THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: S Raghavan Pillai, 106, was a lucky man indeed as he saw five generations of his family members. Kaniyapuram Nambiarkulam native Raghavan Pillai, who died in the wee hours of Wednesday at his house Manoj Bhavan, had a record to his credit. He had undergone angioplasty at 102, an age that doctors usually don’t perform the procedure.
Raghavan Pillai enjoyed being with his children, their spouses, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and their children, comprising 35 members. The youngest is 1.5-year-old Milan. A former driver in the Indian Army, before the country attained independence, Raghavan Pillai wanted to do some business in his native place. After serving the country for a decade, he returned to Kaniyapuram and started ‘Vijaya Hotel’. After running it successfully for several years, Raghavan Pillai started a stationery shop nearby.
His younger son, R Vijayakumar, 65, told TNIE that Raghavan breathed his last in the wee hours of Wednesday. “My father did not have any other illness until he suffered a heart attack four years ago. He led a disciplined life. Doctors used to say that it was a miracle that my father lived until 106 years, that too, after undergoing angioplasty,” said Vijayakumar
Dr P Mangalanandan, senior cardiologist at Cosmopolitan Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, will never forget the day he did the angioplasty on Raghavan Pillai four years ago. All his five children urged Dr Mangalanandan to do an angioplasty on their father to save him. With multiple blocks, there was no other alternative. Age was definitely a deterrent, but the children’s enthusiasm led Dr Mangalanandan to proceed with the highly critical procedure.
“Doctors very rarely do angioplasty on patients who are above 100 years. It was definitely a challenging task then. But when the patient and his children were keen on it, I was only too happy to do the daunting task. He led a healthy and peaceful life until a month ago. Finally, age caught up with him, and he died peacefully on Wednesday,” Dr Mangalanandan said. Raghavan Pillai’s funeral was held at his home on Wednesday. His wife, Rajamma, predeceased him 50 years ago.