A traveller asked a shepherd: "How do you think the weather will be today?" "Oh, it will be weather that I like." "How do you know, how can you say that?" The shepherd answered: “Long ago I decided that whatever weather comes I will like it. Now I am always sure that I will get weather that is to my liking 365 days of the year. Instead of always trying to get only that thing I like, I decided that it is wiser to like whatever thing I get. Therefore, I always like the weather I get."
He had the key to happiness.
My Journey of Life goes like this -
During my internship in 1978, while coming back from my rural posting I met with an accident with a truck while driving back on my motorbike. I was brought to our Suchak hospital in a critical state with multiple fractures in the spine and profuse intra-abdominal bleed resulting into hypotension. Immediately i was taken up for Laparotomy and was found to have a ruptured Spleen.On the operation table, I had a cardiac arrest and was revived. I was given 10 units of blood. Spleenectomy was done and after that I was completely fine for next 10 years.
I got married to Abha and was blessed with two children and was working full-fledged in the hospital. After 9 years in 1987, for the first time I was discovered to have Jaundice, which was Acute Viral Hepatitis. On being tested I was diagnosed Australia Antigen + and all the liver enzymes were elevated. I was advised rest for a couple of months. Australia Antigen became Negative and the anti bodies to the Hepatitis B surface antigen became positive, so I was very happy that I cleared the B virus. But, we kept checking my liver functions every month and to my surprise the liver enzymes were persistently high.
I consulted Dr. Roger William and Dr. Sheila Sherlock who were the best in the field. At London I had my Liver biopsy done. During that time I was told that I have Chronic Non-A, Non-B Hepatitis - very early Cirrhosis. Later on it was labelled as Hepatitis C.
In the 1990's clinical trials were being conducted for Interferon. I was put on this trial. From 1990 to 2005, I took 4 courses of Interferon. Each time I took interferon, I responded temporarily and everything looked good. After completion of the Interferon therapy, the Virus reappeared each time.
My activity was absolutely normal till 2006, when my general condition started worsening. I had multiple episodes of fever with rigors and I started developing Ascites and swelling in the feet. I knew I was heading for trouble and my liver was decompensating. At that time I was told I did not have many options. I could go for a liver transplant as it was the end stage of my disease and nothing else could be done. At that time I went through a whole gamut of emotions and feelings -- what would my family do without me, Would the hospital function smoothly ? I had reflected upon my life and realised there was much for me to do. And giving up was not an option.
After surveying couple of centres in India and abroad in January 2007, I finally decided to get live donor liver transplant done at Apollo Hospital, Delhi. I remember my friends and family that came to Delhi - Dr. Amita Suchak, Dr. Deepak Parikh, Dr Lalit Kapoor, Dr Ketan Mehta, Dr Umesh & Molina Khanna, Dr Agam Vora, Dr Jayesh Shah, Dr Ashish Purohit, Dr Sharad Oza, Dr Murari Nanavati, Dr K S Aithal, Dimple Mishra, Poonam & Amresh Prasad, Nithya Rao, Tina Suchak, Dr Mustafa Nadiadwala, Rajendra Temani, Urvashi Thakkar, Jagdish Khakhar, Dr M G Agrawal, Kishora Vasa, Madhu & Shailesh Nathwani, Swami Pranavswarupananda, Anushri and Jyoti Mainthai and many other friends were there for my surgery. I asked Dr. Subash Gupta about the prognosis and he gave me quite an optimistic picture and then I said 'Let's Go for it'. The divine blessings of Swami Chidananda and gracious and generous gesture of donating part of his liver by Swami Yatidharmanada is responsible for my rebirth.
I was taken for Liver Transplant surgery on February 19th of 2007. This surgery normally have taken 10-12 hours but I had lots of complications, because of my previous surgery. There were lots of adhesions and my surgery took almost 23 hours. I was given 60 units of blood and blood components. I was taken in at 6am and brought out at 5am the next day. The explanted Liver Biopsy showed two tumours of Hepatoma besides the Cirrhosis of Liver. During my post op recovery, I had decided, I will surely walk out of this place hale and hearty. With that spirit and strong will, I started mobilising myself. Unfortunately on the 6th or 7th day there was a biliary leak because of the transplant. Almost 1.5-2 litres of bile collected in the abdomen, doctors had to put a drain and remove it every day. Then on the 9th day I was told they would have to re-operate. That was the only day I felt low, I felt that God was testing me. I talked to my wife and she said 'We have to do it, we have total faith that everything will be fine as the finest doctors are with us'. That surgery lasted for 6-7 hours and I was in the hospital for 40 days. There was an excellent team of doctors headed by Dr Subash Gupta. Their expertise and caring attitude is something I owe my life to. Added to this My strong will to survive and my zest for life were also factors which helped pull me through. I had decided not to give up.
