Lakshmi takes her first steps

[Guest guest]

Eight-limbed girl 'will always be a Goddess'

By Megan Levy

18/02/2008

The Telegraph (U.K.)

 

The parents of an Indian girl who named their daughter

after a multi-armed Hindu deity when she was born with

four extra limbs have said she will always remain a

" Goddess " even after pioneering surgery separated her

from her headless, conjoined twin.

 

The family of Lakshmi Tatma, 2, told a Channel 4

documentary of their tortuous decision to risk their

child's life and confront cultural stigma by opting for the

operation.

 

When she was born, the inhabitants of her village

believed she was a gift from God and christened her

Lakshmi, after the four-armed Hindu goddess of wealth.

 

However, her mother, Poonam, and father, Shambu

Tatma, both in their twenties and earning about 50p a

day as casual labourers, rejected the opportunity to

exhibit her to pilgrims as a lucky charm and instead

sought treatment.

 

At first they were rejected by a government hospital but

a team of surgeons agreed to perform the operation

privately.

 

Lakshmi is now recovering in a specialist

care unit and has taken her vital first steps after the 27-

hour operation in November. Eventually, her family

hope, she should be able to walk and move like an

ordinary child.

 

Tomorrow's programme examines Indian attitudes to

disability and the difficulties faced by the rural poor in

overcoming deeply help superstitious beliefs.

 

" What mustn't happen is that Lakshmi is taken away and

sold to a circus, " the leader of Lakshmi's village elders

told the documentary's makers.

 

" She could have been exhibited like a freak here and

earned us a fortune but we never wanted to do that and

neither did the parents. "

 

Dr Sharan Patil, the consultant orthopaedic surgeon who

performed the operation, said their decision to embrace

science over faith was " historic " .

 

Lakshmi's mother, Poonam Tatna, also describes the

moment she first laid eyes on her new daughter.

 

" When I first saw her it was so upsetting that I fainted

for two days. She has [had] four arms and four legs. She

looks [looked] like Laskhmi, " she says.

 

Lakshmi will need another smaller operation in the

future but doctors believe that, one day, she will be able

to walk.

 

For her parents, Lakshmi will always be a special child.

 

" For as long as she is alive, until my dying day, I will

believe she is the goddess, " her father, Shambhu, says.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/new

s/2008/02/18/wlakshmi218.xml

[Guest guest]

 

" For as long as she is alive, until my dying day, I will

believe she is the goddess, " her father, Shambhu, says. [\quote]

 

This is a belief that can only be held by the loving father of any daughter (or

her lucky

husband).

 

namaste,

 

pr

[Guest guest]

Agreed. It is a really touching story. I hope they continue to follow up with

it for as long as the family is okay with it.

 

To be honest, I actually can understand why they wanted the surgery done, even

though it sort of made me cringe at the idea of doing surgery on someone so

young. But, the child could have easily been exploited for her physique. It

must have been a very, very hard decision to make.

 

 

Jai Ma!

 

Sincerely,

Christina

---- prainbow61 <paulie-rainbow wrote:

>

" For as long as she is alive, until my dying day, I will

> believe she is the goddess, " her father, Shambhu, says. [\quote]

>

> This is a belief that can only be held by the loving father of any daughter

(or her lucky husband).

>

> namaste,

>

> pr

>