According to Reuters , in 2008, Lali Singh was born into a poor farmer family in the village of Sunpura Sohanpur east of New Delhi, India.
From birth, she suffered from craniofacial duplication, or Diprosopus, an extremely rare congenital disorder. Except for her ears, the condition causes all of Lali’s facial features to be doubled – she has four eyes, two noses and two mouths. The family said Lali can eat with both mouths and can blink all four eyes.
“The embodiment of the goddess of power”
This strange thing did not make the people of Sunpura village stay away from the girl, they even considered her the reincarnation of a newborn god. When she left the hospital, the girl was surrounded by curious villagers.
Lali’s family also feels that their daughter is developing like other children. “At first, I was a little scared. But then, I accepted whatever God gave me,” said Vinod Kumar Singh, Lali’s father.
Lali is Vinod’s first daughter. Lali’s village has about 100 people. Here, the average income of people is less than 2 USD a day.
Lali’s parents did not know what happened to their daughter until she was born. This mother, like tens of millions of pregnant women in rural India, did not receive proper prenatal care.
Mr. Vinod took his daughter to the hospital in New Delhi for a check-up. When the doctor suggested a CT scan to determine whether the internal organs were normal or not, he refused because he felt it was unnecessary.
Lali’s parents refused treatment because they thought she was developing normally. (Photo: Nbcnews)
“She is very healthy, can eat, sleep and cry like normal children. She can drink milk from two mouths and open all four eyes at the same time,” said Bhram Singh, Lali’s grandfather. .
Dr. M. Ashmosd, who works at Saifi Hospital, said Lali’s parents were not aware that they should take her to the hospital for treatment. Because there was no detailed examination, no one can know exactly Lali’s condition and whether her life is in danger or not.
According to NBC News , rural people in India are very superstitious and they believe that Lali is the reincarnation of the Hindu goddess of power Durga, also described as having 3 eyes and many arms. Mr. Daulat Ram, the village chief, said the baby girl’s birth was a miracle and a good sign for this village.
Every day, hundreds of people flock to the family’s dilapidated brick house to see Lali. They came to touch her feet with respect and hope for blessings.
However, some time later, Lali’s middle eyes had cloudy corneas due to facial muscle abnormalities, which prevented her from closing her eyes properly.
Besides, Lali unfortunately has a cleft palate, making it difficult to eat. Lack of nutrition and poor eating conditions caused her health to weaken, causing vomiting and infection. Finally, when Lali became dehydrated, the family took her to the hospital.
The girl was treated with antibiotics and saline infusion. The condition later improved, Lali stopped vomiting, started drinking milk and defecating normally.
But 6 hours after being admitted to the hospital, she died of heart failure. At that time, Lali was only 2 months old. The girl was buried in her village according to the usual custom for babies who die early. Later, the village built a temple to commemorate Lali.