7. INDEPENDENT

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"Hello Doctor", Yamini's parents and grandpa were called by Dr. Ramesh, who was looking after Yamini right from her birth. "Hello, please be seated". After going through a few pages of a file, the doctor has prepared himself to explain the reason why he had asked the family to visit him. "This is the final result of the tests we conducted to detect abnormality in Yamini's physical health. And the result has confirmed my doubts". Yamini's family eagerly waits for the doctor to give them further information. "Yamini has been diagnosed with a genetic muscular disorder". The family was confused but, assumed whatever it was, was not good. "What does it mean Doctor?" Yamini's grandpa asked, worry evident on his face and in his voice.

"Well I don't want to make it complicated for you, so I'll explain it to you in as easy terms as possible". The doctor cleared his throat before he began explaining patiently. "A child obtains its genes from both parents, half from the mother and half from the father. And the child has these two halves combined as one. So if any one or both of these half copies of genes from either both or one of the parents are carriers of abnormal traits, then there's a chance that the child might have a genetic disorder". "But doctor, neither of us or our parents have any genetical disorders", Yamini's father voiced out his doubt. "Yes, but still the disorder might have been traveling through the generations. It wasn't identified because in all those cases, the normal gene has been the dominant one. But unfortunately in Yamini's case, the dominant one has been the abnormal gene. Hence, it got identified". Hearing this, Yamini's family nodded their heads, trying to make sense of it."But there's also a possibility that both of the parent gene copies are fine and the abnormality occurred for the first time due to any carelessness or some sort of gene mutation during the pregnancy", the doctor finished with that.

After a few minutes of silence, "Now what is going to happen to our daughter?" Yamini's mother asked. "Well, in Yamini's case, the disorder will weaken her muscles over time. That'll make it hard for her to perform even the basic physical tasks like the rest of us. It is not life-threatening though. It'll only limit her physical mobility. And she'll be forever confined to a wheelchair, as there's no cure for this as of now. But research is going on to find a medication that'll stop the worsening of the muscles. Let's just hope it'll be found soon. But...". The parents were already feeling terrible enough with whatever they'd heard so far, so they hurriedly thanked the doctor and were about to walk outside asking the grandpa to follow, to which he answered "Listen to what the doctor has to say. We'll go after he's done". Yamini's parents were beyond disappointed at this stage. They just couldn't wait to get out of there. "There's nothing more to know Nanna. Please let's go home", Yamini's father said. "But that's not right Jagdeesh, we must know everything about this. How can we le....". Before Grandpa could finish his sentence, both Jagadeesh and Devi were out of the door.

Once they were out, Grandpa collapsed onto the chair and broke into tears.
"Mr. Viswanath, I'm sorry. I know it's a truth that is hard to accept. But it is still true. Please take your time processing it". After silence of a couple of minutes, Grandpa spoke "Doctor is there no other way to make my granddaughter normal?" Grandpa sadly asked. The doctor nodded his head as no before speaking, "All we can do is make Yamini mentally strong enough to deal with her disorder. As I can understand, her parents do not seem to be a good support for her. But Yamini needs all the support, care, and encouragement she can get. I request you to be that person for her. I'll assist you regarding her problem. That child should not be punished for something she didn't do". Grandpa looks at the doctor with understanding. "We cannot cure her disorder. But we can still prevent it from becoming worse by giving her protein-rich foods and making her do some exercises daily. And by the grace of god, if the medicine comes out quickly, it'll further help stop her condition from worsening". After that, Grandpa thanked the doctor and left the place. He decided to walk back home as it was just a few blocks from the hospital. While walking, Grandpa kept thinking about everything Dr. Ramesh had told him. By that, he understood that the road ahead for Yamini was not going to be easy. But he was determined that he would do the best he could to make Yamini strong enough to be independent.

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