A 13-year-old boy in India whose head was hanging at a 180-degree angle has died just eight months after life-changing surgery to fix it.
Mahendra Ahirwar, who suffered from a rare condition called congenital myopathy which made the muscles in his neck so weak his head would hang, had been absolutely fine in the morning.
This 13-year-old named Mahendra Ahirwar suffered from congenital myopathy, a rare condition that left him with his head pointed 180 degrees in the wrong direction. Unfortunately, he has just passed away despite doctor's best efforts to save his life with drastic surgery.
Dr Rajagopalan Krishnan, the person who performed the life-changing surgery to correct his neck condition, was shocked at his sudden passing. He admitted that "I can only conjecture that a massive cardiac or pulmonary event might have occurred and often there are no premonitory symptoms in such cases. I think myopathy and poor chest muscles caught up with him in the end."
The doctor went on to say how brave this child was in facing his health problems. He said that, "He was among the bravest children I've seen since my return to India and I see the most terrible and neglected deformities."
His parents are extremely saddened by his passing. They had no idea he would die so suddenly.
The child had huge dreams once he had his surgery. His mother said that, "I had so many plans and dreams for him. I wanted him to grow big. He dreamt of opening a general store and we were going to help him. His dreams are shattered now."
The mother explained the circumstances surrounding his death, saying that he had a coughing fit before he died: "He asked me to rub his chest and then tried a third cough but died. I started crying loudly and called his name. I ran outside, I kept shouting "my son isn't moving", and a neighbour phoned the doctor. The doctor came within 15 minutes and declared he was dead. I fell to the floor and held him tightly. I didn't want to let him go."
