Heartbreaking! Despite losing weight, Eman Ahmed will never walk again

Saying her legs stopped developing after paralytic attack at age 11, made worse after she became bed-ridden, Dr Lakdawala says sitting up is the maximum Eman Ahmed will be able to do

Dr Muffazal Lakdawala said Eman Ahmed's return to Egypt, scheduled for this month-end, has been postponed. File pic

The world is waiting to know when Eman Ahmed will be able to shake a leg to Egyptian and Bollywood music. The answer is never, according to her doctors. They say her leg muscles have weakened because she has been confined to a bed for 25 years. This means she may never be able to walk again even if she continues to lose weight according to plan.

Eman, who was shifted yesterday to the main building of Saifee Hospital, where she is undergoing treatment, has reduced by half over the last two months — from 498 kg to 250 kg. Her obesity treatment over, she will soon be started on the next line of treatment, which is related to her neurology.

On her feet but not quite
"As promised, she has lost a substantial amount of weight. We have completed her obesity treatment, reducing the risk to her life by 60 per cent. The remaining problems are related to her neurology. Now, she can sit up and lean back and continue to be up; she can even sit on the edge of the bed. But she will never be able to walk as her legs didn't develop properly since her paralytic attack at the age of 11," said Dr Muffazal Lakdawala.

"Medically, it is impossible to make her stand. I promised that she would go back to Egypt sitting up on her own, and that she will. "We had decided to keep her in a special room due to her weight. Then, it wasn't possible to move her to the main building. Now that she has lost weight, we decided to move her there."

Not completely fit yet
While she is still getting seizures, doctors have been unable to fit her in a CT scan machine due to her size. So, they are planning to make her shed 50 kg more for that. As she still hasn't recovered completely, her return to Egypt by the month-end has been postponed until her neurological treatment is over.

"We can't afford to send her back to Egypt due to lack of infrastructure there ( which is required for her treatment). There is no proper mechanism to take care of her health. So, until her neurological treatment gets over, we have to keep her here," said Dr Lakdawala.

250kg
Eman Ahmed's current weight

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