In the outskirts of Dehradun, India, near the Sahastradhara River, lives nine-year-old Mona, a brave ReSurge patient. Mona’s family lives in a community of caravans by the riverbank. Despite lacking a traditional house, their home is rich with love and unity, which ripples through their daily lives.
Tragedy has touched Mona’s family deeply—they have lost four children to miscarriages and the hardships of poverty. The couple tragically lost their other children. So, when Mona was born, her parents vowed to keep her safe at all costs. However, an unimaginable accident occurred when Mona, still an infant, crawled into a cooking fire. Her mother, who is deaf, couldn’t hear her cries and was unable to intervene in time. Extensive burns left Mona in need of specialized medical intervention.
Hope was not lost. ReSurge surgeon, Dr. Kush Aeron, provided multiple surgeries for Mona at no cost. Most recently, he installed a tissue expander under her scalp. This device acts like a balloon that slowly stretches the skin, preparing Mona for a surgery that will facilitate future hair regrowth—a transformation she eagerly anticipates.
Love and Livelihood
Mona’s father spends an hour putting ash on his face and body, dressing up as an Aghori baba to make his living getting cash on the streets and doing snake charming. The Aghoris are a sect of sadhus known for dwelling in cremation grounds, smearing ashes on their bodies, and even eating flesh from human corpses. Mona’s father previously worked as a laborer, but moved to this type of “performance art” to make more money for the family after Mona’s burn accident as a baby.
Restoring Mona’s Quality of Life: One Surgery at a Time
Supported by the love of her family and the expertise of surgeons like Dr. Aeron, Mona’s resilience highlights the incredible human capacity to overcome adversity. At ReSurge, we are honored to be part of her journey, restoring her quality of life one surgery at a time. The support from donors like you enables us to continue providing vital training to local surgeons and life-changing reconstructive surgeries to patients like Mona. We are immensely grateful for your generosity, and so is Mona and her family.
Flooding in India: Caring for Patients Like Mona in Times of Adversity
Recently, severe floods swept through Dehradun, India, damaging homes and cars. ReSurge patients and partners, including Dr. Kush Aeron and Dr. Yogi Aeron, were made more vulnerable, facing barriers to accessing, receiving, and providing much-needed reconstructive surgical care. Mona was forced to relocate to higher ground with her family to keep safe.
Thankfully, there have been no direct casualties to ReSurge patients, partners, or our partner hospital in the region. As ReSurge partners continue to work tirelessly to deliver care, the floods are a reminder of how natural disasters can further complicate access to care, creating unforeseen barriers for both patients and surgical providers.
While natural disasters make it even more challenging for vulnerable patients in both rural and urban areas to get the care they need, we are accelerating the mobilization of financial support, raising public awareness, and developing program strategies to “10X” our impact.
We invite you to learn more, get involved, and join us in closing the gap to reconstructive surgery.
