Impaled man survives torn lungs through sheer grit

Two bamboo pieces had got stuck in his lungs in an accident

A man who was impaled by a bamboo through his chest in a weird accident near Edakkara two weeks ago survived a severely torn lung through sheer courage and will.

Even doctors who treated V. Apareesh, 34, look upon him with awe. “He would not have survived the massive impalement but for his grit,” said Nasser Yusuf, cardiothoracic surgeon, who operated upon Apareesh and removed two large pieces of bamboo that had got stuck inside his lacerated lungs, at a private hospital in Kozhikode.

A bakery employee from Kalikavu, Apareesh was riding a bike on a rainy night when several large bamboo trees fell on him.

He could not move for a long time, and he struggled for breath. He was impaled by a bamboo branch under his left armpit.

“I wasn’t willing to die there. I thought of my wife and the little child,” said Apareesh.

Mustering all the strength he could, Apareesh pulled out the branch that had gone into his lungs and reached behind his heart.

He covered the deep bleeding wound with his hand and managed to reach a hospital, where he was stitched up.

A few days later, when he coughed up blood, a scan found that he was carrying a piece of bamboo inside his lungs. Dr. Yusuf, who opened his chest, was surprised to find two pieces of bamboo — one 8-cm long and the other 2-cm long.

“Removing the pieces was risky. Taking them out can lead to a massive bleed inside the lungs,” said Dr. Yusuf, who preferred open surgery to thoracoscopy, as it involved a huge risk.

“He deserves full credit for defying a certain death through his courage,” said Dr. Yusuf. Apareesh is now recovering at hospital.