BANGALORE, MARCH 10: How R Saravana survived is a mystery for doctors at the city's St John's Hospital. And for the 31-year-old, nothing less than a miracle.Saravana, a computer programmer with Titan, lived with a log of wood (10 inch circumference) that pierced right through his chest for more than six hours. And what's even more mind-boggling is that he survived.The happy programmer was on his way to Dharmapuri to visit his wife. When suddenly, near Krishnagiri, the bus he was on collided with a lorry carrying logs around 7.45 pm on February 19, 2000. ``I was sleeping when the bus met with an accident. I felt a tinge of pain and woke up hearing a lot of noise. I felt very heavy and tried to get up, and it was then that I noticed this log that had pierced through my body,'' he recollects with a shudder.Saravana asked co-passengers to help him out of the bus. ``I asked them to cut the log which was quite long (nearly 10 ft). One of them suggested that it should be pulled out. I refused and insisted on getting it cut. Someone got a saw and cut it,'' he says.He was then taken to the Krishnagiri Government Hospital where there were no facilities to remove the log. After waiting for more than an hour, he got an ambulance. ``I sat through the journey for more than four hours as I could not lie down. Blood kept oozing out and I was in pain,'' said an unshaken Saravana.It was around 2 am when he reached St John's Hospital. He was admitted immediately at the Cardio Thoracic Department. The doctors initially thought his chances of survival were slim. But, Saravana pulled through and responded well to the surgery as well as medication.``It was a peculiar situation because some part of the surgery required him to be lying on his side, while the anaesthesia had to be administered while he was lying on his back. Both were impossible as the wood was jutting out from his back,'' said the doctor who performed the surgery. Finally, doctors joined two tables leaving some space for the log so that Saravana could lie down.The log was finally removed after two hours. ``The upper part of the left lung and a few ribs were damaged to some extent. The heart was safe as it was pushed aside by the muscles around it and he had lost just half a litre of blood till then,'' the doctor said. As for the pain, doctors said an injury of this kind would have a numbing effect and that's why the patient was able to bear it.Two weeks after the incident, Saravana is now all set to go home. ``All I can do is thank my stars and people who have helped me,'' he says. As for the St John's Hospital, doctors have decided to keep the log in their museum.
