The boy with the giant hand – Kaleem in India was banned from school because his classmates thought he was the embodiment of the devil. In fact, this boy suffers from a rare disease that causes his hands to grow to giant sizes. With his oversized hands, the boy was often bullied by other children.

Huge hands, many times larger than normal adults, make the Indian boy have difficulty in all daily activities and suffer from a “hell life”. Even at school, teachers let Kaleem know that other children were afraid of his hands.

The boy’s family traveled thousands of miles to meet a leading orthopedic surgeon in southern India to convince him he could help treat Kaleem. The boy’s doctor had to fight against time to perform a complex surgery to mobilize the fatty tissue and swollen nerves in Kaleem’s hand.

The surgery was very dangerous for a malnourished 8-year-old boy. However, Kaleem seems very determined to have a normal hand size. Images show that Kaleem’s fingers are shorter, but recovery will likely take several months before he can see a clear difference.

The surgery may help convince locals and schools that Kaleem is not a “little devil”. Hopefully with smaller hands, the boy will be accepted by those around him and return to school to start a life like other children.