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Woman Who Wrote UPSC Exam With Oxygen Cylinder Passes Away
Writer: Anuran Sadhu
A post grad journalism student of SIMC, Pune with a passion for using words to get my message across in the most unique ways possible and curiosity is the force that drives me to learn and experience more every day.
Kerala, 17 Jun 2021 2:17 PM GMT
Editor : Madhusree Goswami |
A mountain girl trying to make it big in the city. She loves to travel and explore and hence keen on doing on-ground stories. Giving the crux of the matter through her editing skills is her way to pay back the journalism its due credit.
Creatives : Anuran Sadhu
A post grad journalism student of SIMC, Pune with a passion for using words to get my message across in the most unique ways possible and curiosity is the force that drives me to learn and experience more every day.
Latheesha Ansari had been diagnosed with brittle bone disease at birth and was unwell for some time.
Latheesha Ansari came to the limelight when she wrote the Civil Service Examinations in 2019 with an oxygen cylinder. She passed away on June 16, in the early hours.
The 27-year-old from Erumeli in Kottayam, Kerala, was no stranger to pain. She was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) or brittle bone disease at birth. However, that did not stop her from achieving her dreams. "She had been unwell for a while and was admitted at the Pala hospital. She was a real fighter," said Latha Nair, founder of Amrithavarshini, a charitable society for OI, reported The News Minute. Latheesha was an active member of the society.
A Life Of Struggles
Determined to fight it out, she refused to go to a "special school" and completed her education from a regular school. She went on to pursue her Masters in Commerce from MES College, Kottayam. Her father used to carry her to her class before a Canadian doctor gifted her an automatic power wheelchair. She planned to appear for the Civil Service Exams started in 2018 when she was treated with pulmonary hypertension, for which she needed a constant supply of oxygen. She was mostly confined to her home since then, as she constantly needed constant oxygen support.
In 2019, she travelled to Thiruvananthapuram to appear for the civil service examination. Owing to the weight of the oxygen cylinder, it was difficult for her to carry it around. The Kottayam District Collector then arranged for a temporary portable oxygen cylinder at Thiruvananthapuram after reading about her. Although she did not clear the exams, she temporarily worked at the Erumeli Co-Operative Bank. She stopped working there because of her high blood pressure and started taking online classes for children with disabilities.
Besides her education, she had interests in painting and playing the keyboard. She had also appeared on music shows on television many times. Glass painting was another talent of her. In the last year, she also maintained a YouTube channel titled 'Latheesha's happiness.'
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