink”not allowed to posses firearms/a. Exceptionally, the government issues permission to own a firearm for hunting, sports shooting and animal control. a href=”http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-04/21/content_856308.htm” target=”_hplink”Penalties for illegal selling of weapons/a ranges from three years in jail to the death penalty.

  emCaption: Police display guns they seized from illegal traders at Chengdu Municipal Public Security Bureau on January 26, 2005 in Chengdu of Sichuan Province, China. (China Photos/Getty Images)/em

• Canada

  Canadians can possess handguns, but need authorization to carry them. Possession of automatic weapons is prohibited (except when the a href=”http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/canada” target=”_hplink”weapon was bought before 1978/a) and semi-automatic weapons are tolerated in exceptional cases. Applicants for a license must a href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/10/gun-ownership-laws-around-the-world” target=”_hplink”pass background test/a, must follow a safety course and be certified by a firearms officer. Licenses are up for renewal eavery 5 years.

  emCaption: Rifles are lined up as athletes prepare to compete in the women’s Biathlon 4×6 km relay at the Whistler Olympic Park during the Vancouver Winter Olympics on February 23, 2010. (FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images)/em

• Brazil

  Brazil has a href=”http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/04/09/brazil-debates-gun-laws-deadly-school-shooting/” target=”_hplink”strict gun laws/a. Gun holders need to be 25, have no criminal record and attend safety courses. Licences are granted for reasons of hunting, target shooting, personal protection and security and must be renewed every three years.

  emCaption: A policeman holds a seized machine gun at Morro do Alemao shanty town on November 28, 2010 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (JEFFERSON BERNARDES/AFP/Getty Images)/em

• Japan

  As the emAtlantic/em notes, a href=”http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/a-land-without-guns-how-japan-has-virtually-eliminated-shooting-deaths/260189/” target=”_hplink”few Japanese own a gun/a. Civilians in Japan are only allowed to have a firearm a href=”http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/japan” target=”_hplink”for hunting and with special permission for target shooting/a. License applicants need to pass a href=”http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/a-land-without-guns-how-japan-has-virtually-eliminated-shooting-deaths/260189/” target=”_hplink”a shooting range class and a background check/a. Licences have to be renewed a href=”http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/japan” target=”_hplink”every three years/a.

  emCaption: A soldier of Ground Self Defense Forces’ Central Readiness Force (CRF) walks past rifles prior to the inauguration ceremony of the CRF at Asaka camp in northern Tokyo, 31 March 2007. (TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)/em

• Germany

  German civilians a href=”http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-06-26-2026227487_x.htm” target=”_hplink”need to have a license/a to buy and hold firearms. Applicants need to be 21, pass a background check that assesses reliability and suitability and applicants under the age of 25 need to pass a psychological exam. Licenses are up for renewal every three years.

  emCaption: A gun lies outside a branch of Postbank bank after an attempted robbery that left one guard dead October 29, 2007 in Berlin, Germany. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)/em

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