Health Update
Durgashtami, on Oct 22 started like any other day. Krishnan went for his swimming and I went for my morning walk. As Krishnan was not able to do his full set of laps, we thought of consulting Dr. Taneja to see if there was some sort of infection given the pollution in Delhi NCR.
Durgashtami being a Sunday, Dr. Taneja starts his consultations only around 1 pm. Krishnan and I met him at 1 pm, the very first patient. Upon examining Krishnan, Dr. Taneja immediately did an ECG. Then he asked me for the 2019 ECG reports….. and a sliver of worry crept into my heart.
I found the reports from 2019 on Whatsapp and shared them with the doctor. There was fear as I asked him what was wrong. Dr. Taneja calmly told me, there was no reason to panic, but there was a variation in the ECG. He just wanted to determine the degree of variation by comparing it to the 2019 reports.
Here is what happened in 2019 – A Health Scare and 29 years !
Dr. Taneja advised us to immediately go to a hospital and get a proper Angiography done so that further action could be determined. He kept saying there was no need to panic and it was just a routine check-up since there was a slight variation in the ECG. I called Ashwin, our neighbour, to come along with me as we chose Max Hospital to get the Angiography done. I also called Rajesh, as always, because I can’t think straight when it is to do with Krishnan.
On the way to Max, we called Venu as his wife Dr. Sreeja works at Max Gurgaon. She asked us to go to the Emergency gate and she had already spoken to her colleagues to help us get the attention required. We didn’t know where the emergency gate was, so we sauntered into the regular reception desk :). The lady there directed us to the emergency section.
The doctor there asked whose angiography had to be done and it was a moment of comic relief in a slightly tense situation. What a good decision it was to ask Ashwin to come along. He took charge of making the payments, getting the details filled in etc at the admissions counter while I just stuck around with Krishnan. Also, he is a very calm and reassuring presence. So glad that they are our neighbours 🙏🏿.
Krishnan’s vitals were checked and then the angiography was done by Dr. Wadhwa. Dr. Wadhwa felt the blockages had increased slightly in comparison to 2019 and he advised the angioplasty procedure to place stents.
We consulted Dr. Taneja and decided to go ahead. Rajesh and Seema came over by then and just having them there was a huge relief for me. Krishnan underwent the Angioplasty procedure and Dr. Wadhwa showed us how the stents were placed and the balloon inserted to expand it etc. Like Rajesh said, it looks like science fiction. We are able to watch a procedure that helps clear heart blockages “live” and not just us, the person whose heart is being worked on is also able to see it in real time. Just unbelievable.
Since it was a laproscopic procedure, Krishnan had been given just local anaesthesia. Once Krishnan was back in the CCU, we spent a few minutes chatting with him and all of us got back home by 9 pm.
We could have been back home on Oct 23rd, but one of the stents had been rejected by the body and the procedure had to be redone. I got the scariest call ever from Max hospital around 9.10 pm, saying it was an emergency. Ashwin and I rushed back, only to find Dr. Wadhwa and Krishnan smiling and saying it would be resolved in a few minutes. Manish and Swati dropped in just around that time and I got a second wind. In about 20 minutes, Dr. Wadhwa called us in and told us all was well.
Krishnan felt fine and we all got back around 11 pm. I did sleep fitfully and Rajesh and I were back the next morning around 8 am. Krishnan was absolutely fine. The doctor told us that he can be discharged the next morning as they always monitored the patient for 24 hours after the angioplasty procedure.
After the call at 9.10 pm, I had called Nachi right away. He and Dhanush took the first available flight on Oct 23rd and came over. Ofcourse Nachi felt relief only when he walked in and saw Krishnan smiling. Whatever we say over a phone call, nothing beats seeing your loved one in person. Needless to say, Krishnan was pleasantly surprised as I had not mentioned to him about Nachi and Dhanush coming over.
Technology helps in a huge way … I was able to get Krishnan to speak with Nachi, Kousalya and Amma over video and that was reassuring to them.
This year for us Vijayadashami was literally just that. Maa Durga ensured that we took some preventive action in a non-scary way. Krishnan got discharged on the 24th. He is doing absolutely fine. Two reviews have been completed and the doctor has said that he can be back to normal activities by Dec 1. Rajesh, Seema, Manish, Swati and Atam … you guys are the kevlar vests we don as we go out to battle and come back safely. Thank you is a small word, but you know what we feel.
Ashwin, am not going to thank you since we have adopted you as our son and parents don’t thank their children. Loads of blessings to you and Kripa.
Happy Deepavali everyone !
Jai Bhavani 🙏🏿 Jai Shri Ram 🙏🏿