Wednesday, November 7, 2007

The Lakshmi Story

If this story doesn't convince you that every life is precious then I don't know what could. Lakshmi is a two-year old Indian girl who was born with a defection: she has eight limbs! That means four arms and four legs. I have included pictures of Lakshmi and they are simply amazing. She is well known in her poor Indian town and is considered a goddess by neighboring Hindus. A circus made an offer for her that her parents thankfully refused. She is a human not some animal to be placed in a circus. I will simply say that she is a miracle.

As a baby in her mother's womb, Lakshmi absorbed her twin fetus and gained extra organs as well as limbs. It is miraculous to me that she has survived this incredible birth defect. I can hear pro-choice people making their argument about how inhumane it is to let a baby with such a horrible defect live a miserable life. Well guess what, Lakshmi recently underwent a successful surgery to remove the extra limbs and organs, and there is hope that she will be able to walk like a normal girl. The procedure was extremely dangerous (there was a 25% chance Lakshmi would not survive the surgery) and expensive (over $600,000), but the hospital paid for the procedure since the family could not possibly afford the procedure. Says doctor Patil, "this girl can now lead as good a life as anyone else." She has a beautiful smile and she is a precious gift from God. She has already brought many people great hope and joy. When you hear someone say that their life or someone else's life is worthless for whatever reason, think about Lakshmi and explain to that person that no life is worthless. God performs miracles to this day and every life is precious in his eyes. Stories about people helping save lives and stories about life are so refreshing. What a great story!

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