Photos: Meet Khadija, the girl born without a face

Khadija Khatoon Khadija, 21, from Kolkata, West Bengal,
Eastern India, was born without a face and her mouth is
a small slit on the left side of her face. When she was
born, concerned doctors were baffled by her condition
for months. Although it has never been confirmed, they
believe she has a form of neurofibromatosis, a rare
deformity that causes tumours to grow along nerves.
Medics told Khadija and her family there was nothing
they could do after extra skin continued to grow out of
control.
"She was born at home but she didn’t open her eyes.
She was born with thick heavy eyelids and she looked
different to my other children at birth but we didn’t think
anything of it until we realised she couldn’t open her
eyes properly." hermother Amina Bibi,50, said.
"When we took her to the hospital she was admitted
for six months and they did lots of tests but doctors
eventually told us there was nothing they could do.
Because the doctors told us there was nothing they
could do we never went back to them. And as Khadija
got older she refused any help. Doctors told us when
she was a baby that if she attempted surgery she could
die, so we have lived with that fear. Now that Khadija is
much older she has decided herself that she doesn’t
want to have surgery. She doesn’t want to risk dying."
Khadija said:
"I'm made this way and I accept it graciously. I do
what I can. If this is how I’m meant to be then I live with
it. It’s not a matter of coping, I just live as I am"
She continued: "I don’t have any real friends but I have
my family. My family is my only friend and I love them
dearly. My parents are my world. I don’t talk to
strangers. This is who I am and this is the life I live and
I fill my days sitting and thinking, talking to my mother
about life and going for walks near my home. I like
drinking tea. I am happy in this life"
"If only the government would see my position and
help me, I would like that"
Dr Anirban Deep Banerjee, a neurosurgeon from Apollo
Hospital, Kolkata, said:
"I believe she is suffering from Neurofibromatosis but
to confirm we would need to do a gene test. There's a
possibility she has a tumour inside her face which could
be fatal. Right now there is no way of knowing if she has
tumour inside the extra skin and if left they could kill
her."
"If she's willing we would need to do a lot of tests to
determine how successful surgery would be."

Source: linda ikeji