Remember the story of the girl with facial deformities who was seen roaming on the streets of Kolkata? She was from a poor family in West Bengal and a Facebook user had put up a post on her, seeking medical help for her. The Logical Indian had then posted it, after which the story went viral.
That girl, 21-year old Khadija Khatoon, has been offered free treatment at the Mangaluru-based Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Craniofacial Surgery.
Dr. Vikram Shetty, the Director of the medical institute in Mangaluru says that that the condition is treatable and they are willing to do it free. The doctor says, in a video put up by TLI, that they would perform the surgery in three phases.
According to the Shetty, Khatoon suffers a condition called neurofibromatosis, a developmental deformation, which can be surgically treated. Khadija’s parents Rashid Mulla and Amina Bibi didn’t know of their daughter’s condition until she was two months old.
On October 30, the 21-year-old girl’s photographs started making rounds on social media came forward to help her. The pictures were put up by Facebook user Roopak Dutta on his wall, seeking help. The medical institute, which was approached by Logical Indian agreed to help Khadija by offering free surgery and covering all expenses during her parent’s stay in Mangaluru.
The photos, shared by Facebook user Roopak Dutta, showed the Khadija, from Berachampa in North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal, begging near the Kolkata General Post Office.
Meanwhile it is also being reported that the family is reluctant to take the offer for treatment and efforts are on to convince them.