Twelve-Year-Old Boy Has An Extra Thumb On Both Of His Hands

A young boy born with two extra thumbs says they help him play video games.

Faizan Ahmad Najar, from Sheeri Baramulla, in the Kashmir region of northern India, has 12 fingers after being born with an extra digit on each hand, a condition that affects just one in around 1,500 births.

The 12-year-old says he's proud of his extra digits and they are really helpful for him when he plays cricket and tries to scramble up trees with his mates.

He said: "I feel proud about it. There is no shame - it is God's will.

"Sometimes, but not often, I think, 'Why only me?' But overall, I have some good friends in school who keep me from feeling that way."

And Faizan is determined not to let it affect his life or his future and he still plans on following a career in medicine.

SWNS

He said: "I want to become a doctor. I want to treat patients who are born with such malfunctions, so that nobody can bully or taunt them.

"Luckily, I have not faced much of that as I live in the countryside."

Senior doctor Mushtaq Ahmed said: "It is a not-so-common birth defect. Even if parents are 'normal', this can still happen to their offspring."

Faizan's mum Hafeeza says the family were offered surgery to remove the two digits when he was young, but they were worried it would bring him 'bad luck'.

She said: "When he was two, we were told that our son should go under the knife.

"But we consulted a saint about it, and he told us our son might lose his eyesight if he was operated on - so we did not consider undergoing surgery."

SWNS

Hafeeza said she was proud of the way her son has coped with his life and not allowed his condition to get him down or hinder him in any way.

Adding: "I want to see him go a long way and excel in his life."

Faizan also has a younger brother Farhan, eight, who does not share the condition.

People being born with extra fingers or toes is not as rare as it may seem. However, in some parts of the world it can mean a life of hardship.

A woman who was born with 20 toes and 12 fingers says she has become a social outcast, with neighbours believing she is a witch.

Kumar Nayak, 63, was born with a rare condition called polydactyly, which causes people to have more than the average number of digits on their hands and/or feet.

But with no money to pay for treatment, Kumar, who lives in Ganjam, Odisha, in India, says she has no choice but to live with the condition.

Topics: World News, India

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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