We’d rather he were dead than suffer, say parents whose son's head hangs at 180-degree angle
12-year-old Mahendra Ahirwar suffers from a rare condition that makes his neck bend and head hang from his body
PHOTO: COVER ASIA PRESS
INDIA:
The desperate parents of a boy whose head hangs at a 180-degree angle admitted that they would rather he died than continue to suffer in pain.
12-year-old Mahendra Ahirwar from Madhya Pradesh in central India, suffers from a rare condition that makes his neck bend and his head hang from his body.
His weak backbone means he can't stand or walk and is restricted to a sitting position. Mahendra can just about crawl but needs help to eat and go to the toilet.
Parents, Mukesh Ahirwar, 40, and Sumitra Ahirwar, 35, who work as labourers said they had consulted more than 50 doctors across the country however, no medical expert has yet been able to diagnose his condition.
"I cannot see him suffer anymore," said mother Sumitra adding that "watching his life is devastating."
She further explained that he sits in a corner of the room for the whole day and that is no life for a young child.
The 12-year-old boy has to be carried everywhere and his mother expressed concern about how she would carry him around as he gets older.
Read: Indian father plans to sell kidney to save obese children
"If doctors cannot treat my son it is better that God takes him," she said.
Shockingly, members of the community have blamed Mahendra's condition on Mukesh's past sins and believe he is to blame for his son's disability.
Sumitra, who also the mother of healthy 16 and 10-year-old sons and a 14-year-old daughter, did not visit a doctor when she was pregnant with Mahendra.
Mukesh said "Our other children had all been born normally with no problems so we never thought to consult a doctor or have an ultrasound done with Mahendra, and he was born at home just like his siblings."
It was when Mahendra's head started to hang at six months old, that they realised he had a disorder.
"At first we thought he was just a little weak and he'd be fine in time, but by his third birthday he wasn't able to keep his head upright at all," his father explained.
Mukesh, who earns about Rs 200 a day on construction sites, has borrowed money from his friends and relatives to help find medical treatment for his son.
But he said two years ago he decided to stop taking Mahendra to see any doctors, adding: 'I took him to all the hospitals that I could afford.
India's premier hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi was also unable to determine a treatment for the child after the family spent two weeks there.
"With a broken heart we returned home and decided to raise him and try to give him as comfortable a life that we can," the couple said.
His father said that "people say bad things about him, and they often laugh at him. It really hurts us. We cannot tolerate people's attitudes and discrimination. They say I must have committed some terrible sins and this is why he is suffering, it’s awful," he told of his struggles.
Mahendra is not able to go to school so his only friends are his siblings and his cousins.
Doctor Shashidhar Tatavarthy, an ear, nose and throat consultant at Delhi's Artemis Hospital, believes Mahendra has a muscular disorder.
"This is one of the rarest of rare cases. His condition could be due to a spine anomaly or muscular disorder, but it can only be concluded after a thorough investigation," he explained.
Mukesh is still hoping for a miracle. "If doctors can treat babies born with severe disabilities like two heads and give them lifesaving operations then why not my son?" he questioned.
"I still have so many hopes and dreams for him. I want to see him go to school and play with other kids. I want to see him living a normal life and I am hoping that my wish will be fulfilled one day," he hoped.
This article originally appeared on Mail Online
The desperate parents of a boy whose head hangs at a 180-degree angle admitted that they would rather he died than continue to suffer in pain.
12-year-old Mahendra Ahirwar from Madhya Pradesh in central India, suffers from a rare condition that makes his neck bend and his head hang from his body.
PHOTO: COVER ASIA PRESS
His weak backbone means he can't stand or walk and is restricted to a sitting position. Mahendra can just about crawl but needs help to eat and go to the toilet.
Parents, Mukesh Ahirwar, 40, and Sumitra Ahirwar, 35, who work as labourers said they had consulted more than 50 doctors across the country however, no medical expert has yet been able to diagnose his condition.
"I cannot see him suffer anymore," said mother Sumitra adding that "watching his life is devastating."
PHOTO: COVER ASIA PRESS
She further explained that he sits in a corner of the room for the whole day and that is no life for a young child.
The 12-year-old boy has to be carried everywhere and his mother expressed concern about how she would carry him around as he gets older.
Read: Indian father plans to sell kidney to save obese children
"If doctors cannot treat my son it is better that God takes him," she said.
Shockingly, members of the community have blamed Mahendra's condition on Mukesh's past sins and believe he is to blame for his son's disability.
PHOTO: COVER ASIA PRESS
Sumitra, who also the mother of healthy 16 and 10-year-old sons and a 14-year-old daughter, did not visit a doctor when she was pregnant with Mahendra.
Mukesh said "Our other children had all been born normally with no problems so we never thought to consult a doctor or have an ultrasound done with Mahendra, and he was born at home just like his siblings."
PHOTO: COVER ASIA PRESS
It was when Mahendra's head started to hang at six months old, that they realised he had a disorder.
"At first we thought he was just a little weak and he'd be fine in time, but by his third birthday he wasn't able to keep his head upright at all," his father explained.
Mukesh, who earns about Rs 200 a day on construction sites, has borrowed money from his friends and relatives to help find medical treatment for his son.
But he said two years ago he decided to stop taking Mahendra to see any doctors, adding: 'I took him to all the hospitals that I could afford.
PHOTO: COVER ASIA PRESS
India's premier hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi was also unable to determine a treatment for the child after the family spent two weeks there.
"With a broken heart we returned home and decided to raise him and try to give him as comfortable a life that we can," the couple said.
His father said that "people say bad things about him, and they often laugh at him. It really hurts us. We cannot tolerate people's attitudes and discrimination. They say I must have committed some terrible sins and this is why he is suffering, it’s awful," he told of his struggles.
Mahendra is not able to go to school so his only friends are his siblings and his cousins.
PHOTO: COVER ASIA PRESS
Doctor Shashidhar Tatavarthy, an ear, nose and throat consultant at Delhi's Artemis Hospital, believes Mahendra has a muscular disorder.
"This is one of the rarest of rare cases. His condition could be due to a spine anomaly or muscular disorder, but it can only be concluded after a thorough investigation," he explained.
Mukesh is still hoping for a miracle. "If doctors can treat babies born with severe disabilities like two heads and give them lifesaving operations then why not my son?" he questioned.
"I still have so many hopes and dreams for him. I want to see him go to school and play with other kids. I want to see him living a normal life and I am hoping that my wish will be fulfilled one day," he hoped.
This article originally appeared on Mail Online