My cousin, Mohanchayan, (JM: The sufix -chayan is one we use to address elders as a mark of respect) is a surgeon, a brilliant one at that. 
at wedding in England in April 2005.
(Photo from our daughter's blog called as Su's Billinghay Blog.)
I remember one day in Bangalore that he was called to a hotel where two of the people in the kitchen had a fight. One brandished a knife and cut open the stomach of the other. When Mohanchayan arrived there was no time to take the man to the hospital and he performed the operation on the floor of the hotel and saved the man's life.
Mohanchayan is so well revered that people from all over the State of Karnataka come to see him. He treats the poor for free and he requests the patients who are better off to support these actrivities by giving donation of medical supplies to help the poor patients.
He has also been our family physician for all of us and we called him all corners of the country to have his advice whenever we or our children felt ill. He had a way with children who knew him as a person rather than as a doctor and felt safe and sound in his arms.
A couple of weeks ago Annikki and I sent birthday greetings for his wife, Shantakochamma (JM: Like the suffix -chayan, -kochamma is used for ladies), who like her husband is a truly wonderful person. I received this reply from him a few days ago. Just remember Mohanchayan will be 75 next January!
Hi Annikki and Sushil!
Nice of you to send a birthday message.
Shanta's birthday was on Wednesday and the children planned to give her a surprise package of a holiday in Singapore. They made all arrangements for us and sprang the surprise on her on Sunday noon.
.
While I was in the hospital making rounds earlier that Sunday morning I felt a pain in my chest (not in the front but the back) which moved like a description of a classical heart attack.
I quicky finished and walked down to my room and lay down. The pain became unbearable and and I had my Pulse and Blood Pressure taken. As they were as normal, as always, I tried to make light of it and got up to go home but could not make it to the car so I returned and asked to know if there was an internist.
As it turned out there was one. He came and checked me and told there was no cause for alarm. I found the pain was wearing off and he left. After 10 mins I was much better and, therefore, went to the car to go home.
The pain hit again. I returned and asked the doctor to come back which he did and took a cardiogram which looked just like the one he had done 4 days earlier for my travel insurance.
He gave me a pain killer and coincidentally the pain went off.
I went home feeling fine. I found the children there and they were waiting for me to spring the surprise on Shanta. They wanted to take us out to lunch but Shanta, who was nursing a bad cold for a few days, decided to skip the lunch out so that she can rest and be ready to take the flight on Wednesday.
After lunch I was working in the garden repotting. I felt pain coming back, so got into bed and called the doctor to say that I felt as if I was having a heart attack. He reassured me that it was not one and probably I was anxious about travelling. He knew I could not think of going out of India and was probably having a panic attack.
Reassured, I stayed in bed and fell asleep.
Monday I did a full days work of operations and after lunch completed the repotting and was well all day and night. Tuesday also I was ok till immediately after lunch and the pain hit again. I took a sedative and went back to the Hospital feeling fine, as I had posted an emergency operation for the evening at 4 pm.
As luck would have it I found my old friend with whom we had started the hospital in the late 60s. We are the two who have survived of our group. I just went into his room and told him of whatt had happened on Sunday and again earlier on in the day.
He listed carefully and said "You silly fool, you have had an heart attack go immediately to a cardiologist. I don't want an cardiogram to tell me."
He picked up the phone, called one made an urgent appointment and he even told him which vessel he suspected was Blocked!
As I was absolutely ok and it was time for the surgery I completed the operation and at 5 pm, Anna (JM: his daughter) took me from the operation theater to the Cardiologist. He did all sorts of fancy tests and actually showed me on his computer where my dead heart muscle was.
He took me into the ICU and at 8.30 pm Tuesday evening and he undid the block, put in two stents, all in 30 mins and me fully awake watching it following the catheters going into my heart and doing the job!
He discharged me Friday and I am home with no restrictions. Saturday and Sunday I took rest at home and am working from Monday!
I am feeling no pain I am working as usual and today he checked me and has started with drawing down my drugs.
The Miracle of Modern Science and Technology.
So Shanta's Birthday was in the hospital with me! She insists it was the best Birthday present she has had for if things had not gone on as it did I would probably have died on the plane and not been recovering in the ICU.
I cannot understand what God is saving me for! I have lived a full and useful life have been able to bring up a family and now see my two grand children. All doing what I enjoy doing, surgery.
Love
Mohan and Shanta
Our reply to Mohanchayan was quite simple:
Dearest Mohanchayan,
What a truly amazing incident.
We all want you well and around us for many a year. Just as you, Ammnikochamma (JM: My cousin who is a Physician and now aged 77) and Bapukuttychayan (JM: My cousin who is Pediatrician and now aged 76) have cared for all of us over such a long period of time.
That is why God is looking after all of you as each one of you are in the prayers of each one of us every single day.
Annikki & Sushil
Thank God for people like Mohanchayan whom God has looked after all the years so as he could perform God's work of saving lives.
Yes, he is to me and many thousands of his former patients, a very very special person.
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