Life is indeed a Miracle!

 

Life indeed is a Miracle!

It was sudden, it was gut wrenching and it left a trail of destruction on its path. It was a challenge thrown to test not just the endurance levels but also the presence of mind in a crisis like situation. And, from these depths of desperation finally only one thing emerges - do we walk away wiser or just give-in to our fate?

It was Tuesday the 4^th of Feb’25; just a normal day no different from the other days in my retired life. I have this habit of taking short rides on my two-wheeler scouting around for stocking or replenishing items, all in fact related to the daily household requirements. I enjoy doing these small errands to ensure none in the family face any surprises of missing items in our food stock. But, importantly keeping in mind that we don’t overstock. Vegetables, fruits and provisions should never be stored for a long time, lest it gets spoilt and has to be thrown or disposed making a hole in the pocket.

Just a couple of days earlier on 2^nd Feb’25 my wife and I attended Ayusha homa, Namakarna and Kanakabhishekha that our friends from New Jersey, the Santrupti Family had invited. It was a great family gathering and we enjoyed the special function. Kanakabhishekha is done to the head of the family by the fourth-generation youngest member. This is a rare occurrence and it is considered to be auspicious to be blessed by the eldest.

Events were lined up for the following week with invitations reaching us from our extended family. At times it can be overwhelming, hopping from once special family event to another. Matters get complicated when two or more fall on the same day; deciding which one to attend becomes a debate of sorts. There were two such events all of us in our family had planned to attend, setting aside other invites. My father-in-law’s annual karya on the 8^th Feb and Brahmopadesha of twins on the 9^th Feb’25. One event we can’t miss and the other, we didn’t want to miss. And as luck would have it, I ended up missing both…

Tuesday, 4^th February 2025, was an auspicious day of Ratha Saptami. This festival is dedicated to Lord Surya (Sun God). Worshipping the Sun God on Ratha Saptami is believed to bring a wide range of blessings. As a part of my daily prayers, I have included Aditya Hridaya Stotram to my list of chanting. Chanting this Stotram today was considered very auspicious.  Another tradition followed by most Kannadigas is Ekkada Ele Snana. The botanical name of this plant is Calotropis gigantea. It grows wildly in the tropical regions of Bharath and South East Asian countries. It is believed that 7 large size leaves from this plant should be placed on the body and last few mugs of water as you end the bathing should be on these leaves. It is believed to wash away the sins and ailments like skin and digestive disorders and restores the energy levels for a healthy living. The 7 leaves must be placed as follows: One on the head, two on the shoulders, two on the knees, two on the feet. Reciting Aditya Hridaya Stotram after such a ritualistic bath is like an icing on the cake! Surprisingly, I had never done this earlier in my life and this year it was for the first time. Steeped in tradition, I was pretty sure that something good would come out of this. For eons, people in Karnataka have been following this and I agreed to doing it for the first time. This was something new and I enjoyed doing it. Later my grandson came home and he too followed the same procedure. Only difference, he has been doing it since his birth and for me it was for the first time. On hindsight, I think this exercise helped precipitate my health issues, else it would have been meandering along.

It all happened suddenly. I got up with a start around 1:30 AM and kept feeling extremely uneasy. I presumed the food I had eaten at dinner was turning against me since the feeling of nausea was very strong. Coupled with it I had immense burning sensation in the area just below the rib cage and where the stomach begins. I got the feeling that I would probably vomit a couple of times and once the stomach was relieved of its toxic contents, I would feel better. What got me thinking was the cold clammy feeling that I developed around 1:45 AM and the cold sweat that broke out on my forehead. Since I did not have any pain in the heart region or pain on the arms, in my mind I ruled out heart as the point of origin of the problem. Assuming that the cold night and associated winds had dropped my body temperature (both hands and feet had become cold), I took the decision to climb down from my first-floor bedroom to the kitchen on ground floor to prepare a hot water bag. How naïve, to think that a hot water bag would help me warm up and get me out of the woods. I struggled, but prepared the hot water bag and dragged myself back to my first-floor bedroom. As we reconstructed the events at a later date in the hospital, It became extremely clear that it was a classic case of a heart attack that was not given due importance at the time it occurred.

My struggle did not end with the hot water bag. My nausea reached a feverish pitch and between 2:30 AM and 7:30 AM I had retched 7 or 8 times. What got me worried was the stomach had emptied itself fully by the third retching itself but the nausea and retching continued even after that. My 2^nd son was of the opinion that we should rush to the emergency at Apollo and I think his gut instinct was strong that something was amiss and that we were delaying the decision unnecessarily. However, I prevailed on all at home that my condition would improve and that we should wait for our family physician to see me first. We waited till 9 AM on 5^th February 2025 to talk to our family physician who asked me to be brought to his clinic at 11 AM sharp. He went by my symptoms and what description I gave, to conclude that it was digestive system related. Since I was dehydrated, he put me on saline with PAN injected intravenously. It helped a bit and my vomiting sensation had taken a short break. I was brought back home but the retching continued, but between longer intervals of time. I wasn’t able to eat any solid food and even a few sips of water was immediately and unceremoniously ejected.

