Ramnath Parkar could say sayonara to vegetative state

It also gives the man, regarded as one of the all-time great fielders in Indian cricket, the chance to move from a persistent vegetative state (PVS) to a wheelchair. This, however, remains in the realms of speculation till he starts reacting to the innovative procedure. The extent of recovery will be known after three to six months.

Two Japanese doctors, Dr Tetsuo Kanno, who pioneered the method, and Dr Yoko Kato, of the Department of Neurosurgery at Fujita Health University, together with Dr Alok Sharma, Head of Department (Neurosurgery) LTMG, joined hands for this cause.

While the procedure has been tried on Indian patients with a similarcondition, like Parkinsons Disease and some forms of cancer, it has not been used on someone in the condition Parkar is in, Dr Sharma said. “This is for the first time in India that it has been attempted on a comatose patient,” he explained.

The system implanted into Parkar’s body consists of a wire, that runs down from his brain along the spine to a receiver in his abdomen. The receiver will react to impulses from an external transmitter, and will, in turn, activate his brain into responding.

Though the electrode has been implanted, it will be activated sometime this week and then Parkar — still at the LTMG — can go home, with only the intensity of the impulses being changed from time to time as need be.

With over a 1,000 cases already attended to in Japan and at a success rate of 43-61 per cent (percentage of people who react to treatment), there are positive signals for the Parkar family. The 52-year-old Parkar breathes on his own, but does not speak and is not fully aware of his surroundings,though he reacts to people occasionally. It has been a struggle ever since a taxi rammed into his scooter on December 31, 1995, when he was returning from the Elf-Vengsarkar Cricket Academy, where he coached. He fought for his life in Jaslok Hospital for six months, and has been in PVS since then.

“He would show improvement but would have convulsions and return to this state of semi-consciousness,” said his school teacher wife Kumudini, juggling her life between him, her school and children — 17-year-old Suchitra and 13-year-old Nikhil. “Then Dilip (Vengsarkar) recommended Dr Sharma and thats how the whole process started.”

The Rs 3.3-lakh expense for DCS has been borne by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), which has sanctioned Rs 5 lakh for Sunil Gavaskar’s former Test opening partner. The rest of the money has been kept aside for post-operative medical care, according to MCA secretary Professor Ratnakar Shetty. A benefit match, likely to be organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India,jointly for Parkar and the late Raman Lamba, is also on the anvil.

The proceeds of a match held at Anand on February 28 have apparently been handed over to Kumudini while cricketers Robin Singh (Sr) and Madan Lal, among others, have also made their personal contributions. This, apart from help by Parkar’s employers Tata Chemicals — who have now given him voluntary retirement — will go in some way to help Kumudini as she prepares to work on insurance papers.

But for the tough little cricketer, another battle has just begun.