Eman Ahmed was born as an ordinary child, but a rare gene defect converted her into the heaviest woman on earth. After passing 25 years in her bed, a special team lifted her out of the apartment by crane and sent her to India by a cargo plane for treatment. She lost almost half of her weight, but died after 6 months at just 37!
Childhood of Eman Ahmed Abd
Eman Ahmed Abd El Aty was born in September 1980 in Alexandria, Egypt. At the time of birth, she was a near-normal child with a weight of around 11 pounds. When her education started, she developed some thyroid problems which stopped her schooling.
When did Eman Ahmed’s fat start?
While at home, she felt hungry all the time and always demanded something to eat and thus started gaining fat. At the age of 11, she got partially paralyzed which made her bedridden. Initially, her family couldn’t understand the real cause of her weight gain and excessive fat. Later, the doctors diagnosed that a rare gene defect was responsible for her continuous weight gain. Her mind always sent the wrong signals that she was hungry.
Thus she accumulated fat over years and converted into a massive 1100-pound woman. Although Eman’s total body weight was 2nd to Carol Yager, with a 1-foot shorter height than Carol, she recorded the highest BMI.
Her fat and other complications made her movement, or even sitting upright in the bed impossible. Thus, she confined to her bed and the flat for next 25 years. All the efforts of her revival proved futile.
Correlation of stubbornness and obesity
Some children develop obesity because of stubbornness also. They tend to have a strong dominating tendency due to several reasons and they do not give ears to anybody’s advice. In many societies, children consume junk food regularly, and that too in an uncontrolled manner. As a result, they start developing fat and soon it becomes a problem.
I have personally also seen a young guy who used to forget whether he has taken lunch or not! Then, he easily used to take full lunch again. But, since he exercised too much, he didn’t had obese. But, he later developed some strange type of severe back pain and bone issues.
However, in Eman Ahmed’s case, the culprit was one of the rarest gene defects which sent wrong signals to her mind. It led to excessive eating and this eating deprived her of life’s control.
Treatment by an Indian doctor
A social media campaign connected an Indian bariatric surgeon, Dr. Muffazal Lakdawala to her family. Dr. Lakdawala agreed to take on her case and arranged for her flight to Mumbai, India for treatment. The hospital crowdfunded the campaign for all the transportation expenses and treatment.
A team of transportation and medical experts made coordinated efforts and special arrangements for every step. Cranes, cargo plane, trucks, customized bed, manpower, medical instruments, etc. everything was well planned. The cargo plane alone cost more than INR 85 lakhs.
Lifting of Eman Ahmed by crane
The team used a crane to lift her from the bed in her apartment and place her on a specially designed-bed. That special bed was then loaded onto a truck for taking her to the airport. Then the team loaded the bed on a cargo plane, and similarly, the unloading process took place in India. The coordinated efforts of multiple teams completed this delicate and complex operation.
Treatment at Indian hospital
Dr. Lakdawala told that Eman had already suffered a heart attack, and had paralysis of her right arm and leg. Further, she couldn’t speak, had Type-2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. She also had severe lung disease and gout.
On reaching India in 2017, Dr. Lakdawala performed the surgery to reduce belly fat. It followed a series of medical procedures, including physiotherapy and rehabilitation, to help her regain her strength and mobility. Despite severe challenges, including infections and other complications, the surgery was a success. Over several months, she lost over 300 kilograms (660 pounds). However, later the patient’s sister raised a dispute over the weight loss claims of doctors.
Recovery of Eman Ahmed
After the surgery, doctors started a strict diet and exercise routine for Eman to help her lose more weight. Despite the disputed claims, for the first time, she could sit in her bed. Overall, a significant improvement in her health could be clearly seen. After several months of treatment in India, Eman was finally discharged from the hospital and sent to Egypt in April 2017.
A rare gene defect never allowed Lizzie to gain weight beyond 29 kg!
Sudden death
However, this happiness didn’t last for long, as some of her complications continued. And, all of a sudden, she died on 25 September 2017 at Burjeel Hospital, Abu Dhabi, UAE. She was just 37 only at that time.
- References:
- https://www.thequint.com/fit/health-news/five-challenges-of-being-the-worlds-fattest-woman-2#read-more
- https://www.mumbailive.com/en/health/worlds-heaviest-woman-eman-ahmed-passes-away-in-abu-dhabi-hospital-15529
- Featured Image Credit: Mumbailive.com
