Baby Lali, born last month in northern India was born with a rare defect known as craniofacial duplication. With the exception of her ears, every other facial feature she has, has been duplicated. She was born with two noses, two sets of eyes, and two mouths. Lucky for her she was born in India.
In many cultures where superstitions rule, babies who are born with deformities are considered a curse. Sadly, in some more primitive cultures these babies are tossed aside and left to die, or are killed. Worse, the family is seen as outcasts because they were cursed with such a child. However, not so for this little girl.
She is being worshipped as a goddess. She is seen as the reincarnated form of the Hindu goddess of valor, Durga who is generally depicted with three eyes and many arms. She left the hospital 8 hours after a normal delivery and was swarmed with villagers.
Initial reports indicated that the family was hoping the government would help with the medical expenses of caring for her, but more recent reports site that the family is refusing medical treatment at this time. The parents were offered a CAT scan for the girl free of charge but the father insists that the girl is perfectly normal. “She drinks milk from both of her mouths and she opens and shuts all four eyes at the same time,” says her father.
Up to 100 people per day are visiting the girl to touch her feet out of respect and to give offerings of money and food. In fact, the village is planning on building a temple to the goddess Durga noting that Lali is a gift to the village and they must take special care of her. In fact the village elders are writing to the government for money to build the temple and to help the parents care for the girl.
Lali’s condition is frequently associated with serious health complications, but thus far, the little girl is doing fine. I personally find this story very uplifting on a number of fronts. While I obviously don’t condone refusing medical treatment that will preserve her health, I’m genuinely touched to see someone who is “different” to be treated so well and for that very thing that makes her different to be seen as a blessing. Although I doubt most who are reading this are superstitious–there’s still a lesson here for us. At this point, the family does not have plans for surgery to correct the deformity.
Valorie Delp shares recipes and kitchen tips in the food blog, solves breastfeeding problems, shares parenting tips, and current research in the baby blog, and insight, resources and ideas as a regular guest blogger in the homeschooling blog. To read more articles by Valorie Delp, click here.
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