When a daughter was born as the first child, the family celebrated as if it were a festival. Having a daughter is considered the birth of the goddess Laxmi. Everyone was so happy with the birth of a girl, but their happiness turned into mourning because fate had something else in store for them. The daughter was born with a physical disability. The family found out that both her ankles were twisted and her feet were weak; it was devastating for everyone. This is the anguish that Rakesh Sharma and his family from Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, were experiencing.
The doctor said her feet would get better, so the family started taking care of their daughter. The daughter was given the name Sumitra, and as time went on, she continued to live with this disability. Rakesh is a vendor and runs a small grocery store. When Sumitra turned into a toddler, her parents took her to several hospitals, but nothing helped her condition improve. She continued to experience unsatisfactory foot treatment results even after reaching 7 years old. Having tried many different treatments for Sumitra, one day an old acquaintance came to see Rakesh at his shop and noticed how Sumitra was doing.
He advised Rakesh to take her to Narayan Seva Sansthan for free polio treatment. Finding out about Narayan Seva Sansthan’s free treatment program, he traveled to Sansthan with his daughter in September 2022. Both of Sumitra’s feet were operated on in Sansthan, and after a successful operation, specially designed and customized calipers were prepared for her legs in the month of November to aid with standing and walking. Sumitra can now walk on her own, and seeing Sumitra stand and walk like other kids made her parents and everyone extremely happy. The whole family showed gratitude to Narayan Seva Sansthan for doing something they almost gave up hope for.
