A very special little 8-year-old boy named Kumar Kurvana has lived all of his life in the Indian state of Kerala with a terrible torment.He has been forced to carry the parasitic lower portion of his twin brother within his abdomen, which was draining the child of vital nutrition.

But the horror story does not end there.

His family until very recently capitalized on the child’s deformity and actually made a living from it, presenting him as the embodiment of the goddess, Shiva. Gullible tourists showered the child with gifts of all kinds.

Kumar’s abnormality had nothing to do with Shiva, no disrespect intended. It is a medical condition known as fetus in fetus, and the child and the parasitic twin shared a circulation system. It is this fact that was depleting his body and preventing his growth and finally his parents decided on the life-saving surgery.

Specialists from all over the world, particularly those who had experience in separating conjoined twins, were flown in to assist in this most precarious of surgeries.

The operation was a complete success and the good news is that Kumar is recovering quickly and living like a normal child.