'Hridayapoorvam' Ernakulam

Ernakulam General Hospital becoming the first general hospital in the country to perform heart transplant surgery, and the crucial surgery performed by three doctors on the roadside at night to save the life of a young man injured in an accident in Udayamperoor, reminded everyone of the innate human values that society still holds high. Although the young man from Udayamperoor unfortunately succumbed to death on Tuesday evening, the greatness of the doctors will not be forgotten. The heart of Shibu, a native of Chirakkara in Kollam, who died of brain damage after being injured in a road accident, was transplanted by a team of doctors at the General Hospital to 21-year-old Durga Kami, a native of Nepal. The heart, which was brought to Kochi by helicopter from Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, was transplanted into a native of Nepal under the leadership of cardiothoracic surgeon Dr George Valooran and Dr Geo Paul.

Durga Kami and her younger brother, who lost their parents earlier, are living in an orphanage in Nepal. The same heart disease that led to her mother's death also came looking for Durga. She sought treatment in Kerala as per the advice of the Malayali manager of the orphanage in Nepal. Various tests confirmed that there was no other option but to transplant her heart. Since she was a foreigner, Durga was left behind in the list of the Mrita Sanjeevani project. The turning point was the intervention of the High Court. After Shibu's family expressed their willingness to donate organs, the activities were coordinated under the supervision of Minister Veena George. Based on the Chief Minister's instructions, the Home Department helicopter was released to transport the heart. The doctors at Ernakulam General Hospital can be proud of this stellar achievement. More than fifty heart surgeries are performed at Ernakulam General Hospital every month.

The incident in Udayamperoor was akin to a movie scene. Three doctors rushed to the scene like angels after witnessing a man fighting for his life on the aisle of the road after being injured in a road accident and having his lungs filled with dirt and blood. The incident took place on Sunday night near the Udayamperoor intersection in South Paravur, Ernakulam. To save Linu Dennis, a 40-year-old native of Punnala, Kollam, the doctors sat on the side of the road using the light of his mobile phone and performed surgery using a blade and a straw. They made a hole in his neck and gave him air. Dr B. Manoop, Dr Thomas Peter, and Dr Didiya Thomas performed the miracle surgery. The injured person was then taken to a private hospital in Vyttila in an ambulance.

Any expert doctor will opine that God has the final say in human life. In the case of Linu Dennis, the three doctors did the greatest humanly possible duty on the roadside that night. The fact that Linu still succumbed to death two days later, after all the efforts and prayers, can only be considered fate. These two incidents that took place in Ernakulam make the society realise how valuable the urgent intervention and service of doctors are. May these incidents become a new realisation for those who dare to blame and attack the community of doctors, alleging medical malpractice.