He’s got a girl’s heart

66-yr-old Ravishankar Nayak, who underwent a heart transplant two years ago, is thankful to the 17-yr-old girl whose heart beats in him now
By Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Wednesday, March 11, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News%20-%20City&sectid=3&contentid=20090311200903110415572571c5724b8)

This retired accountant from Gujarat, settled in the US, is living on a teenager’s heart for the past two years. But he doesn’t know who his saviour was.The young heart beating inside 66-year-old Ravishankar Nayak is of a girl, who died in an accident. Her identity was never revealed.A friend of city-based dentist Hiren Bhojak, Nayak visited Ahmedabad two years after heart transplanation, in January this year.

Before embarking on his return journey, he told Ahmedabad Mirror: “I’m grateful to the person who gave me a new life at the expense of hers.”Sharing his “heart-rending” experience at one of his relative’s place in Ghatlodia, Naik said he went to the US in 1971 and settled down in Wellington. The cardiac problems of this retired accountant, originally hailing from Unava of Unjha (Patan), started 15 years ago. His heart muscles started dying following a viral infection. Several surgeries failed to cure him.

His condition did not improve even after pacemaker installation. In 2000, surgeons of Columbia University hospital told Nayak that heart transplantation was his only remedy. He immediately registered for the same, but got a waiting list number beyond 2,500. With so many patients already in waiting, Nayak had given up hope of heart transplantation. “Moreover, a matching heart for transplantation was hard to come by,” said Nayak.

But fortune smiled on him on February 1, 2007. He received a call around 9.30 pm from the Columbia University hospital asking him to report to the health hub immediately.Around 10.30 pm, Nayak reached the hospital with his family members. After formalities and few routine examinations, he was wheeled into the operation theatre for heart transplantation around 1.30 am of February 2.

When he regained consciousness, Nayak heard Japanese surgeon Yosi Naka, who operated upon him, telling his son “you have a good news and a bad one”.“Your father’s old heart has been taken out. We have replaced it with the heart of a 17-year-old. The bad news is your father’s saviour died in a road mishap,” the doctor had said.Before signing off, Nayak said he was doing fine since the surgery, but the death of his teenages saviour still hurts him.

Questions we know you want to ask him

Do you haggle with vegetable vendors ?

• Are you still thinking about that pink halter-neck top you saw at the mall last week ? Does a shirtless Salman set your adrenaline gushing?

• Do you bite your nails while watching a horror flick?

• Have you transformed from a great listener to a great talker?

• Have you started asking your partner how much she loves you?

• Do you take at least one hour for a shower and another one hour to dress up?

• Do you feel lost on the city streets without your GPS device?

• Is your neighbour’s new washing machine giving you sleepless nights?

• Have you installed a weighing scale in your bathroom?

• Think your wife’s diamond studs would suit you better?

• Does the compliment you received a fortnight ago make you blush even now.