The woman has one of the most severe instances of neurofibromatosis in the world.
A woman in Trinidad has been diagnosed with a rare condition – NF1 neurofibromatosis – causing painful bubble-like tumours all over her body. Forty-two-year-old Charmaine Sahadeo’s face is completely covered by these tumours, and her right leg with three giant growths, according to Metro. Sahadeo told the outlet that she has always had the condition but added they were largely unnoticed till her second son Osiris, now 19, was born. After his birth, the number of tumours increased rapidly, and two surgeries have been unable to stop their growth.
MEAWW said the growths are a result of a hereditary disorder that grows along nerves. The tumours prevented Ms Sahadeo from walking for more than a few minutes.
She told the outlet that her marriage was dissolved and she was forced to quit her job due to her disease.
“All the bumps are getting so big. I am afraid that if I cannot breathe properly I will die. I might not even be able to reach out to someone in time to tell them,” she was quoted as saying by the outlet.
Ms Sahadeo reached out to Dr Ryan Osborne, a head and neck surgical oncologist in Los Angeles, after medical experts in her home country were unable to improve her condition.
“When most doctors see a patient and it’s a complex situation, they just see high risk. I see the opposite of that, which is high impact. It’s an opportunity for me to have a huge impact on that patient’s life. I went into medicine to help people. Once I make a human connection with a patient, I don’t have a choice – I’m going to do the case,” Dr Osborne said while speaking on a programme on TLC.
Ms Sahadeo has one of the most severe instances of neurofibromatosis in the world.
“She has an unusual presentation of neurofibromatosis. It’s literally everywhere. I have personally never seen a patient clinically, and I have never seen one in a textbook, have it quite as bad as Charmaine. She appears to me to be a one-of-a-kind,” said Dr Osborne, who has an experience of 20 years.
Expressing concern about her condition, Dr Osborne said it is reaching a critical point and immediate intervention is necessary. The doctor estimates she will have to undergo multiple surgeries to remove the lumps.
