ENS

London, Feb 18: Lakshmi Tatma, born with eight limbs, has recovered from major surgery and taken her first steps - albeit with the aid of a baby-walker.

The two-year-old underwent a 27-hour operation in November to remove the two arms and two legs of her parasitic twin. Lakshmi is named after the six-limbed Hindu goddess.

The operation was carried out after Dr Sharan Patil, a orthopaedic surgeon from Bangalore, took an interest in Lakshmi's case after hearing that her parents, who each earned just Rs 50 a day as labourers, had been turned away from government hospitals.

Lakshmi's mother, Poonam, said her daughter - who was named after the six-limbed Hindu goddess - knew she was now closer to being a "normal child".

"Lakshmi always knew she was different. After the operation she instinctively started behaving like a normal child - it's like she had always been waiting for the opportunity," Tatma told Channel 4.

"When she was put in the baby walker she started pushing herself backwards with her legs and burst into laughter with a huge grin on her face. She loves it. "Every day since she left hospital she's managed to do more and more things that were impossible before.

"The change in Lakshmi's life is amazing. It's hard to believe that three months ago she couldn't move or even crawl, we thought she would never have a normal life." Laksmhi is now enjoying a new role as an older sister for newborn Sarawati.

"She tries to help me look after Sarawati and thinks she is a grown up. The other children all want to play with her, which makes Lakshmi show off and try even more new things that she couldn't do before."

The Tatma family, who are from a remote village in Bihar, have been living near a hospital and school for disabled children in Rajasthan after a local charity offered them accommodation and work while Lakshmi recovered.