Gurugram: Potholes can be lifesaving. Or so 80-year-old Darshan Singh’s family would like to believe. The resident of Nissing town in Haryana’s Karnal district was “jolted back to life” after having been “mistakenly” declared dead by doctors in Patiala, Punjab.
While much has been written about the accident-causing potential of potholes in India, sometimes fatally so, Singh’s case appears to be a positive departure.
According to Singh’s family, the chronic heart patient had been taken to a private hospital in Patiala by his elder son, Gurdev Singh, for treatment. On Thursday morning, doctors informed Gurdev, lecturer at a college in Patiala, that Singh had no heartbeat and was “dead”.
The news spread quickly in Nissing, where Singh’s family is said to be among the prominent and wealthy ones. “The Darshan Singh colony where the family lives is named after him,” said Karamjeet Singh Virk, a resident.
Relatives and friends started gathering at his house to mourn his death and prepare for his funeral. Singh’s younger son Baldev Singh, former vice-president of Nissing Municipal Committee, rushed to Patiala to bring his father’s body back.
But fate seemed to have had other plans for Darshan Singh.
“When the ambulance was near Dhand in Kaithal, its tires hit a big pothole on the bumpy road, which jolted the vehicle. Suddenly, I noticed a movement in my father’s hand. When I checked I found his heart was beating,” Baldev Singh, who address his father as “Bapu ji”, told ThePrint Friday.
Baldev added: “We straightaway took him to a private hospital in Nissing, where the doctors told us to shift him to Karnal for better treatment. We took him to Rawal Hospital in Karnal where he is under treatment now.”
Dr Netra Pal, who is treating Singh at Rawal Hospital, confirmed to The Print Friday that the octogenarian was alive.
According to Dr Viney Singla, a cardiac physician from Haryana’s Fatehabad, Singh’s is a rare case. “It will be difficult to comment on this particular case unless one knows how the doctor who declared the patient dead concluded that the patient was dead,” he said.
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Dead or alive?
“Normally, when doctors declare a patient dead, they first look at the pupils. If the pupils are dilated, it means the patient is brain dead. Also, the doctors look at the cardiac activity. Most of the doctors would certainly do an ECG to be sure that cardiac activity has stopped,” said Sangla.
The doctor added: “The ECG will show a straight line in the report in that case. Once there is no cardiac activity, there will be no pulmonary activity (respiration) too. And if the brain doesn’t get oxygen for a few seconds, it will be almost impossible for the patient to revive.”
For now, at least, Singh though appears to have beaten the odds.
“I can’t say that he is well yet. But yes, he has survived and is under treatment. Initially, when he was brought to the hospital nearly 18 hours back, he was put on a ventilator because of his condition. But he had a pulse and was alive. Now, he doesn’t need a ventilator,” said Pal.
Meanwhile, Baldev termed his father’s survival a “miracle”, but added that the family would rejoice only when he started talking again. “Bapu ji has survived by the grace of God,” he added.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)