Despite suffering from muscular dystrophy, a rare genetic disorder that results in the gradual weakening and breakdown of skeletal muscles, Rahul KS, a 16-year-old, earned a fantastic score of 94% in the recent SSLC examinations.
Weighing only 20 kg, Rahul is 80% disabled, according to this Times of India (ToI) report.
A student of the Kairalee Nikethan English High School in Bengaluru, Rahul scored 116/125 in English, 95/100 in Kannada, 92 in Hindi, 93 in Maths and 98 in Science and Social Science, reports ToI.
“Physics is his favourite subject. While practicals pose a significant challenge for him, we hope that Rahul will be able to pursue science. The state government should come forward to help him,” Rekha Venugopal, the headmistress of the school, told the publication.
Rahul was a 7-year-old when he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. “He would lose balance while walking and fall, and by the age of 11, it was difficult for him to walk. He has been using a wheelchair since then,” said Kanakaraj R, Rahul’s father and a salesman by profession.
The eldest of three siblings, Rahul wants to become a computer science engineer when he grows up. As a result of his condition, he can write with his right hand, but drawing diagrams is a struggle.
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To the uninitiated, muscular dystrophy usually affects a person from childhood. Abnormal genes or mutations result in steady muscle deterioration, rendering the patient wheelchair bound, and he or she might even have trouble breathing or swallowing food due to the weakness in muscles that assist such basic functions.
For the time being, this condition is incurable, and the patient usually undergoes physical therapy, wears braces, and sometimes even undergoes corrective surgery to minimise certain symptoms.
Medication includes steroids, that slow down the deterioration in muscles, anticonvulsants for seizures and other muscle-related activity, and immunosuppressants to further delay the dying muscle cells.
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
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