Chapter 4: Unexpected Joys and Challenges: 'A herd of fifty elephants leisurely crossed the road" March 20

Traditional Dancing at a Reception at NRI Hospital

The device implants are complete and I am about to return to Connecticut.  

 

It has been very rewarding to come to Vijayawada and practice medicine -- not for any financial gains, but simply to help nine needy patients from my hometown regain the ability to live their lives more fully.  Five patients with advanced heart failure were implanted with cardiac resynchronization pacemakers (CRT-P).  Four patients at risk of suffering ventricular arrhythmias and Sudden Cardiac Death received implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICD).  These devices should make a real impact on the patients’ abilities to maintain employment and contribute to the support of their families.  I will remain in touch with the cardiologists at NRI Hospital who will follow these patients long-term.  I look forward to hearing about the patients’ progress.

 

 

[Return to the Healing Hearts in India homepage]

[Read Chapter 3]

 

 

This trip was marked not only by the personal satisfaction of helping my community but also by many unexpected things.  Certainly the Catholic nun whose heart rhythm disorder I helped diagnose and treat was an unexpected joy.  Also unexpected (and far less joyful) was a cardiac anomaly I discovered in a patient during his device implant.  For readers familiar with cardiac anatomy, this was a Persistent Left Superior Vena Cava, an anomaly an electrophysiologist might see once a year.  The last time I saw a patient with this anatomical abnormality was on my previous implanting trip to NRI Hospital in September, 2006.  Unexpected indeed, but both implant procedures were completed successfully.  Finally, the distance traveled by two of the cardiologists I proctored on pacemaker implant techniques was quite unexpected.  It spoke volumes about their commitment to bringing lifesaving technology to benefit the patients of their remote geographies.

 

I wrote previously about a cardiologist who traveled from Shillong, a town in the distant northeast corner of India.  I in fact proctored two gentlemen practicing in remote areas of India without current access to device implanters.  A cardiologist arrived a day late from Kalingpong, a town 100 miles from India’s border with Bhutan.  His travel was delayed by an unexpected occurrence that could take place in only a few areas of the world.  Like the gentleman from Shillong, the Kalingpong cardiologist had to take a series of flights to arrive at Vijayawada.  He missed one flight because he had to sit idly in his car for an hour while a herd of fifty elephants leisurely crossed the road in front of him. 

 

Unexpected, joyful, and tremendously rewarding.  This is what I will remember about my week in India.

 

Ravi Yarlagadda

 

P.S.  I have several people to thank for helping this project come to such a good conclusion:  the cardiologists and staff at NRI Hospital for their assistance in patient selection and coordination of this project; the Business Development & Community Relations team at Hartford Hospital for designing and implementing this blog; and Medtronic for donating the cardiac devices.  Most importantly, I thank my wife, Sri, and sons, Aarov and Armaan.  I missed each of you very much as I pursued this project.