Transplant patients return to city to thank docs, donors
TNN | Jan 28, 2018, 08:26 IST
Eight years ago, he was told he would return in a box if he decided on India as a destination for heart transplant. But Ronald Lemmer from Minnesota in the United States, now 72, is back in Chennai to thank his doctors for a heart transplant he underwent in 2010.
"If you don't look at the calendar, I would say I am 30," he said, grinning.
"I live by the lake, I ride my boat and swim when the weather is warm. I have six motorbikes. I drive and service them myself," he said after climbing the stairs to the fourth floor of Apollo Hospitals.
In 2010, when doctors at Minnesota's "world-class transplant centres" told him he would have to use a left ventricular assist device — an artificial pump — to stay alive till he was able to get a donor heart, Lemmer refused. He did not want to be tied down by the device.
An India-born nurse and his doctor-neighbour suggested Chennai as a destination. Soon, after a few chats with heart transplant surgeon Dr Paul Ramesh, Lemmer decided to fly down.
His cardiologists were not happy.
"They used different slides and graphs to tell me why I should not travel to India. They lost $1 million because I refused to take the pump. While my wife was a little worried, I had made up my mind. I not only recovered but paid one-tenth the cost of what it would have cost me in the US," he said.
On July 21, 2010, he underwent a heart transplant. "I wanted to know if I could help the donor's family, but the doctors told me that all details of the donor, barring the fact that he was a daily-wage worker, would remain anonymous," he said.
A few weeks after being discharged from hospital, he visited his donor's family deity in Puducherry to offer thanks.
"I will visit the temple again this time. It's my way of thanksgiving," he said on Saturday.
In 2010, when Lemmer returned home, his cardiologists didn't seem happy. They told the media that they had to give him medications to ensure his heart was failing and discouraged patients from travelling outside the country for transplants. The media said his wife had to sleep on dirty hospital floors.
"They didn't know. The proof is I am still alive.
And the numbers on my medical tests done in the US look good. I came here to show my report to the doctors," he said.
After travelling within India in the next few weeks, Lemmer, who has now sold his glass factory, has planned a motorbike trip across several US states this summer, he said.
"Last time I left with an Indian heart. This time, after several sessions with dentists here I will return with an Indian smile," he said.
TNN | Jan 28, 2018, 08:26 IST
Eight years ago, he was told he would return in a box if he decided on India as a destination for heart transplant. But Ronald Lemmer from Minnesota in the United States, now 72, is back in Chennai to thank his doctors for a heart transplant he underwent in 2010.
"If you don't look at the calendar, I would say I am 30," he said, grinning.
"I live by the lake, I ride my boat and swim when the weather is warm. I have six motorbikes. I drive and service them myself," he said after climbing the stairs to the fourth floor of Apollo Hospitals.
In 2010, when doctors at Minnesota's "world-class transplant centres" told him he would have to use a left ventricular assist device — an artificial pump — to stay alive till he was able to get a donor heart, Lemmer refused. He did not want to be tied down by the device.
An India-born nurse and his doctor-neighbour suggested Chennai as a destination. Soon, after a few chats with heart transplant surgeon Dr Paul Ramesh, Lemmer decided to fly down.
His cardiologists were not happy.
"They used different slides and graphs to tell me why I should not travel to India. They lost $1 million because I refused to take the pump. While my wife was a little worried, I had made up my mind. I not only recovered but paid one-tenth the cost of what it would have cost me in the US," he said.
On July 21, 2010, he underwent a heart transplant. "I wanted to know if I could help the donor's family, but the doctors told me that all details of the donor, barring the fact that he was a daily-wage worker, would remain anonymous," he said.
A few weeks after being discharged from hospital, he visited his donor's family deity in Puducherry to offer thanks.
"I will visit the temple again this time. It's my way of thanksgiving," he said on Saturday.
In 2010, when Lemmer returned home, his cardiologists didn't seem happy. They told the media that they had to give him medications to ensure his heart was failing and discouraged patients from travelling outside the country for transplants. The media said his wife had to sleep on dirty hospital floors.
"They didn't know. The proof is I am still alive.
And the numbers on my medical tests done in the US look good. I came here to show my report to the doctors," he said.
After travelling within India in the next few weeks, Lemmer, who has now sold his glass factory, has planned a motorbike trip across several US states this summer, he said.
"Last time I left with an Indian heart. This time, after several sessions with dentists here I will return with an Indian smile," he said.
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