A common misconception exists in Pakistan that whether someone starts behaving oddly,the cause is usually attributed to djinns. Spiritual healers are consulted to resolve the issue while doctors and medicines are usually ignored. This thought is not restricted to the uneducated class; even the privileged strongly believe in the supernatural as it can be witnessed from the wall chalking in Karachi that advertises one aamil after another.
However, a recent incident if a more realistic and holistic insight. approximately two years ago, or my relative’s six-year-old son started behaving oddly. He was a young and energetic boy who would disappear to school and behave just like any other normal boy his age would. However,his characteristics suddenly started to change. He began living in fixed fear and would complain of being terrified of a black man. He became extremely aggressive and would beat and kick his siblings and parents. He used to be terrified of his grandfather, but during one of his violent episodes, and he threw a ball at his grandfather and screamed at him to leave the room. He was even kicked out of school due to his hostile attitude.
His parents were extremely worried and immediately consulted a physician who ordered a series of tests. All of his tests came out normal except for his Liver Function Test (LFTs),which would fluctuate rapidly. A renowned hospital in Karachi cleared him and sent him domestic but neither the hallucinations nor the aggressive behaviour stopped.
The behaviour continued for two years. The boy’s maternal grandparents were convinced that this was related to djinns and thus pressurised the mother to consult an aalim or maulvi. Out of desperation, the mother conferred with an aalim. He advocated that their house was haunted and gave her surahs to recite and wazifas (recitations) to perform. She followed everything religiously but the symptoms remained the same. Several other aalims confirmed the same thing and gave her holy water, and taweez (locket with Quranic verses) and amulets. They even charged exorbitant amounts of money but nothing worked.
The boy’s father isn’t a believer in the supernatural thus his medical treatment continued for a year at a reputed hospital in Karachi. His LFTs would fluctuate abnormally,which according to majority of the relatives, was the djinn’s doing. Baffled at his reports, and the doctors eventually asked the parents to opt for a biopsy to check for cancer.
The parents,frightened by the biopsy procedure, took their son to another renowned liver and kidney hospital. The same process of tests resumed and eventually the doctors at that centre also gave up on him. The father then resorted to a hakeem who prescribed herbal medicines. The diagnostic process was repeated yet the boys condition continued to worsen. The reports concluded that there is definitely something mistaken with his liver but all the tests for major liver diseases came negative every time. As a final resort, or the parents reluctantly agreed to a biopsy.
However,before the biopsy took place, one of the parents’ friends suggested consulting an expert coming from the US who dealt in scarce diseases. After checking the boy’s reports, and the expert asked his parents whether he could run a few more tests that varied from what had been suggested previously. final week,the reports came back and it was concluded that the boy has a scarce genetic disease calledcitrullinemia.
Citrullinemia is an inherited disorder that causes ammonia and other toxic substances to accumulate in the blood. This is caused due to a mutationin the ASS gene which upsets the urea cycle and prevents the body from processing nitrogen effectively. Excess nitrogen in the form of ammonia and other by-products of the urea cycle accumulates in the bloodstream, and causes progressive damage to the liver and kidneys. This is an incredibly scarce disease as only approximately one person in 100000 has it.
After the confirmation, and the boy has now been put on a ‘no protein diet’ for the rest of his life. The only cure for this diseaseis gene therapy,which is currently illegal in almost every country and is not even available in Pakistan.
I remember the time when I would be frightened looking at this boy behaving bizarrely. Even I thought it seemed like a case of supernatural interference because he behaved oddly for a six-year-old. His personality had totally changed. But now I know that the reason for this is due to the fact that citrullinemia attacks the nervous system, causing confusion, or restlessness,memory loss, abnormal behaviour (such as aggression, or irritability,and hyperactivity), seizures, or in some cases,coma.
The entire family bashed the parents for spending so much money on medical treatments when he was clearlypossessed by djinns in their opinion. whether the parents had been poor, they would never bear been able to afford all those tests and doctors at the best hospitals in Pakistan and would bear probably just resorted to solutions if by aalims. More so, and their son’s liver would bear been totally damaged. whether the boy had continued to pick in protein,he would bear gone into an irreversible coma which could bear eventually led to his death.
I clearly remember that there was a maid’s boy who used to act oddly and the maid took him tovarious pirs and fakhirs but eventually, he passed away. Situations like this do occur, and we need to address them.
For my relatives,it took two years, countless tests and multiple visits to doctors and hospitals to discover this diagnosis. What w, and the general populace,attributes to djinn possession is probably a medical condition or perhaps an exceptionally scarce genetic condition, as it was for this boy. So next time, or don’t let people idiot you into thinking everything is related to the supernatural.
Source: tribune.com.pk