Roona Begum, aged 22 months, rests ahead of a surgery at a hospital in Gurgaon, recently. Baby Roona, suffering from a rare congenital disorder which had caused her head to swell to 94 cm, is all set to return to her home in Tripura after doctors
Roona Begum when she was just 18-months-old, at her hut in the village of Jirania, Agartala. -AFP
Now with signs of improvement in her health, Roona's parents are quite confident that she will make it through.
Roona was diagnosed with an extreme form of hydrocephalus, a disorder causing cerebral fluid to build up in the brain immediately after she was born.
Parents of Baby Roona found it hard to afford the expense of the treatment. But hospital, doctors and many other well wishers offered their bit to save Roona. Many DC viewers too came forward offering contributions to help the girl.
Fatima Khatun and Abdul Rahman with their child at the hospital. With her head size growing day-by-day, and doctors failing to treat her, her parents Abdul Rehman and Fatima watched her lying helpless on the bed in their two-room mud hut with her
A doctor said when she came to for the second time in November last year, she was able to move her head sideways.
Baby Roona was discharged on August 1, 2013 after 105 days of stay at the hospital. During the second round of treatment in November last year, surgeons performed remodelling on the anterior part of her skull to further reduce and reshape her head.
Hydrocephalus is more common among infants and is caused by overproduction, obstruction or lack of absorption of the cerebral fluid in the brain.
Baby Roona's head had swollen to three times that of a normal baby due to the condition called hydrocephalus. She was first admitted to Fortis hospital in April 2013 where she underwent complex procedures including cranial vault remodelling.