Doc's Near Death Experience

[safia123]

That's an awesome experience Doc- the silvery door part. Glad you are fine and recovering fast. One thing that struck me was technician shouting V-tach, which to a normal patient may make no sense but for a doctor patient it makes him realise the gravity of the situation which could lead to worsening of the condition.

[BSharma]

I am back in Tulsa for the past few days and it sure feels great to sleep in my bed after 5 weeks of stay in two hospitals. Yesterday I went for my first cardio rehab session at my hospital. Once I am strong enough, I will undergo heart surgery to repair the septum between the two upper chambers and bypass the blockages in the coronary arteries.

Interestingly, while sedated and getting medicines to cause amnesia, I did think about Sania, Saina, Somdev and Harsh Mankad. Harsh had asked me to do a little work for him and I plan to get it done next week or so. The mind works in strange ways and I wondered how Sports-India is doing, and if someone had called my clinic to see why I have been missing for a month or so (a few people had done so the last time I did not post for some time due to excessive work).

I thank all of you for your prayers and good wishes, and I am convinced that they helped me get through the ordeal. I was nicknamed “Miracle Baby” by the doctors and hospital staff because my odds of making it were worse than one in a million. The word “Baby” was added after I was taken off the ventilator and I told the doctors and nurses that a six-month-old baby had more strength than me. I learned yesterday that not only I had ventricular tachycardia (V tach) but ventricular fibrillation (V fib) a few times. How many people survive V fib soon after a heart attack?

I have changed in many ways and now the three things that are most important to me are Faith, Family and Friends. I still have some ways to go and please keep me in your prayers and thoughts.

[ajay]

Bhushan, nice to hear once again from you. Our prayers are with you. I understand that you still have to go some distance with this surgery, but I'm sure you'll come out stronger. Please take care of yourself as you are one in million miracle doc for us

[gbelday]

Doc, you are always in our prayers!! Wishing you a very speedy recovery! Please continue posting whenever you can!

[kujo]

wishing you a speedy recovery miracle baby!

[a15]

Thanks for sharing your experience with us. We wish that you recover quickly and come out stronger. You and your family are in our thoughts...

Anjali and Harsh

[PKBasu]

Bhushan, so nice to "hear" your voice again on the forum -- and to learn about your inspiring comeback from a near-death experience. Take good care of yourself, and all our prayers will surely quicken your recovery. Your marvellous fortitude amid the chaos around and inside you is truly inspirational: thank you for sharing all the details with us. I hope that if such a thing were to ever befall me, I would remember to respond the way you did...

[jayakris]

That is exactly what I was thinking too, PKB. If something like what happened to Bhushan happened to me, I would certainly remember how he dealt with it. I am sure I would get the inspiration go through it and hopeflly will hear the right voices to help me return from the big door! Thanks for sharing it all, Bhushan, Jay

[jaydeep]

Yes Doc, having same thoughts.

[kna]

Hi Dr. Sharma,

I've just recently started posting, but have been a long time reader of Sports-India. I've always enjoyed reading your posts. I just read this thread today, and am glad you are recovering well. It took a lot of courage not only to come through that experience but also to describe it in detail for all of us. Wish you the best of luck for your continued recovery.

K.N.Arun

[Rajiv]

sharmaji good to hear everything is fine with the grace of god
take care and get well soon

[forpar]

Bhushanji,

Very shocked to learn about your ordeal. I hope you recover completely. May god give you all strength to recover.

[BSharma]

Thanks for all your prayers and keeping me in your thoughts.

My heart surgery is scheduled for Monday March 2, 2009 and it should last about 4 to 5 hours. The surgery will involve removing the device that was put in the heart to create a new wall (septum) between the two upper chambers of the heart; creating a new septum using my pericardium (sac around the heart), and by-pass surgery. If everything goes well, I should spend two days in the ICU and about a week in the step-down unit before starting cardiac rehab.

I had a rare kind of heart attack and the pressure in the right upper chamber of the heart became so high that it blew open the wall between the two chambers. The mixing of the oxygenated and deoxygenated blood caused my oxygen level in the blood to go dangerously low (50s and low 60s; normal is close to 100) for two days despite getting 100% oxygen on the respirator. The doctors expected me to suffer some brain damage because of persistent low oxygen, but surprisingly I did not suffer any damage plus my memory has become sharper.

I was referred to Dr Jim Long who is a pioneer in the field of putting mechanical pumps in the heart. Few surgeons even attempt to put a heart pump in the right side of the heart because it often results in the patient needing a heart transplant. Dr Long decided to do another risky procedure (ECMO) in me and it saved my life.

Dr Long is an interesting person. He lived in Kolkata, India when he was a young child and his future wife also lived in Kolkata at the same time. Their families knew each other, but they did not meet when they returned to USA. They met again when they were medical students and got married. Dr Long and Mrs Long visit India about 5 or 6 times a year and they run a 173-bed hospital (http://www.buntain.org/index.html) providing free care in Kolkata.

Dr Elkins will be my surgeon and does heart-lung transplant. His father was the Head of Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery at Children’s Hospital when I was a Fellow and I had worked with him.

The last thing I expected was a heart attack. When I went to the hospital with heart attack on Jan 10, 2009, my cholesterol level was 150 and the ratio of good versus bad cholesterol was well below normal. My triglyceride level was only 50 and I walked 2 miles a day, go to the gym and play tennis regularly. Obviously there are other risk factors that cause heart attack.

Indian males living in western world have a high chance of getting heart attacks. People in the 20 to 30 year age group are now getting heart attacks. I am not writing this to scare all of you, but to get yourself checked regularly.

[gbelday]

Good luck Doc. I am sure it will all go well! You will be in our prayers!!

[kujo]

You will be in our thoughts and prayers doc. Good Luck with the surgery and remember, it is not your time.

The last thing I expected was a heart attack. When I went to the hospital with heart attack on Jan 10, 2009, my cholesterol level was 150 and the ratio of good versus bad cholesterol was well below normal. My triglyceride level was only 50 and I walked 2 miles a day, go to the gym and play tennis regularly. Obviously there are other risk factors that cause heart attack.

Those are a pretty complete set of factors that any normal person would rely on, if they are watching their health. So I wonder, what else should you have tested for in your annual medical checkups so that this problem was discovered early?