Ahmedabad: Among those writing their board exam at Diwan Ballubhai Higher Secondary School in Paldi, is a diminutive girl, who is a picture of resolve and resilience. On Thursday, brought to the exam centre in an ambulance and braving severe pain in both legs, Ghazal Patel, 17, a student of Shreyas Foundation, wrote away furiously from her stretcher placed in a ground floor ‘special arrangements’ room.
Accompanying her was an exam supervisor. Belying her small frame — caused by a genetic condition — Ghazal’s dreams are sky-high. For, this aspiring legal eagle wants to soar in her dream career, and the Class 12 exams are but a first crucial step towards her fulfilling this dream. On Thursday, she took the Class 12 general stream Economics paper.
But taking these steps comes with immense pain for Ghazal, who has had to undergo three surgeries so far to lengthen the bones in her legs to prevent curvature due to achondroplasia, a genetic disorder that causes dwarfism in children.
Her mother, Preeti, told TOI that Ghazal was diagnosed with the condition when she was four. The journey so far may have been of challenges and pain, but also of hope. “She underwent the first surgery in 2010 and the second in 2013. She went under the knife again at Civil Hospital in June 2024, where Dr Himanshu Panchal performed a procedure to install the Ilizarov apparatus,” Preeti said. Ghazal was earlier 4’2 inches (50 inches) and is now taller by 3 inches, touching 4’feet. “She is expected to gain some more height,” Preeti added. In the pain she experiences from her growing tibia and fibula, this daughter of a civil engineer finds a reason to touch newer heights. Harsh Patel, principal of Diwan Ballubhai School at Paldi, said the school has made arrangements on the ground floor to ensure she can appear for the exams.
Dedication runs high in both of Preeti’s children. After successfully completing her undergraduate studies, Ghazal’s elder brother is now in Canada, studying for a master’s degree.