Saved by a stranger 4,000-miles away: Indian boy whose head hung at 180-degree angle has life-changing surgery

Mahendra Ahirwar, 13, suffers congenital myopathy, which made his muscles in his neck so weak his head would hang at a 180-degree angle (left). 




Mother-of-two Julie Jones, from Liverpool, set up a crowdfunding page after reading about his plight. It raised £12,000 which paid for the operation, carried out by former NHS surgeon Dr Rajagopalan Krishnan. Ms Jones flew out to Delhi to meet the 13-year-old after his operation (right). She said the pair immediately formed a close bond. 'I wasn't prepared for the love I'd feel for him,' she said. 'Meeting the boy whose photos I knew so well was both harrowing and uplifting.' The story will be shown as part of Channel 5s Extraordinary People series tonight.