I had all the support from my wife Abha, who was standing by me like a rock, along with my son Dr Suraj Suchak and my daughter Tui Sigman. I had tremendous support from my friends and family members and above all my donor. On the day of the surgery there were 80-100 people including 40 doctors from Mumbai at Apollo Hospital. Not only that, there were prayers being conducted at different places, like Sivananda Ashram, Buddhist groups and temples and mosques. At Nutan School, 4000 children joined in offering prayers for me. The entire staff of Suchak Hospital walked barefoot to Siddhi Vinayak temple to pray for my health and recovery.
Several studies have proved the power of prayer when it comes to healing of the sick, in my case this clearly helped me. I am indebted to everyone because they love me so much I never realised. I am grateful for all the positivity, love and energy they sent out toward me. I had strong faith that I will go through this and come out of this. A strong will and prayers helped me through this crisis. Being a man of science I have tremendous respect for doctors and the progress of modern day medicine. Although, I also depend heavily on my faith in the higher power that gave me the courage, strength and endurance to go through this ordeal. I have come out of this ordeal a better person with a sense of gratitude towards the miracle of life and my loved ones.
After the transplant I resumed my normal duties and was fully active in three months. Once again I was put on Pegylated Interferon with Ribavarine for one year and the good news is that I am free of Hepatitis C virus. I have to take precautions because I am on immunosuppressants for life. I am advised to stay away from infective patients, but I still go for all the CPR, intubations and other critical procedures. I participate every year in the Standard Chartered marathon dream runs with a cause to promote the awareness of Organ donation & Cadaver transplantations. I have been exercising and walking regularly. I have also been involved in social and other activities at the Indian Medical Association, Association of Medical Consultants & Malad Medical Association. In spite of my liver transplant I have lead as the president of the most active branch of IMA Mumbai West. I am closely associated with the Divine Life Society, a spiritual organisation. We conduct Yoga shibirs amongst other activities. This evening I am taking over as the Managing trustee of this branch.
I have been counselling patients FREE, who have been advised liver transplants, along with their families from all over the country and abroad. In the past 4 years I have counselled over 90 patients. Friends, I would take this opportunity to extend my services to counsel affected patients since I have firsthand experience.
I was lucky to get a live donor for my transplant but more than 90 % have no recourse but death. However we all can help and give patients a second life if we understand the concept of Cadaver Transplantations which is now termed as Deceased Donor Program.
The message I would like to convey is that End stage liver disease seems like THE END OF THE ROAD but it is really not. AND I AM A LIVING EXAMPLE OF THIS.
To Remember Me - I will live forever
The day will come when my body will lie upon a white sheet neatly tucked under four corners of a mattress located in a hospital; busily occupied with the living and the dying. At a certain moment a doctor will determine that my brain has ceased to function and that, for all intents and purposes, my life has stopped.
When that happens, do not attempt to instill artificial life into my body by the use of a machine. And don't call this my deathbed. Let it be called the bed of life, and let my body be taken from it to help others lead fuller lives.
Give my sight to the man who has never seen a sunrise, a baby's face or love in the eyes of a woman.
Give my heart to a person whose own heart has caused nothing but endless days of pain.
Give my blood to the teenager who was pulled from the wreckage of his car, so that he might live to see his grandchildren play.
Give my kidneys to the one who depends on a machine to exist from week to week.
Take my bones, every muscle, every fiber and nerve in my body and find a way to make a crippled child walk.
Explore every corner of my brain.
Take my cells, if necessary, and let them grow so that, someday a speechless boy will shout at the crack of a bat and a deaf girl will hear the sound of rain agianst her window.
Burn what is left of me and scatter the ashes to the winds to help the flowers grow.
If you must bury something, let it be my faults, my weakness and all prejudice against my fellow man.
Give my sins to the devil.
