A 33-year-old construction worker survived after being impaled on a 1.30-metre iron rod that went vertically through his torso, but did not pierce his urinary bladder, kidney or heart, or major blood vessels.
On March 8, at around 5 p.m., Salim Shaikh was at a construction site at Vinchur in Nashik district when he slipped and fell from a seven-foot height on the iron rod. The rod pierced his body near the scrotum and pierced through all the way to his neck. He was rushed to a primary health centre, and then to the Nashik Civil Hospital, where he was stabilised. He was then moved nearly 250 km away to JJ hospital, Mumbai. The six-hour-long ride saved his life, but also put him through excruciating pain — despite analgesics — every time the vehicle passed over uneven patches of road.
He was admitted to JJ Hospital around 2 a.m. on March 9 and operated on around noon. A team of 12 doctors worked for five hours to remove the rod. “We carried out a CT scan and sonography to understand the trajectory of the rod,” said Noaman Shaikh from the general surgery department of JJ Hospital. “It had pierced through his groin, small and large intestine, liver, diaphragm, lung, and then exited from the lower part of his neck.” Laparoscopic surgeon Amol Wagh said, “We first had to cut off a small portion of the rod using a saw. The procedure involved pulling out the rod from the side of the neck under laparoscopic vision, controlling the bleeding of the affected organs through which the rod had penetrated, and then suturing the injury.” Mr. Shaikh spent two days in the intensive care unit before being shifted to a general ward. Doctors say he is stable, and will be discharged in a week.
Mr. Shaikh says he did not lose consciousness after the accident. “I was awake throughout. Other workers first cut the rod from the base. They put me in a van and took me to the health centre and then to Nashik.” He remembers being worried about his children. His mother Naseem, who with his brother Mohammad, rode with him in the ambulance, is worried about his long-term recovery. “He has a wife and two small children,” she said. “With such a severe accident, I don’t know how he will look after his family. It will take a lot of time for him to get back to work.” His employer has promised help for medical expenses.
Mr Shaikh says, simply, “I cannot believe I am alive.”
