By IANS,
New Delhi : In the dim light of a conference room, 65-year-old Margaret Eremionkhale stood in a corner with the help of crutches, closely watching her old videos where she stumbled every time she tried to stand.
The Nigerian entrepreneur is now on the road to recovery after undergoing a three-part surgery, and will be able to walk without the support of crutches in three weeks.
Meet the ‘metallic lady’ who is now surviving on metallic hips, metallic knees and a metallic spine. Doctors at the capital’s Apollo Hospital operated upon the mother of ten a month ago, when the vital joints of her body refused to function properly.
“Since the year 2003, I suffered unbearable pain in knees and back. I was constantly dependent on people around for even walking a few steps,” Eremionkhale said.
“Life has improved by degrees. The pain, physical dependence, suffering — it’s all coming to and end,” she said, with one of her sons sitting alongside.
The mother-son duo flew to India in April after Eremionkhale’s daughter suggested that she go to Delhi for treatment.
For doctors, it was rare to see a woman undergo complete joint replacement and yet stand on her own feet in such a short time.
“Margaret’s weight was around 100 kgs. Her bones were soft, and she suffered from chronic rheumatoid arthritis. It was a challenge to go for three replacement surgeries despite so many problems,” said Yash Gulati, senior consultant, orthopaedics at Apollo Hopital.
“She is now living on a metallic spine implanted with eight screws. Apart from that, there is total knee replacement and hip replacement,” Gulati added.
The surgery cost the family around Rs.22 lakh ($47,800).
According to experts, she was suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a long-term disease which leads to inflammation of the joints and surrounding tissues. The disease, largely targeting women above the age of 60, may also affect other organs over a period of time.
For Margaret, life will soon begin once she is back in her home town Abuja, where she lives with her grandchildren.
“Being a woman, I never lost hope. I just want to go ahead with the same optimism,” she said.