Now 38, Kaur resides with her husband in Phagwara, a city located in the Punjab region of northern India. This city is approximately 85 miles from Lahore, Pakistan’s capital, a distance comparable to that between Philadelphia and New York City.
Although there is a treatment available that could improve her condition, Kaur and her husband cannot afford it, even as her condition has left her completely blind.
“I had a tumor on my face at 15 years old due to which one of my eyes was completely damaged,” she stated.
“I cannot see even from my other eye. I have had to face many problems because of that.
“Despite not having eyes, I do all the household work very well.”
Kaur explained that her husband is also blind, yet he manages to maintain employment.
She added: “My husband is also blind but he also does all the work well.
“My family and my husband are very poor and they cannot afford my expensive treatment.
“The doctors say that the treatment of me and my husband will cost a lot but we do not have any means of earning, so we cannot get the treatment done.”
Sadly, the tumor has grown to the point that Kaur’s face is severely disfigured, giving the impression that it is ‘melting off’.
In another part of India, a woman made history as the first to receive a man’s hands in a transplant and has experienced significant changes since.
Eight years ago, Shreya Siddanagowder, then 18, lost both her arms below the elbow in a terrible accident while traveling by bus.
Rather than succumbing to despair, which would have been understandable, this experience became transformative for her.
After finding that prosthetic hands were not suitable, Siddanagowder opted for a transplant in 2017, undergoing a 13-hour surgery involving 16 anesthesiologists and 20 surgeons.
The hands were donated by a 21-year-old who had died in a bike accident.
In a 2019 Facebook video from the MOHAN Foundation, an Indian organ donation and transplant charity, Siddanagowder spoke about her new hands, encouraging others to value their own as ‘one of the greatest assets you can ever have’.