Everyone wrote her off, but not her dad

The story began over a decade ago, when 6-month-old Sania was found to have a liver tumour. Her doctors plainly told Mohammad Owais, her father, that the tumour will inevitably progress and prove fatal. Out of their mind with worry, the family spent the next two years making endless trips to hospitals, as the baby’s health continued to decline. All her milestones developed late and the family had given up on her — except Owais himself.

Still, pressure was mounting against him to stop spending on a female child whose future was bleak at best. But miraculously, when she was 2, her tumour stopped growing. For the next 6 years, she remained better, if a bit weak. But at the age of 8, the stomach pains returned — worse than ever. The scans showed that her 6 cm tumour had doubled. Her health started sinking. She had to quit school and everyone lost all interest in her. Except her father. He vowed to save her at all costs. It seemed a losing battle that he fought alone — physically carrying her from one hospital to another. But for all his efforts, the next 2 years saw the 10-yr-old shrink to 17 kg (normal weight for a 2-yr-old). Her speech was no more than a barely audible whisper.

At last, over a year ago, Owais managed to contact us at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. He wanted to know if a liver transplant would save his child. Although she seemed way beyond medical help, I agreed to assess her for a transplant. A few days later, she came — barely able to walk, talk or eat. She had persistent fever from multiple infections and her nervous system was affected by the tumour so badly that she had less than 20 per cent strength in her limbs — for all practical purposes, she was almost a like a quadriplegic.

Our team decided to take up the case and it turned out to be the most challenging among our 135 liver transplants. The next six weeks were spent in treatment of her infections, improving her nutrition, and sessions of counselling to make her feel positive about the transplant. Owais managed to convince his sister to donate part of her liver.

We went ahead with the transplant on 22 August 2006. The donor surgery took about six hours. Sania’s surgery was arduous. Over the years, her tumour had filled her entire abdomen and had developed abnormal connections with the surrounding tissue, making the surgical approach very treacherous. After 10 hours of surgery, the new liver was successfully transplanted.

Sania was discharged after 25 days and a month later she and her father Owais flew home. Owais’ regular e-mails tell us that she now weighs 30 kg and is back at school.

Sania’s has been the most touching and dramatic tale of a father’s love for his child, a miracle of human endeavour that our team was fortunate enough to participate in. Her hand-made card adorns my office today. It displays caricatures of our team, sprinkled around are several stars. The message inside — “Thank you for giving me a second life” — is a compelling reminder of her story.