For 38-year old Zeenath Kausar Khan, March 15 is going to be a special day. Zeenath is a graduate and was working as a teacher until her movements were restricted due to obesity. She has two children (7 years old son and 9-year-old daughter). Her husband is a tailor and the family finds it very difficult to make ends meet, with a monthly income of Rs. 3000. Feeling stuck by her condition, Zeenath decided to take matters into her own hands. Zeenath who weighs 148 kgs will be operated by Dr Ramen Goel, senior bariatric surgeon & Director, Center of Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery, Wockhardt Hospitals on Wednesday. Zeenath who is currently admitted at Mumbai s Wockhardt Hospitals had initiated a crowd funding campaign to generate finances for her own weight-loss surgery, in the first week of March. The campaign called Help Zeenath Khan undergo a bariatric surgery quickly went viral and collected Rs 1.5 lakh through offline and online donations. Also Read - Bariatric surgery may help individuals with early-onset obesity as well

Also Read - Bariatric surgery recipients may develop nutritional deficiency

At Wockhardt, we are ready for a 1000kg patient as well. But, when it comes to changing lives, every life matters- the quantum of weight is just a number. So if we can gather a large corpus, then we can save several lives. With just 1.5 lac, we can give Zeenath and many like her in India, a new lease of life. Zeenath is suffering from genetic obesity; like 60% of obese patients, and such patients can not lose weight just by lifestyle modifications.They need medical intervention. She will undergo sleeve gastrectomy wherein her stomach size will be reduced by 80 per cent and weight fall by 70 to 80 kg in a year, shared Dr Goel. “The hospital has decided to waive off the admission and surgical charges for Zeenath,” he added. Aurangabad-based Zeenath Kausar Khan suffers from a genetic disorder that has led to her uncontrolled weight gain. Her body mass index (BMI) is 58.8 which puts her in the category of super morbidly obese. She suffers from obesity-induced, knee and back pain, breathlessness and hypertension. Bariatric surgery and subsequent weight loss, will make her an earning member and she can contribute to her family. (Read: 5 risks involved in bariatric surgery that you MUST know) Also Read - Weight loss surgery may increase genetic risk for developing breast cancer

Press release

Image source: https://milaap.org/fundraisers/help-zeenath-khan