A baby was abandoned by his parents because his head had swollen to three times its normal size.
Royal Kumar, from India, was born with the potentially deadly hydrocephalus – a build-up of fluid on the brain.
The condition caused the four-month-old to suffer severe bouts of vomiting, drowsiness and his development had halted.
But his biological parents couldn’t accept his difficulties and abandoned him.
Royal Kumar, from India, was born with hydrocephalus – a build-up of fluid on the brain
Thankfully, his relatives Prabha Devi, 30, and her husband Rajendra Prasad, 45, took him under their wing.
The generous couple even donated all of their life savings in an attempt to save Royal’s life.
Mrs Devi said: ‘I was really stressed to see him look so bad. I always wondered why poor people had to suffer such pain.
‘Several neighbours asked me why I adopted him knowing his condition.
‘I told them because he is a human being. Who will take care of him if I leave him? He will die.
‘He is like my own child now and I will do everything to save him.
Royal’s biological parents couldn’t accept his difficulties and abandoned him – but thankfully relatives Prabha Devi, 30 (pictured), and her husband took him under their wing
The condition caused the four-month-old to suffer severe bouts of vomiting, drowsiness and his development had halted
She added: ‘He is already considered a member of our family. I have already sold all my gold for his treatment.
‘Ever since he has come into my life, he is like my child. I have never differentiated between the three of them and I never will.’
The family have already spent over £2,000 (Rs200,000) on his treatment but have yet to make any progress.
Surgeons had tried to cure the condition by inserting a shunt – a medical device which helps remove the fluid on his brain and drains it into the bloodstream – helping to relieve the pressure.
Surgeons had tried to cure the condition by inserting a shunt – a medical device which helps remove the fluid on his brain and relieves the pressure – but it didn’t work
His generous relatives have even donated all of their life savings in an attempt to save his life
Mr Devi, who works as a labourer earning £50 (Rs5,000) a month, heard about the work done at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), in Ranchi, eastern India.
Doctors operated on Royal this week and inserted a new shunt, as they said the previous device had stopped working.
Dr Chandra Bhushan Sahay, an associate professor of neurosurgery at the hospital, said Royal was a neglected case and performed the surgery for free.
He added: ‘He was operated on somewhere else before coming here. However, that shunt had become blocked and had stopped working – which meant we had to insert the shunt through the other side of the brain.
‘He was vomiting, and drowsy and did not have normal development when he arrived but he’s now better.
‘The mortality rate is extremely high in these cases as the growth of the body and brain is not normal and if neglected the chances are even slimmer.’
Doctors operated on Royal this week and inserted a new shunt, as they said the previous device had stopped working
