Uttar Pradesh: Doctor on morning walk saves man who collapsed after stroke

PRAYAGRAJ: Health benefits of morning walk are beyond doubt. Now, a banker's family from Prayagraj would vouch that it also saves lives.
On Monday, a doctor on his morning walk saw this banker collapsing in his car and his family desperately seeking help.
Being a neurosurgeon, he guessed the gravity of the situation and administered the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before rushing him to a nearby hospital. The banker is now recovering at the hospital.
Santosh Kumar, 40, a manager of Bank of Baroda South Malaka branch, had gone to attend the parent-teacher meet (PTM) of his daughter Rabhya Vats at her school near Heera Halwai crossing. Just after parking the car and switching off the engine, he lost his consciousness while his heart beats started fading.
It was sheer good luck for Santosh and his family that an eminent neurosurgeon of the city, Dr Prakash Khaitan, was on his morning walk and passing by at the crucial time. He stopped after seeing the family in trouble.
Dr Khaitan found Santosh lying unconscious on the driving seat of his car and immediately administered CPR to bring his consciousness back. The CPR ensures that the blood and oxygen keep flowing when a person's heart and breathing are fading fast or have just stopped.
“We had come to attend the PTM of our daughter who is in Class 5. My husband had stopped the car and was trying to take out the keys when his hand turned stiff, his body became immovable and saliva started flowing from his mouth,” Santosh’s wife Surabhi told TOI.
“My daughter and I started crying for help and urged people around us to do something, but no one had a clue. Suddenly, a middle-aged man came forward and asked the onlookers to move back saying he was a doctor. He checked my husband and after noticing that he was not breathing, started giving CPR. My husband regained consciousness after a few minutes. The ‘angel’ who saved my husband was the renowned neurosurgeon Dr Prakash Khaitan,” recalled Surabhi.
Dr Khaitan and his associate then rushed Santosh to the nearby hospital where the latter was admitted and is normal.
“I and my friend Dr Sonkar were coming back from a morning walk when we saw a mother-daughter duo crying. We stopped our car and reached for help. The man had suffered a stroke and needed CPR and massage. I continued the CPR and after 10 minutes, Santosh’s breath came back. We then rushed him to a nearby private hospital and admitted him to the ICU,” said Dr Khiatan.
Surabhi said Santosh was healthy and never had high blood pressure but his right side was paralysed when he was around 15 years old but had recovered fully in about a week after medication.
“It was our good luck that the renowned neurosurgeon turned up to save my husband who is now under his treatment,” said Surabhi, a housewife.
The incident also proved the significance of the golden hour of stroke and the importance of people knowing how to administer CPR, a lifesaving technique.