It has been a decade since he last moved. For Phub Dorji, 27, the outside world is the limited view from his small window where he spends most of his time.
Phub Dorji, who is from Sha Khazi village in Wangude Phodrang, was born with the some complication in his leg. When he was a little boy, at the age of nine, Phub Dorji injured his leg. It took him several years to recover. By then he had started to put on weight.
Phub Dorji’s movement became limited because of his bad leg. He got little or no exercise. His weight began to spiral out of control. He now weighs about 150 kilograms, assumes the health workers.
“I desire to be normal, like any other men of my age,” he says.
From 2003 onwards, Phub Dorji couldn’t avail proper medical attention, as it was difficult to get him to the hospital.
His mother and his sister take care of him. His elder brother left them after he got married.
“I don’t even have an identity card,” says Phub Dorji. He said he couldn’t go to take picture because of his weight.
His mother, Kiney Phub, said they try their best to keep Phub Dorji happy.
“I wish and pray that my son dies before me,” says the mother. She says if she dies before the son, there will be nobody to look after him. “It will be difficult for him to be on his own if I am not around. He can’t move. He can’t even ask for help.” She said these thoughts trouble her all the time.
She says there is no one to help them in the village even now. She says when she has to run errands, she packs food for him and leaves it somewhere near where Phub Dorji can reach.
Phub Dorji says he can never lead a normal life. “I wish and pray that in my next life I be born as a normal person. Let all my sufferings in this life wash away my sins and prepare me for a better next life,” he says.