Give my soul to God.
If, by chance, you wish to remember me, do it with a kind deed or word to someone who needs you. If you do all I have asked, I will live forever.
Robert N. Test
He had the key to happiness.
My Journey of Life goes like this -
During my internship in 1978, while coming back from my rural posting I met with an accident with a truck while driving back on my motorbike. I was brought to our Suchak hospital in a critical state with multiple fractures in the spine and profuse intra-abdominal bleed resulting into hypotension. Immediately i was taken up for Laparotomy and was found to have a ruptured Spleen.On the operation table, I had a cardiac arrest and was revived. I was given 10 units of blood. Spleenectomy was done and after that I was completely fine for next 10 years.
I got married to Abha and was blessed with two children and was working full-fledged in the hospital. After 9 years in 1987, for the first time I was discovered to have Jaundice, which was Acute Viral Hepatitis. On being tested I was diagnosed Australia Antigen + and all the liver enzymes were elevated. I was advised rest for a couple of months. Australia Antigen became Negative and the anti bodies to the Hepatitis B surface antigen became positive, so I was very happy that I cleared the B virus. But, we kept checking my liver functions every month and to my surprise the liver enzymes were persistently high.
I consulted Dr. Roger William and Dr. Sheila Sherlock who were the best in the field. At London I had my Liver biopsy done. During that time I was told that I have Chronic Non-A, Non-B Hepatitis - very early Cirrhosis. Later on it was labelled as Hepatitis C.
In the 1990's clinical trials were being conducted for Interferon. I was put on this trial. From 1990 to 2005, I took 4 courses of Interferon. Each time I took interferon, I responded temporarily and everything looked good. After completion of the Interferon therapy, the Virus reappeared each time.
My activity was absolutely normal till 2006, when my general condition started worsening. I had multiple episodes of fever with rigors and I started developing Ascites and swelling in the feet. I knew I was heading for trouble and my liver was decompensating. At that time I was told I did not have many options. I could go for a liver transplant as it was the end stage of my disease and nothing else could be done. At that time I went through a whole gamut of emotions and feelings -- what would my family do without me, Would the hospital function smoothly ? I had reflected upon my life and realised there was much for me to do. And giving up was not an option.
After surveying couple of centres in India and abroad in January 2007, I finally decided to get live donor liver transplant done at Apollo Hospital, Delhi. I remember my friends and family that came to Delhi - Dr. Amita Suchak, Dr. Deepak Parikh, Dr Lalit Kapoor, Dr Ketan Mehta, Dr Umesh & Molina Khanna, Dr Agam Vora, Dr Jayesh Shah, Dr Ashish Purohit, Dr Sharad Oza, Dr Murari Nanavati, Dr K S Aithal, Dimple Mishra, Poonam & Amresh Prasad, Nithya Rao, Tina Suchak, Dr Mustafa Nadiadwala, Rajendra Temani, Urvashi Thakkar, Jagdish Khakhar, Dr M G Agrawal, Kishora Vasa, Madhu & Shailesh Nathwani, Swami Pranavswarupananda, Anushri and Jyoti Mainthai and many other friends were there for my surgery. I asked Dr. Subash Gupta about the prognosis and he gave me quite an optimistic picture and then I said 'Let's Go for it'. The divine blessings of Swami Chidananda and gracious and generous gesture of donating part of his liver by Swami Yatidharmanada is responsible for my rebirth.
I was taken for Liver Transplant surgery on February 19th of 2007. This surgery normally have taken 10-12 hours but I had lots of complications, because of my previous surgery. There were lots of adhesions and my surgery took almost 23 hours. I was given 60 units of blood and blood components. I was taken in at 6am and brought out at 5am the next day. The explanted Liver Biopsy showed two tumours of Hepatoma besides the Cirrhosis of Liver. During my post op recovery, I had decided, I will surely walk out of this place hale and hearty. With that spirit and strong will, I started mobilising myself. Unfortunately on the 6th or 7th day there was a biliary leak because of the transplant. Almost 1.5-2 litres of bile collected in the abdomen, doctors had to put a drain and remove it every day. Then on the 9th day I was told they would have to re-operate. That was the only day I felt low, I felt that God was testing me. I talked to my wife and she said 'We have to do it, we have total faith that everything will be fine as the finest doctors are with us'. That surgery lasted for 6-7 hours and I was in the hospital for 40 days. There was an excellent team of doctors headed by Dr Subash Gupta. Their expertise and caring attitude is something I owe my life to. Added to this My strong will to survive and my zest for life were also factors which helped pull me through. I had decided not to give up.
