NRI saved from paralysis by docs

MUMBAI: Mohana Ramchandani calls her recent trip to Mumbai as her most memorable one so far before she flies out of the city on Tuesday morning, for, the city gave her a second lease of life and saved her from and a lifetime of dependence.

The 76-year-old had come to Mumbai last week to visit relatives in Ghatkopar, when she felt a sudden numbness and weakness set in the left side of her body. Ramchandani immediately called for a local doctor, who informed her family that she had suffered a stroke. The doctor told her that she had to be rushed to the nearest tertiary hospital.

“I could not walk properly as my left leg had lost all sensation ,” she said. She managed to reach in little more than an hour. On reaching the hospital, she was immediately taken for an MRI scan and angiogram, which showed that Ramchandani had a blood clot in the brain artery. Consultant brain and spine surgeon Dr Vishwanathan Iyer, who treated Mohana, said they used intravenous thrombolysis (injecting drug through
veins) therapy to dissolve the clot.

Ramchandani said that within a day of the treatment, the weakness on her left side had significantly improved. “On the fifth day of treatment, she had started walking and moving her hands,” said Iyer. If not for timely thrombolysis, her weakness could have progressed to complete paralysis, with no chances of recovery.

Meanwhile, the Indian Stroke Association’s (ISA) plans to establish Stroke Units across the country have gained momentum, and plans are in place to endorse 200 centres in the next six months.