About one year ago, Daily Mail did a report about an 8 year old Indian boy Kareem who suffers from inflammation of the hands; a very severe and rare type of deformity. His 27 year old mother Haleema, who has other children without the deformity said she knew her son was different. His hands were twice the size of an average baby right from birth.
She said she could not handle the situation due to their financial situation. The hands however kept on growing. At at the time of the report. they measured 13 inches.
Kareem expressed his pain saying he can no longer go to school because other kids are scared of him. He also said that he gets bullied by his peers who tease him about his deformity. He also complained that he can’t put on his clothes and feed himself properly.
A doctor in India had said that he cannot say the exact cause of the deformity until he carries out a series of tests. He however suspected that the 8 year old might be suffering from either lymphangioma, an illness of the lymphatic system causing extreme inflammation or hamartoma, which is a benign tumor. He assured that both conditions were treatable and that apart from the inflammation, Kareem is in good health.
Kareem‘s father, a 45 year old labourer earning 15 Euro blamed himself for not earning enough to cater to his son’s inflamed hands. After realizing that his son’s medical problem can be treated, he vowed to work harder to give his son the required medical help, a better life and future.
It is now over one year since this got to the public domain. What help has Kareem been able to get with his inflamed hands?
