10 September,2014 07:29 AM IST | | Niranjan Medhekar
Suhas Balkrishna Gadekar suffered a heart attack while he was participating in an immersion procession at Laxmi Road on Monday afternoon
Suhas Gadekar
65-year-old Suhas Balkrishna Gadekar was one of the hundreds of people who had gathered to watch the Shivgarjana dhol-tasha band in action on Monday afternoon at Laxmi Road. It was also a special moment for him, since he got to see his grandson, who is a part of the band, perform enthusiastically in front of the large audience.
The group of medical students who helped doctors rush Gadekar to Poona Hospital; (inset) Suhas Gadekar
Enjoying every moment of the procession, Gadekar did not want to miss a thing and insisted that he stay a little longer even though his daughter and son-in-law left for home after some time.
However, within half an hour, he started experiencing severe chest pains, but popped a few pills assuming it was acidity. When the pain did not subside, Gadekar knew this was something serious and immediately called his son-in-law for help, right before he fell unconscious.
This timely phone call and quick thinking saved his life. His son-in-law called Maharashtra Emergency Medical Service (MEMS) and a cardiac ambulance was immediately rushed to the scene. He was admitted to the nearby Poona Hospital.
After he arrived at the hospital in a critical condition, an angioplasty was conducted after the ECG report showed that the main artery was 90 per cent blocked.
On Tuesday evening, this mid-day correspondent visited the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Poona Hospital where Gadekar is admitted and found out that he is now out of danger.
"I participated in the immersion procession to see the performance of my grandson Anshul who was part of Shivgarjana dhol-tasha band. After a while, I moved ahead from Vijay talkies towards Kumthekar Road when suddenly I started feeling restless and started experiencing chest pain," Gadekar said.
His wife Sarala, who was by his side said, "It was only because of that emergency medical service and alertness of doctors that he is now out of danger. Otherwise anything could have happened."
Gadekar suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, but never had a history of heart disease.
Along with doctors, many medical students volunteered to assist the ambulance services provided by Maharashtra Emergency Medical Service during the immersion procession on Monday.
Mayuri Vaidya, a 3rd year BAMS student from Ashtang Ayurvedic College, who assisted the doctors in this particular case said, "The patient (Gadekar) was sweating and he was experiencing chest pain. We conducted an ECG while he was in the ambulance itself and and rushed him to the nearest hospital."