A quick call with our doctor and he advised that I get admitted at Hospital Maddox on Bannerghatta Road. This is a small hospital and a good one. My elder son had got an operation done a few years back and was treated very well by a team of competent doctors and surgeons. Also, my youngest brother-in-law is a Partner in this hospital chain. We felt safe going and getting admitted. I was asked to register and get admitted through the emergency wing and this is a common practice in all hospitals. A battery of tests was ordered to understand the source of the problem. ECG was included in the list of non-invasive tests. I was able to detect a look of concern on the doctor’s face when the ECG report came out. He immediately asked for a 2^nd one and his expression did not change when the 2^nd report was printing. Definitely something was amiss and I think he didn’t want to share the details with me. He acknowledged that he did see some variations but would get an ECHO Test done in the lab upstairs to get to the bottom of the issue.

Luckily, a heart surgeon from Fortis is a visiting faculty in this hospital and he was in the lab to my luck to do the ECHO Test. It just took him a few minutes to complete the test and report that I required an angiogram to be done to further investigate. The group of doctors decided that they would put me on saline water drip feed with antibiotics to bring the digestive system under control before deciding when and where to get the Angiogram done. By now my chills had returned as well as the clammy feeling in my hands. The burning sensation around the bottom of the rib cage was also getting stronger. My wife and elder son spent the night by my side, helplessly watch me deteriorate. None of the medications were helping me or alleviating my suffering.

My wife decided that enough was enough. She took the next step of messaging our heart specialist and asking him for his opinion or suggestion on my present predicament at 5:30 AM on 6^th Feb 2025. He is the same doctor who had done my Angiogram in the year 2019 and given me an all-clear signal. I clearly remember that he had said there was nothing to worry for the next 5 years (till 2024). These words turned out to be so prophetic! After reading my wife’s message where a brief description of the prevailing symptoms was mentioned, he emphatically informed through a reply message that I should be brought to Apollo immediately without any further delay.

However, we had to wait till 9 AM on 6^th to talk to the duty doctor and our family physician to get the discharge process activated. None of the doctors raised any question about why the decision to shift me out to Apollo. But the entire discharge process took 3 hours to a closure. By then the ambulance and an accompanying doctor were organized by Apollo Hospitals, Bannerghatta Road. I was in a trance not really understanding the gravity of the situation. With sirens blazing I was transferred to Apollo hospital at around 1:00 PM. In the emergency ward, another ECG was taken to understand if there were fresh variations. The oxygen concentration had dropped to 84% and from the time I was taken inside the ambulance to the duration of stay in the ICU post operation, I was kept with the tubes on. A fresh canola was put in place on my left hand and the right hand prepared for the wire insertion. I was later wheeled into the CAT Lab at 1:45 PM. My original Cardiologist had already done a few procedures in the morning and asked his seniormost team member to take charge.

A kind, soft spoken surgeon in his mid-forties explained the process as he started working on my heart. Doctors at Apollo were convinced that I had a heart attack on 4^th Night at 1:45 AM; however, they were not sure where the block was and what was the percentage of the block. A dye was injected through the canola in my left arm leaving a trail of burning sensation as it travelled into the heart and its arteries. The dye clearly gave the coordinates of the block in an artery. It was 100% and the dye couldn’t penetrate beyond this block. The next step was to remove the block using balloon angioplasty and extracting the debris when the block breaks down. This done, the surgeon watched the artery getting completely clear and blood flow reestablished in its full flow and form. Subsequently a stent was pushed inside to be placed in the very area the block had been detected. Details provided in my narration is what was told to my family members in an ante chamber post the operation. Once the stent was finally fixed, the wire was extracted from my right arm, the hole was closed and plastered tightly to prevent bleeding. With so much of blood thinners in my system, I was told that even a small cut could become a serious threat.

I was eventually wheeled out by 3 PM into the Cardiac ICU wing. The next 28 hours, I would be inside this isolated chamber within the ICU. There were 15 or so beds in the general area and I was taken to the last one – the only empty bed in the ICU.

For some odd reason I had started feeling very cold from the moment I was wheeled out of the CAT Lab. By the time I was brought into the ICU bed, I was shivering continuously. My repeated request for addition blankets fell on deaf ears. I think it was a lesser evil - something that could be addressed at a later point. However, the senior nurse took pity on my continuous shivering and brought two additional blankets. Even this wasn’t enough. Another nurse brought a miniature hot air generator and kept the unit under my blanket. Thankfully this helped and an hour later the blankets were good enough without the hot air generator.

