Sushma Swaraj offers help to 'world's heaviest woman'

The Indian minister is back to work after falling ill recently.

India's Minister of External Affairs is getting back to work after falling ill recently, and this time she is out to help a doctor to get a visa for the world's 'fattest woman alive'.
She weighs half a tonne, believe it or not. This Egyptian woman, tipping the scales at about 500 kg, is thought to be the fattest woman alive, media reports said on Sunday, IANS had reported earlier this year.
Only 36, Iman Ahmad Abdulati has not left her home in Alexandria for 25 years and is unable to move from her bed or even roll over because of her enormous size, the Daily Mail reported.
Dr Muffi Lakdawala reached out to the Minister on Twitter, requesting her to 'save Iman' by getting a medical visa for her as she was refused a normal visa:

Ma'am , Eman Ahmed (Egypt) 500kgs requested me 2 save her pls help me get her a medical visa as refused thru normal process @SushmaSwaraj pic.twitter.com/93Fwz6m8iL
- Dr Muffi Lakdawala (@DrMuffi) December 5, 2016

 
Lakdawala is an Indian Bariatric and Laparoscopic Surgeon, who - according to his Twitter bio - is a philanthropist, health and fitness enthusiast and amateur photographer.
Abdulati relies on her mother and sister Chaymaa Abdulati to perform everyday tasks like eating, changing clothes, cleaning and relieving herself.
According to El Arabiya, she was born weighing a staggering five kg and was diagnosed with elephantiasis -- a parasitic infection that causes extreme swelling in limbs.
Physicians have also said that due to a "disruption of glands", her body stores and retains more water than it should.
As a baby, Iman learnt to get around using her hands. But by the age of 11 she couldn't support herself while standing up due to her weight and thus resorted to crawling around the house.
Swaraj, known to respond to pleas on social media, promptly responded to the doctor's request and offered to help Iman.

Thanks for bringing this to my notice. We will definitely help her. pic.twitter.com/l6RfC5bWE4 https://t.co/fWBYilbPIY
- Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) December 6, 2016

 
Earlier this year, Swaraj was being treated at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) for kidney failure.
The Egyptian woman had to drop out of primary school after suffering a cerebral stroke, which left her bedridden.
Since then, Iman has remained in her room -- totally stationary and unable to do anything
Fearing death, her family had also posted a desperate plea online to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi asking for medical assistance.

• MENA
• India