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Arpan SaxenaIndian child with polydactyly
Country:
 India |
Content:
- Arpan Saxena: The Indian Child with Polydactyly
- A Local Celebrity
- A Challenge for Mobility
- A Tragic History
- A Celestial Child
- A World Record Holder
Arpan Saxena: The Indian Child with Polydactyly
Six-year-old Arpan Saxena, from the city of Bhopal in central India, has a total of 25 fingers and toes due to a rare genetic condition. Arpan suffers from two genetic disorders - polydactyly, characterized by an excess number of fingers and toes, and syndactyly, the fusion of fingers.
A Local Celebrity
While most children learn to count using their own ten fingers, this method proves difficult for Arpan. He currently has 13 fingers on his hands and 12 on his feet. Despite his unique condition, Arpan has become a local celebrity, with his photographs adorning the walls of buildings alongside other remarkable individuals from his hometown. According to Arpan, he enjoys when people come to their house to see him and take pictures.
A Challenge for Mobility
The only downside for Arpan is his difficulty in walking as no footwear fits his feet properly. His father, 35-year-old rickshaw driver Anil Saxena, revealed that Arpan was born with 26 fingers, which surprised his parents who had never heard of anyone with such a large number of fingers before. At the age of two, Arpan unfortunately lost one finger in an accident while playing in the yard.
A Tragic History
The surprise of Arpan's parents seems somewhat ironic considering that Anil Saxena himself survived the infamous Bhopal disaster in 1984 when he was around seven years old. On December 3, 1984, there was a massive toxic gas leak at the 'Union Carbide India Limited' chemical plant, owned by an American company and producing pesticides. This incident resulted in one of the largest industrial disasters in history, claiming the lives of at least 18,000 people, with the consequences still being felt today. Unfortunately, Bhopal has a high concentration of children born with physical deformities, chronic illnesses, and cases of cancer.
A Celestial Child
Arpan's mother, 30-year-old Taruna, stated that they do not plan to have the extra fingers surgically removed despite numerous offers of financial assistance for the procedure. According to her, having a famous child is every parent's dream. Arpan is known throughout Bhopal, and both he and his parents clearly enjoy the attention. Taruna also worries about the impact of the surgery on Arpan at such a young age.
A World Record Holder
However, Arpan is not the world record holder for the most fingers and toes. That distinction belongs to another Indian boy named Akshat Saxena, who shares the same last name as Arpan. Akshat, who is two years old, was born with 34 fingers.
