At more than 500 kg, Egypt's Eman Ahmed Abdulati had been unable to move for some two years and she hadn't left her apartment in Alexandria for 25. She has been called the world's heaviest woman.
Now, after beginning treatment in India, the 37-year-old can actually sit up in bed. She has lost some 50 kg in less than two weeks since she started receiving medical attention on Feb. 11, and doctors are optimistic.
"First it was lifting her hand, followed by her arms. Then was the act of gripping and then by holding something or someone to pull herself up. She can now pull herself up with something that is anchored,” said Dr Swati Sanghvi, head of the advanced physiotherapy and sports rehabilitation department at the Indian hospital, according to The Indian Express.
Abdulati has also been able to sleep for eight hours stretches for the first time in years.
She is scheduled to have her first surgery in two weeks. Doctors have put her on a high protein and fiber diet to systematically reduce her weight. The goal is to reduce her size enough so she can enter the operation room.
But while Abdulati's budding recovery is an incredible story, her journey to India is just as fascinating. After suffering from morbid obesity her entire life, Ahmed and her family were desperate for help.
Doctors said that she has “a disruption of the glands” and have diagnosed her with elephantiasis. The rare disease causes the body to swell and retain water, leading to severe weight gain.
So, in October, Abdulati and her family turned to Facebook to implore for help.
"Eman said that she appeals to the president and she said in her letter 'I haven't gotten out of my room for 25 years and I wish to be treated at The Maadi Military Hospital.'
Share Eman’s case so that her voice can be heard. Pray that the lord heal all sickness. All the medical tests and analysis are with the administration of the page," the post said.
Although Abdulati was unable to find proper treatment in Egypt, help came via an Indian doctor.
Dr. Muffi Lakdawala is a bariatric and laparoscopic surgeon and he believed he could help her overcome the rare disease. But, she needed to travel to India and her medical visa was denied.
Dr. Lakdawala didn't want to give up too easily. So, he decided to contact India's Minister of External Affairs directly ... via Twitter
And Sushma Swaraj, India's minister of external affairs, promptly replied. She assured Dr. Lakdawala that she would help
Getting Abdulati to India wasn't exactly simple. With her extreme size and inability to move, a crane was required to remove her from her home. She traveled to India via an Egypt Air cargo plane earlier this month.
Doctor's have also turned to technology to communicate with Abdulati, who only speaks Arabic.
"We use Google Translate as it translates our English instructions to Arabic for Eman to listen and follow," a doctor told Indian Times. "This method has worked well for her."