Karina Rodini was only two years old when she was diagnosed with an extremely rare condition called type one neurofibromatosis.
Now, at 28 years of age, the São Paulo, Brazil-based woman is being completely consumed by the huge tumors on her legs and hips that may never stop growing – and she’s desperate to find treatment, even if she doesn’t know if it will work out.
When she was young, the condition didn’t seem that bad. But then, when Rodini reached puberty, the tumors began to grow – swiftly.
Today, they weigh an extreme 88.8 pounds and cause her left hips and legs have grown to a tremendous size.
If that wasn’t enough, the tumors have severely impacted Rodini’s quality of life.
She cannot find work or any social activity because people cannot look past the tumors that she has. As such, she lives mainly in isolation.
Doctors have been working extremely hard on helping Rodini, but they weren’t able to help her or control the growing masses.
Eventually, Rodini made the decision to leave her home and fly to India, where she hopes to find better medical assistance from doctors who may have additional knowledge about treatment for her condition.
Neurofibromatosis, which is also called NF1 for short, is a type of condition with roots in genetics. It causes tumor growth repeatedly throughout the nerves of the human body.
It is a disease that starts to manifest in childhood and typically shows itself in the form of soft tumors and certain colored patches across the skin.
Rodini is extremely fearful that the tumors will simply never stop growing until a dangerous point.
The left side of her body, now, is extremely affected by the condition and suffering in more ways than one.
Her vision has been hurt, with her left eye going entirely blind from the neurofibromatosis.
The tumors also cause her spine to curve, so she suffers from scoliosis, lower back pain, and other issues from the extra weight.
She also has difficulty finding any clothes that fit her properly and she constantly feels uncomfortable when she stands, sits, walks, and does just about anything.
So far, Rodini has been through seven procedures and surgeries from doctors who have been working on removing as much of the tumors as possible.
Unfortunately, these tumors actually have Rodini’s blood in them, so doctors can only get rid of one kilogram of them at a time, or else the blood loss could cause complications and even end her life.
Worse still, the tumors only grow back larger and stronger with each operation. In October 2018, Rodini decided to go through with public hospital surgery.
Unfortunately, the condition since then has only gotten worse – her legs have, shockingly, doubled in their size. That’s how quickly the new tumors grow.
Rodini’s tumors have only kept growing and growing, and they always return with a vengeance.
Still, she keeps her hopes up, and she won’t stop searching until she finds a doctor who can help her.
