Sweet Heart -Its Beating Inside Him !! Part 2

By the time Vijay flew  into  Chennai , everything had  more or less  been put into place.He was quitessential Vijay –cool ,collected ,sharp as a needle and enquiring about everyones well being .At one point he remarked  “ The plus point of illness is that it brings the family under one roof .Like a wedding”. But he was struggling –a thin pipe  (  going straight into the heart ), was carrying Milnirone a life saving liquid ,straight to his heart via a artery on his right arm .A lot  depended on how he would handle his hopes – optimistically or pessimistically . He responded like a injured tiger .He took the fight to the enemy’s camp. As always !!

.There were two key players who were working round the clock –before Vijay  landed in Chennai .The first was my sister Kusum .It is difficult to describe her because she does not fit into any ordinary mould .I haven’t met anyone like her .She is persistent ,confrontationist , takes people and issues headlong ,is nagging  ,never gives up and magnanimous .She is the type who will give you the only chappati between the two of you and stay hungry herself .She stays  in New York ,Singapore and Kandaghat  in equal proportions through the year  .Is she the kind of person who I would like to spend my life or a evening with ?No( too dominating !!) .Is she the the kind  who I would trust my life first and last with ,when I am battling for survival ? Without a doubt yes .She  keeps gnawing away at a problem ,chipping away at it ,stripping it to its roots,murdering it !! .Never gives up .Never ,never,never.

The other key player was Varun Berry –one of corporate Indias top honchos .He is my Bhabhis only brother .I have known Varun since his days at the DAV College in Chandigarh .A brilliant man  who likes to maintain a low profile ( though the TV cameras don’t let him getaway),Varun is the Managing Director of Brittania after having worked in  very senior positions in multinationals –including Pepsi .He is fabulously networked , a brilliant strategist ,and a go getter .Put  up a problem to him and all he says is “Leave that to me”!! Anything and everything –and Varun had a solution for it .And back up plans as well .Dr Naresh Trehan would be roped in if necessary Kusum and Varun  were battling it out at ground zero .Others were praying for him  .My other sister Indu , took off to the Balaji Temple in Tirupathi to pray .I went to the Gurudwara and a mosque here in Dubai.

The big task before all of us was to identify a doctor or a hospital for the heart transplant .The classic question confronted us –should we be focusing on a hospital or the doctor.( remember the college versus the course dilemma ?).It was a call which was quickly settled – look for the best  heart transplant  doctor

We researched a lot.We googled  a lot ,youtubed a lot , asked a lot of people .We got different answers .But we debated a lot –it was a life and death situation.We needed to be very focused. We were getting a bit confused .But then  we  got a honest and decisive lead. The world  is after all very  small and childhood friends are for keeps .!!

Anirudh Raghuvanshi  is a  school mate and a dear friend  of mine .We are from the same locality –Clement Town . In 2014 he  came to  Ahmedabad  and  searched me out .He is a  IITian and a successful entrepreneur and was in Gujrat  tieing up with the government  for a project .He was, and is, still based in Nigeria .Over afternoon beer and omelletes  on a lovely monsoon day , I asked him about Ashutosh  his younger brother .It so chanced that Ashutosh was a leading  heart surgeon and the CEO of Hridayalaya Hospitals and a close confidant of Dr Devi Shetty !!

Sitting in my office  nearly two years down the line after having met him ,I decided to phone   Anirudh in Lagos .Could Ashutosh help?  He immediately got in touch with Ashutosh and told him to receive a call from a number which I gave him  . Whose number did I pass on ? Who else ? but Kusum’s . After   several  exchange of conversations  and emails –the die was cast . Ashutosh told us  that ,Dr K R Balakishanan  was the best doctor in the field of heart transplant  . Varun networked ,Kusum smelt a kill and a opening and they swooped on the celebrated Dr Bala at the Malar Fortis Hospital in Chennai  .He asked for Vijays reports .All this happened very fast .We were after all on a short fuse –there was no scope of being lazy and indecisive .

“ Get him to India immediately. He needs immediate attention.When can he come to Chennai?”

Bhabhi and Vijay ,started packing up to leave New York back for  India .On the 16^th  afternoon they landed at the  at the Chennai International Airport.Vijay was wearing a lovely Anokhi  shirt presented by my younger sister Bina!!He was looking terrific !!I had already landed in the morning .On the 17^th ,Vijay was face to face with Dr Balakrishna for the first time .

Dr Bala is a celebrity doctor .When he walks the corridors –everyone who is seated along it rises without knowing who he is .Its  the aura he exudes .Terrific looking ,he has a mop of white hair which keeps falling on his forehead .He keeps brushing  them back with long delicate and flexible fingers .So artistically crafted by God to serve humanity .These fingers cut and sew very delicate arteries of the human heart .He has deep ,dark , big and expressive eyes –eyes that help his fingers to detect where the blood vessels are .His English is perfect –very public school English .He must have cured so many hearts –but I am sure he must have broken million more !! He is so attractive .Seated alongside him was Dr Rao –a king  anaesthetist.One can die  if  anaesthesia is overdosed or underdosed during the operation .It has to be given in  exact doses .
My brothers life was in their hands .

Dr Bala ran us through the pros and cons of heart transplant . He was happy that my brothers kidneys and blood pressure was normal ( slightly low ).He was happy that my brothers lung power was good .

“ Ok .Lets wait for a donor .You will be fine Vijay .!!).And like a soft breeze on a hot summer day –he wafted  away .We watched him as he disappeared  slowly , with his head down -thinking .People were getting up from their seats s he passed them .Bala was not aware .He was on another mission .For a another operation .To save another life.
The  wait for the donor began. .
The stage was set –the actors had now to play their roles