Indian Boy, 8, Baffles Doctors After His Hands Balloon To Epic Size

An eight-year-old boy whose hands have swollen to giant proportions is hoping for a medical breakthrough.

Mohammad Kaleem’s hands each weigh 8kg and measure 13 inches from the base of his palms to the end of his middle fingers.

The cricket fan, who lives in India, is unable to do many basic tasks - including tying his shoes laces - and has been bullied and shunned most of his short life.

 " I have no problem if they could do it without an injection. A small operation would be okay."

His parents, who earn just £15 a month, have been desperately trying to find help for their son – as yet to no avail.

His mother Haleema, 27, said she knew her son was different at birth but was powerless to help.

"When Kaleem was born his hand was twice the size of a normal baby's," she said.

"His hands were big and his fingers were long. Initially his fists were small but they began to grow large as well and his fingers also kept growing."

His father, Shamim, 45, who works as a labourer, is worried his son will never be independent and blames himself for not earning enough money to secure him appropriate treatment.

“He has difficulty feeding himself because his fist does not bend properly - so we have to feed him," he said.

The couple's other children do not suffer from the same condition.

Shamin added: "Using two fingers he is able to pick up some things like a glass of water to drink.

“We want to take him to the hospital but there have been times when money has been so low that my wife has been forced to go begging.

“In that kind of financial situation, getting treatment for Kaleem was difficult.

“Even when I tried to get Kaleem into the school, the headmaster told me to put in writing that the school would not be responsible if the other children were afraid of his hands or bullied him or laughed at him."

The couple have only just been able to take their son to a local doctor for an assessment but their hopes of an instant cure were dashed.

Dr Ratan, the director of his local hospital, said: "As far as my knowledge goes, this is an extremely rare condition.

"I have not seen a case in medical journals or on the internet where only the hands grew to such a large size.