A Pakistani teenager and her Indian doctor have been making the headlines for the miraculous surgery they both participated in. The rare condition of the girl could potentially be one of its own or become the first case in medical history.
Afsheen Gul, a 13-year-old girl from Sindh province, suffered from a rare medical condition that kept her neck at 90 degrees. At 10 months old, her sister dropped her from her arms which bent her neck to 90 degrees – an accident that changed her life.
As a result, she suffered from atlantoaxial rotatory dislocation. Her parents sought medical help, using medicines and a neck belt, but Gul’s condition only worsened. Gul suffers from cerebral palsy as well which made it difficult for her to socialise all her life.
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Gul’s mother Jamilan Bibi worried over the girl’s condition as she “could not walk, talk, or even eat following the accident.” She added that the “family of nine could not afford further treatment,” she told BBC.
Last November, Gul and her brother visited Delhi, India. In March, Dr Rajagopalan Krishnan, a specialist in complex spinal surgeries at the Apollo Hospital in Delhi, India, decided to operate on Gul free of cost. Four months later, Gul could function normally on her own. She gets weekly checkups with the doctor through Skype.
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“He saved her life. For us, he is an angel,” Afsheen’s brother Yaqoob Kumbar told BBC.
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Gul’s condition received global attention in 2017, and Pakistani celebrities urged people to help the family for the right treatment.