My last meal had been on the 4^th of Feb at home. The very sight of food was making me throw up. The attending nurses in the ICU started asking me to be brave and take some food. That night on 6^th Feb in the ICU, I was able to have just 3 teaspoons full of curd rice. The only option was intravenous and the attending doctors promptly did that with all medicines pumped in intravenously. I guess they had no option. My stomach had bloated but thankfully by the next morning 7^th Feb the feeling of nausea had all gone. Activities in the ICU is 24/7. At 5:30 AM housekeeping staff came and changed the bedsheets by pushing me from once side to the other. Subsequent to this I was given a sponge bath in cold water; it didn’t strike me to protest and ask for at least warm water. I guess it was a combination of helplessness and embarrassment lying on the bed and not having the strength to move that had me go into a shell of silence. The staff members are trained well and pretty much experienced. Doing the same job repeatedly makes them get deft and efficient at the job. It was done in a jiffy and a new gown was wrapped around. For the entire day on 7^th Feb, I think I had two cups of coffee and half a cup of soup. My surgeon and Cardiologist came on a round at 9:30 AM and said I would be moved to a ward by 8 PM the same day. I heaved a sigh of relief. ICU is totally isolated and you are the only company you have. While the staff members are cheerful and helpful, we can’t expect them to hang around at all times. Each nurse is assigned three patients and their arms are always overfull.

Thankfully around 7:45 PM the folks from the transport department came and shifted me one floor above to a Maharaja suit. It was a real classy room fit for VVIP’s. There were no rooms available and we were hence offered the Maharaja suit at no additional cost. It was such a big relief to reconnect with all the family members. Normally young children aren’t allowed inside the hospital wards and rooms. My elder son and daughter-in-law coaxed the security into allowing my grandson to be allowed to visit just this once. It was such a joy to see my grandson and spend time talking with him. He was fascinated with all the devices and the bed that had so many options of movement.

There were no further doctor visits for the evening. Surprisingly I was able to drink the soup provided and have some curd rice. It meant that my stomach was on the road to recovery.

The next morning on 8^th when the duty doctor and my cardiologist with his assistant turned up around 9:30 AM, they said, we would like you to stay for an extra day. Did we have a choice? The surgeon who attended my case at the CAT Lab, while checking on my lungs with his stethoscope observed a faint gurgling sound and put me on diuretics for two days. This was his reason for holding me back for an extra day. It was a Sunday the following day and I was wondering if they discharged patients on Sundays, especially the ones with Insurance coverage. These days the Insurance companies and their TPA’s work with a lean staff on Sundays too and we were assured that there wouldn’t be any delays.

It also happened that today, 8^th Feb’25 was my father-in-law’s annual ceremony.  My wife and children were able to attend. My second daughter-in-law stayed back at the hospital to give me company. By evening I was able to eat a major portion of the hospital food being served and that was a huge improvement. I was looking forward to being discharged the following day and I guess the excitement kept me awake almost the entire night. I was getting low grade fever in the evenings. Dolo was added to the long list of medications being administered.

Since I remained awake for long lengths of time on the hospital bed, I was able to trace back what was running in my mind since the time it all started on the 4^th night. When I came down to get a hot water bag, I did not ask for help. I just gathered the hot water bag and when trying to climb the stairs to go to my room on first floor, my legs felt very weak and I stumbled twice on the staircase. Luckily, I did not slip and fall down the staircase. But once I reached the room, my defences just collapsed and I woke up my wife to tell her that something was terribly wrong and I wasn’t able to understand what was happening. The retching hadn’t commenced at that time, but once that started, I stole a glance at myself on the mirror above the wash basin to see if I could make out the condition from my own face. I could make out that it was deathly pale. For a fleeting moment, it made me wonder if this was the end…would this be the way I will pass on to the next dimension? I did not have the will to fight these thoughts, but thankfully these thoughts did not persist.

I was probably shocked at my sudden deterioration and the way I was going downhill. The frequent back and forth visits to the bathroom made me wonder how long this would stretch! The classic cold sweat, the catch in the chest and the burning sensation near the bottom of the rib cage were all classic symptoms of a heart attack. Yet, I had failed to see the writing on the wall. It was clearly an error of judgement and like my close friend succinctly quipped, you dodged a bullet, buddy! That was certainly a big YES! The fact that the one single 100% block did not create further blocks is a mystery. Just another similar 100% block, and I would have become history!!

Another incident that haunted my thoughts was the facial expression of the duty doctor at hospital Maddox when he repeated the ECG. His unspoken word was a tell-all! That was when I started getting a doubt whether the heart was at the centre of the problem or was it the stomach. My fears became a certainty when I saw the expression on the face of the visiting cardio surgeon from Fortis doing the ECHO. He did not hide anything but he wasn’t definitive either. He said he was okay to do the angiogram a day or two later. It was my family who were convinced that the solution lay in transferring me quickly to Apollo. Quite clearly, they were correct in their assessment and stood rock solid behind me and left no stone unturned to get me the best treatment on an emergency basis and at the right time with the right group of doctors and surgeons. I owe this fresh lease of life to my wife, both sons, daughters-in-law and grandson to have successfully pulled it off. I can’t thank them enough!!

Life indeed is a miracle!