Man in coma brought on chartered plane, revived in Bengaluru hospital

BENGALURU: A 36-year-old man who had slipped into a coma after sustaining a severe head injury following a bike accident in the United States, was revived in a private hospital in Bengaluru, though doctors in the US had given up all hopes of his recovery.

Pravin got married to Kavitha four years ago and he was working with an IT firm in the USA. In May 2022, Pravin met with an bike accident and suffered head injury. Doctors in the United States told Kavitha that he will not recover as he slipped into a coma.

But determined to take a fighting chance, Kavitha chartered a flight and brought Pravin to a private hospital in Bengaluru. Doctors treated Pravin with modern techniques and he is now recovering slowly. He has some memory issues and a little difficulty in walking, but is on the path to recovery with therapy.

“In a year, there are 30–60 million cases of head injuries around the world. This is equivalent to the population of a small country. In India, 20 lakh people suffer head injuries and nearly 60 per cent of these are due to road accidents, 20 per cent due to falls and 15-20 per cent from other causes. Compared to Western countries, in India, one in every six cases of head injury results in death. The need for a neuro rehabilitation centre is very important”, stressed Dr Maheshwarappa, senior consultant and head of the Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences at Sakra World Hospital in Sarjapur.

“In the US, they try to convince family members to allow a patient to die. Even in Pravin’s case, they did the same, but his wife did not agree to that. She said that she will take care of him and shifted him to Bengaluru. When he arrived at the hospital, he was in one coma and bedridden, as well as a little agitated. With three or four months of advanced treatment, he was able to talk, and within six months, he had actively recovered. At the time of discharge, he had fully recovered except for memory issues. The comprehensive neuro rehabilitation therapy under the hospital’s guidance and support, and also because of his supportive wife, family members and friends, he has been revived”, Dr Maheshwarappa added.

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“We’ve been struggling for eight months and still have a long way to go, but we’ve accepted the challenge. Due to financial issues, as he was not working and I was on a dependent visa, I could not work there. So we had to come here. We wanted him to recover, and we had support here. We travelled through five countries and came to Bengaluru. I did not accompany him. Initially, he was shifted to Apollo and he was barely conscious”, said Pravin’s wife Kavitha.

“My husband needed advanced neuro rehabilitation and we were advised to see Dr Maheshwarappa. He gave me hope that my husband will be back and it turned out to be true. From the day we admitted Pravin in Sakra Hospital, they started with speech therapy, occupational therapy and neuro rehabilitation therapy. Initially, he was very agitated. Recovery from brain injury is a slow process, so we have to hope for the best. Seeing him in this condition was very hard for me. Everyday, it was different stages of recovery. He has memory issues and does not remember everything. But he can do his work independently and we are hoping that he will get better soon. I thank all the doctors and staff for taking care of us”, she added.