Lakshmi goes home: Villagers Worship Indian Infant as Mother Goddess

[Guest guest]

I'm glad they were able to help her.

 

Namaste,

 

pr

 

 

 

 

, " msbauju " <msbauju wrote:

>

> Girl Born With 8 Limbs Leaves Hospital

> By AIJAZ RAHI

> Dec. 15, 2007

>

> BANGALORE, India (AP) - A 2-year-old girl who was

> born with four arms and four legs left a hospital in southern

> India on Saturday, little more than a month after surgeons

> successfully removed her extra limbs.

>

> The surgeon who led more than 30 doctors in the marathon

> surgery said Lakshmi was making good progress and should

> be mobile soon.

>

> " Lakshmi is fine and stable, " chief surgeon Dr. Sharan Patil

> told The Associated Press. " She should face no problem in

> walking. "

>

> Lakshmi was born joined at the pelvis to a " parasitic twin "

> that stopped developing in her mother's womb. The

> surviving fetus absorbed the limbs, kidneys and other body

> parts of the undeveloped twin.

>

> A team of more than 30 surgeons performed a 24-hour

> operation on Nov. 7 at the Sparsh hospital in Bangalore, the

> capital of southern Karnataka state. They removed the extra

> limbs, transplanted a kidney from the twin and reconstructed

> Lakshmi's pelvic area.

>

> " Lakshmi is a hero, " Patil said Saturday.

>

> " Lakshmi, who never turned (over) earlier, started turning

> after the surgery. She was even able to stand for 10 minutes

> on the bed holding the window grill, which is remarkable, "

> the Press Trust of India news agency quoted Patil as saying.

>

> Lakshmi's parents said they were taking her back to their

> rural village in eastern Bihar state where she had been

> revered by some as an incarnation of the four-armed Hindu

> goddess she was named after.

>

> http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ioEP8is7RqYTbWBie

> 4flPm7qJmiAD8THUGDO0

>

> , " Devi Bhakta "

> <devi_bhakta@> wrote:

> >

> > Almost a year ago, I posted a story about Lakshmi, a baby girl born

> > with extra limbs (apparently she was the survivor of incompletely

> > separated twins) and worshiped by local villagers who considered

> her

> > to be an avatar of the multi-armed Durga.

> >

> > This morning, some wonderful news for Lakshmi and her family:

> >

> > EXTRA LIMBS GONE, BABY LAKSHMI SAYS HELLO:

> > 2-Year-Old Indian Girl Doing Well After 24-Hour Operation; Docs

> > Optimistic, More Surgery Needed

> >

> > BANGALORE, India, Nov. 13, 2007 (CBS/AP): Nearly a week after

> > surgeons removed the extra limbs from an Indian girl born with four

> > arms and four legs, the bright-eyed 2-year-old made her first

> public

> > appearance Tuesday after leaving the hospital's intensive care

> unit.

> >

> > Swathed in blankets and lying on her father's lap, the girl, named

> > Lakshmi, appeared before reporters without the extra limbs which

> had

> > led some people in her rural village to revere her as an

> incarnation

> > of the four-armed goddess she was named after.

> >

> > Looking healthy and alert, Lakshmi had both of her legs in casts

> > while her arms were free. After sitting for photographs, her

> parents

> > quickly ushered her off the stage without speaking to reporters.

> >

> > Lakshmi's doctors were encouraged by her progress and said she was

> > responding well enough to treatment to leave the hospital's

> intensive

> > care unit.

> >

> > Everything seems to be working right -- cardiac, the nervous

> system,

> > respiratory system, and her G.I. system, reports Dave Price of CBS'

> > The Early Show.

> >

> > " She is coping very well and she is stable, " said chief surgeon Dr.

> > Sharan Patil. " Lakshmi is safe at the moment. "

> >

> > Lakshmi had a 25 percent chance of not even surviving the surgery,

> > reports Price.

> >

> > Lakshmi was born joined at the pelvis to a " parasitic twin " that

> > stopped developing in her mother's womb. The surviving fetus

> absorbed

> > the limbs, kidneys and other body parts of the undeveloped twin.

> >

> > A team of more than 30 surgeons finished a 24-hour operation last

> > Wednesday at a hospital in the southern city of Bangalore. They

> > removed the extra limbs, transplanted a kidney from the twin and

> > reconstructed Lakshmi's pelvic area.

> >

> > Lakshmi has begun eating solid food again and has been off her

> > respirator since Friday, Patil said.

> >

> > But despite her swift progress, Patil cautioned that Lakshmi still

> > had a long way to go toward a full recovery.

> >

> > " We still have things to do, but so far, so good, " he said.

> >

> > Lakshmi will need further treatment and possible surgery for

> clubbed

> > feet before she will be able to walk. Her wounds from surgery are

> > still healing and Patil said they will continue to monitor her

> > closely.

> >

> > The casts on her legs are intended to keep her inverted feet

> straight

> > and the legs together.

> >

> > He did not say when she might be able to return home.

> >

> > Children born with deformities in rural India like the remote

> village

> > in the northern state of Bihar where Lakshmi comes from are often

> > viewed as reincarnated gods.

> >

> > Her father, Shambhu, who only goes by one name, had told reporters

> > that her family had been worried for her future before the

> operation

> > and that he was looking forward to seeing her with " a normal body. "

> >

> > SOURCE: © MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc.

> > URL (with PHOTOS, VIDEO and STORY LINKS):

> > http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/13/world/main3493648.shtml?

> > source=search_story

> > or

> > TINY URL: http://tinyurl.com/2tp8z7

> >

> > , " Devi Bhakta "

> > <devi_bhakta@> wrote:

> > >

> > > [it would be nice if we could set up a small fund to help this

> > > baby's parents obtain the medical care she needs. Any members

> know

> > > how this might be facilitated through local relief agencies,

> etc? -

> > > DB]

> > >

> > > KOLKATA, India, Nov 14, 2006 (Reuters) - Thousands of people are

> > > flocking an Indian village to worship a baby girl born with rare

> > > tumours as they believe she is a reincarnation of Durga, the

> multi-

> > > armed Hindu mother goddess, police said on Tuesday.

> > >

> > > The tumours on the infant, born in a village in the eastern state

> > of

> > > Bihar a few weeks ago, looked like extra limbs, drawing locals

> from

> > > around the region with gifts of fruits and flowers, they said.

> > >

> > > " People believe the girl is their deliverer, but experts say it

> is

> > a

> > > case of congenital defect, " said Amit Jain, a senior Bihar police

> > > officer.

> > >

> > > Durga is worshipped by millions of Hindus, particularly in

> eastern

> > > India, as the preserver of life and destroyer of evil.

> > >

> > > The baby, also named Durga, had been wrapped in a cloth and

> > > surrounded by flowers as a stream of visitors, their hands folded

> > in

> > > prayer, come to her home in Diuri village, 110 km (70 miles)

> south

> > > of Patna, Bihar's capital.

> > >

> > > " We hope they understand that the child needs treatment, " Jain

> said

> > > by phone, adding that her parents were labourers who could not

> > > afford medical treatment.

> > >

> > > SOURCE: Reuters Alert

> > > URL: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/DEL159248.htm

> >

>