KOZHIKODE: In a startling incident, a Malappuram Kalikavu native spent up to 10 days with two pieces of bamboo pierced into his lungs, which were finally removed by surgery at the Kozhikode Chest Hospital recently.
Apareesh, 34, a bakery salesman by profession, was riding his bike on the Kavalappara-Edakkara Road on July 17, when a few bamboo trees on the roadside suddenly collapsed on him.
"Owing to the lockdown, the road was empty. But I somehow picked myself up and pulled out the bamboo stick that I saw had pierced my chest," Apareesh said.
He then tried to stop the bleeding by holding on to his chest tightly and waited until an autorickshaw arrived to go to a hospital.
The doctors, however, sent him home stating there was no serious injury.
Regardless, Apareesh decided to consult a private hospital in Perinthalmanna later.
Though the doctors there conducted a scan, they too failed to spot the presence of any foreign body, assumedly due to the heavy bleeding.
Within a few days, Apareesh started to experience breathing difficulties, fever, and chest pain. After he went to the hospital again, the doctors found that a piece of bamboo had pierced into one of his lungs.
He was soon referred to the Kozhikode Chest Hospital, where the pieces were removed by cardiothoracic
surgeon Dr Nasser Yusuf in a challenging surgery.
"When Apareesh came to us, he was coughing up blood and his respiratory function was out of control. We found two bamboo pieces (7cm and 4cm length) pierced into his lungs, very close to his heart. Luckily, we were able to save him," said Dr Nasser Yusuf.
Even as he was struggling with severe respiratory issues, Apareesh had decided to stand strong. "I have a wife and a 10-month-old baby. I knew that I can't afford to die," he said. He has now been shifted to the ward and is recovering.