A 36-year-old Egyptian woman - reportedly the heaviest in the world, at 500 kilograms - reached Mumbai Saturday in a cargo plane with hopes high that several rounds of surgery could help her reduce weight.
Eman Ahmed has gained weight since she was a child. She has already suffered a stroke that left her right arm and leg paralysed and affected her speech, according to the Save Eman online campaign page, which is raising money for her treatment. She cannot move from her bed.
Ahmed has been admitted to Mumbai's Saifee hospital, where a special facility with large doors and a fortified bed has been created for her, a hospital spokeswoman said.
She will undergo a series of tests before doctors proceed to carry out surgical procedures to reduce her weight. They may take six months or more.
Ahmed left her home in Egypt's Alexandria for the first time in 25 years to fly to Mumbai in a specially prepared Egyptair cargo aircraft, Egyptair head Safwat Musalam, said.
Ahmed was lifted into the cargo plane by cranes, the head of the Egyptair Cargo Company, Bassem Gohar, said.
At Mumbai, Ahmed was again lifted out of the aircraft by a crane onto a waiting truck, IANS news agency reported. She was driven to the hospital accompanied by a police escort and an emergency ambulance.
Ahmed has been admitted to the care of bariatric surgeon Muffazal Lakdawala and his team, a spokeswoman for Saifee Hospital said. Lakdawala's team has been treating Ahmed for the past three months.
Two doctors from Saifee Hospital and Ahmed's sister, Shaimaa, accompanied her on the flight.
"We have big hopes that she will return home in good health," Shaimaa Ahmed was quoted by private Egyptian newspaper al-Masry al-Youm as saying. She asked all Egyptians to pray for her sister's recovery.
Ahmed has severe lymphedema, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hypothyroidism, severe obstructive and restrictive lung disease, gout and is at a very high risk of pulmonary embolism, according to the Save Emaan online campaign.
By Ramadan al-Fatash and Sunrita Sen
