Dinoy Thomas had longed to meet legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar at least from a distance.
It was more than fulfilled when Sachin walked up to him and posed for a photograph when he was in the city to flag off a marathon last Sunday.
Dinoy, a patient of dilated cardio myopathy who had successfully undergone a heart transplant surgery at a city hospital back in September 2013, was among the 200 volunteers of Heart Care Foundation to participate in the 5-km run organised to create awareness about organ donation. He had successfully completed the run.
Sachin expressed his wish to meet Dinoy after getting to know about him from cardiothoracic surgeon Jose Chacko Periappuram. “It is everyone’s dream to meet Sachin,” said Dinoy, a resident of Kalamassery.
The joy of meeting the legend hit another high for Dinoy when Sachin posted their picture together on Facebook with a message as to how he was moved by such inspiring lives.
Dinoy returned to a fully normal life two years after the surgery when he was implanted with the heart of Libu from Thrissur. Since then, he has been working as a driver with an automobile major driving even long distances. After his working hours, he drives his autorickshaw at Kalamassery from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
