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The story of Ameer Jaan
Source:
Radio Sai
E-Magazine, January 15, 2004
http://www.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_02/02Jan15/02_Cover_story/The_story_of_Ameer_jaan/story.htm
Ameer Jaan, a
51-year-old man came to this hospital with a complex heart ailment.
He had a damaged aortic valve along with blocked coronary arteries.
He was successfully operated and he went back happy and satisfied
with the care given to him by the medical team. The entire episode
has its significance.
Ameer Jaan, a small
electrical shop owner, is the only breadwinner of a big family of
five members. Struck by a complex heart ailment, he was unable to
work. The family faced a financial crunch.
He initially went to
a local doctor who kept giving him medicines for his ailment,
assuring him of a complete cure. Each visit cost him a good sum of
money. But, he didn't get any relief. He was totally drained,
financially and emotionally. A ray of hope appeared in the form of
a distant relative, who told him about the free hospital run by
Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He was skeptical. He wondered how a
hospital could run without charging patients in these times. Is
the care provided up to the mark? Is there any hidden motive? He
decided to give it a try.
He said his first
visit was memorable. His registration and laboratory tests were
totally hassle-free. He was taken care with so much love and
compassion that he was amazed and he wondered if such care was
given in any of the elite hospitals of the city? Moreover, not a
single penny was asked from him. He was admitted in the hospital
and thoroughly investigated.
After a battery of
tests by the cardiologists, he was diagnosed as having calcific
aortic stenosis with coronary Artery disease - a malady, that had
reduced the size of his aortic valve and also blocked the major
coronary arteries supplying blood to the heart. Given his
condition, surgery was the only answer. The aortic valve needed to
be replaced by a prosthetic valve made out of metal, which is
imported from the USA. He also needed to undergo Coronary Artery
Bypass Grafting [CABG] for his blocked coronary vessels.
Ameer Jaan was
successfully operated by a team of doctors of the cardiac surgery
department. The entire procedure was performed after putting the
patient on cardiopulmonary bypass using the heart lung machine and
after a cardioplegic arrest of the heart. Apart from replacing his
damaged aortic valve with a prosthetic heart valve, three bypasses
were constructed on his heart. He was kept in the intensive care
unit for 48 hours and transferred to a ward. He went home on the
eighth day fully satisfied and happy.
This operation would
have cost him more than Rs 125,000 [2,700 US dollars] anywhere
else. It would have been impossible for a man like him to meet the
cost. He would have had to sell his shop or property. But then,
what after that?
The small ray of
hope that appeared for Ameer Jaan one day has given him and his
family a new lease on life. One among the millions of human beings
blessed by Baba.
Dr S P Manoj Kumar
MS, Mch
Department of Cardio-thoracic Vascular Surgery.
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Bangalore
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