In April 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, Diya, a 20-year-old BDS student was rushed to the emergency stroke unit of Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST). She was in a coma following a major stroke. She had severe brain swelling and needed emergency surgery. As she was rolled into the theatre, no one would have believed that two years later, she would live to tell her tale.
On World Stroke Day, Diya, now into her third year BDS, stood before a packed audience at SCTIMST and spoke about her long and often frustrating journey of recovery, the depths of depression and despair that she often sunk into and how her loved ones never let her give up on herself. “Diya suffered a rare complication following the COVID vaccination: venous thrombosis. This resulted in a major stroke. Post-surgery, she had weakness in her limbs, her speech was affected and it took a year of rehabilitation for her to recover. She was young, highly motivated but most importantly, her family was with her every step of the way, which made a full recovery possible,” said Sylaja PN, Professor and Head of Neurology, who heads the Comprehensive Stroke Care Centre at SCTIMST.
In sharp contrast, far away in a small shack behind a row of small two-room houses off the coast of Poovar, lies 42-year-old Francis. He was on a fishing boat at sea, along with his brothers and friends, when he suffered a major stroke. By the time he was brought ashore and taken to the hospital, much time had elapsed. He was treated in the Government Medical College for over a month and discharged, because “there was nothing more to be done”.
