Actor Jayasurya was all smiles as he listened to the heart beat of Girish Kumar here on Wednesday.
It was exactly five years ago that Girish had undergone a second heart transplant within a span of nine months. Jose Chacko Periapuram, noted cardio-thoracic surgeon, still recalls the words of Girish who had then told him that he was ready for a second transplant, if the hospital authorities could find a heart matching his medical profile.
An IT professional, Girish had his first heart transplantation done at the age of 38 years at Lisie Hospital in 2013. He was then suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy, where the heart muscles lose its elasticity and slowly get ballooned out. He was also suffering from Ankylosing spondylosis and had a hip joint replacement 8 months after the first transplantation.
He developed infection in one of the heart valves in another three months and was admitted to Lisie Hospital in a serious condition. Girish also suffered two cardiac arrests before he was subjected to another heart transplant on March 6, 2014. A team led by Dr. Periapuram carried out a 10-hour operation after they got a matching heart from a brain dead patient at the right time.
Girish was visiting the hospital on Wednesday on the occasion of completing five years of the double heart transplantation. Actor Jayasurya, who was on hand to mark the occasion, was all praise for Girish after listening to his story of coming back to life with conviction after facing a near-death situation.
Girish, who continues to work in the IT industry, expressed his gratitude to all those who helped him in riding back to normal life.
