Lakshmi Tatma: Child With Eight Limbs

The story of this young girl from India started from the womb. Borne by her mother just like every other child, reached 9 months gestation like most, but born different from all. Had things gone normal during her gestation period, she would have been delivered as a set of twins. But for nature, her story would be a subject of medical and scientific investigation- for while she was a fetus, things went wrong.... really wrong!

Her name is Lakshmi Tatma. She was born with a unique and body- with eight limbs and two torsos fused at the hips. She was named after Lakshmi, the multi-limbed Hindu goddess of wealth. For two years she carried her twin with her making it difficult to walk and do everything the normal way. Her lifeless partner- the parasitic twin hindered her everyday-to-day life activity. She could not crawl normally or walk, but she could manage to drag herself around somehow. As she grew, her twin grew with her. It attracted the attention of the villagers as they have now come to refer to her as the Hindu god reincarnate and was worshiped by them. Her unique body attracted medical investigation and media attention from all over the world. Her sight was mind boggling to the very few doctors and nurses who witnessed her delivery, and weird to blogger like us.

Lakshmi at Birth

The parasitic twin's spine and abdomen merged with Lakshmi's body. The twins' backbones were joined end-to-end and nerves were entangled. Doctors surmise early on that without an operation, she would not be able to live into her teens and live a normal life. Two years after her birth, the surgery began. It started on a Tuesday, 6th November, 2007 and was planned to last for 40 hours at the most. The surgery was estimated at a whooping cost of USD$625,000, and was paid by the hospital's charitable wing-The Sparsh Foundation. More than 30 doctors took shifts and turns while the surgery lasted.

Her recovery has been swift and satisfactory to doctors. A week after the operation, doctors held a press conference and it showed Lakshmi with bandages around her body and her body, carried by her father. She was in hospital for another one month for intensive monitoring.

Lakshmi Recovering

Lakshmi with mom

Lakshmi goes to school

Were is not for the brilliance of medical professionals, and the generous donations of charitable organizations, Lakshmi Tatma would have ended up a victim of an unreal goddess and a helpless child with incurable disabilities. Now she goes to school and can live a normal life like every child around her. Once again, a life is saved. Weird at birth, but now the world can rejoice at her recovery. 

You can also read about the story of Edward Modrake-The Man with two faces.