I had all the support from my wife Abha, who was standing by me like a rock, along with my son Dr Suraj Suchak and my daughter Tui Sigman. I had tremendous support from my friends and family members and above all my donor. On the day of the surgery there were 80-100 people including 40 doctors from Mumbai at Apollo Hospital. Not only that, there were prayers being conducted at different places, like Sivananda Ashram, Buddhist groups and temples and mosques. At Nutan School, 4000 children joined in offering prayers for me. The entire staff of Suchak Hospital walked barefoot to Siddhi Vinayak temple to pray for my health and recovery.
Several studies have proved the power of prayer when it comes to healing of the sick, in my case this clearly helped me. I am indebted to everyone because they love me so much I never realised. I am grateful for all the positivity, love and energy they sent out toward me. I had strong faith that I will go through this and come out of this. A strong will and prayers helped me through this crisis. Being a man of science I have tremendous respect for doctors and the progress of modern day medicine. Although, I also depend heavily on my faith in the higher power that gave me the courage, strength and endurance to go through this ordeal. I have come out of this ordeal a better person with a sense of gratitude towards the miracle of life and my loved ones.
After the transplant I resumed my normal duties and was fully active in three months. Once again I was put on Pegylated Interferon with Ribavarine for one year and the good news is that I am free of Hepatitis C virus. I have to take precautions because I am on immunosuppressants for life. I am advised to stay away from infective patients, but I still go for all the CPR, intubations and other critical procedures. I participate every year in the Standard Chartered marathon dream runs with a cause to promote the awareness of Organ donation & Cadaver transplantations. I have been exercising and walking regularly. I have also been involved in social and other activities at the Indian Medical Association, Association of Medical Consultants & Malad Medical Association. In spite of my liver transplant I have lead as the president of the most active branch of IMA Mumbai West. I am closely associated with the Divine Life Society, a spiritual organisation. We conduct Yoga shibirs amongst other activities. This evening I am taking over as the Managing trustee of this branch.
I have been counselling patients FREE, who have been advised liver transplants, along with their families from all over the country and abroad. In the past 4 years I have counselled over 90 patients. Friends, I would take this opportunity to extend my services to counsel affected patients since I have firsthand experience.
I was lucky to get a live donor for my transplant but more than 90 % have no recourse but death. However we all can help and give patients a second life if we understand the concept of Cadaver Transplantations which is now termed as Deceased Donor Program.
The message I would like to convey is that End stage liver disease seems like THE END OF THE ROAD but it is really not. AND I AM A LIVING EXAMPLE OF THIS.
To Remember Me - I will live forever
The day will come when my body will lie upon a white sheet neatly tucked under four corners of a mattress located in a hospital; busily occupied with the living and the dying. At a certain moment a doctor will determine that my brain has ceased to function and that, for all intents and purposes, my life has stopped.
When that happens, do not attempt to instill artificial life into my body by the use of a machine. And don't call this my deathbed. Let it be called the bed of life, and let my body be taken from it to help others lead fuller lives.
Give my sight to the man who has never seen a sunrise, a baby's face or love in the eyes of a woman.
Give my heart to a person whose own heart has caused nothing but endless days of pain.
Give my blood to the teenager who was pulled from the wreckage of his car, so that he might live to see his grandchildren play.
Give my kidneys to the one who depends on a machine to exist from week to week.
Take my bones, every muscle, every fiber and nerve in my body and find a way to make a crippled child walk.
Explore every corner of my brain.
Take my cells, if necessary, and let them grow so that, someday a speechless boy will shout at the crack of a bat and a deaf girl will hear the sound of rain agianst her window.
Burn what is left of me and scatter the ashes to the winds to help the flowers grow.
If you must bury something, let it be my faults, my weakness and all prejudice against my fellow man.
Give my sins to the devil.
Give my soul to God.
If, by chance, you wish to remember me, do it with a kind deed or word to someone who needs you. If you do all I have asked, I will live forever.
Robert N. Test
Very well written. Best wishes and continue to do the great work that you do. God Bless.
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