The family of Vijay Yasam is both happy and sad that the 47-year-old is finally back in India from South Africa where he was working but has been rushed to a corporate hospital in Tamil Nadu for the treatment of advanced-stage cancer of his intestines.
Yasam, a native of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, was brought to Chennai on Monday evening after he was evacuated from Johannesburg in South Africa in an air ambulance by International Critical Care Air Transfer Team (ICATT) that flew nearly 21,000 km over four days crossing seven countries, covering four time zones and 30 hours of flying (round trip).
The air ambulance had a night stop at Mauritius, which initially refused permission, but came around later. After getting the required permission from five Union ministries, a Learjet Air Ambulance took off from Chennai on April 8 and landed in Johannesburg the next day.
The return journey began from the South African city on May 10 and the air ambulance landed in Chennai on Monday evening, much to the relief of Yasam’s wife and their two children. The operation was challenging as it posed a huge logistical challenge of fly over the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean as there are only a few small islands to stop for fuel.
The 47-year-old man, who is the chief manager in Johannesburg branch of Bank of Baroda, was desperate to be with his family after he was diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer of his intestines in the first week of April. He could not fly out of South Africa due to air restrictions owing to COVID-19, but his evacuation was warranted as his health was deteriorating and his family was eager to meet him.
“I cannot express my happiness in words. All that we did after hearing about his illness was only to cry and think about my husband being lonely in South Africa. Today he is back with us, though he is receiving treatment at a hospital. I can at least tend to him personally in the hospital. Thanks to Bank of Baroda which arranged his return,” Yasam’s wife Kavitha told DH.
Yasam and Kavitha had moved to South Africa in 2018, but the wife and children returned to India in February 2019 leaving the husband there.
Since the patient needed critical care, ICATT directors Dr. Rahul Singh and Dr. Shalini Nalwad got in touch with their counterparts in Johannesburg, Dr. Ismail Moola, and his team and decided that Yasam needed critical care treatment even while flying.
“The three doctors pre-optimized the clinical condition of the patient so that he remains stable in the long journey to reach back home. They were also in touch with a doctor and para-medic who was accompanying the patient on board the air ambulance,” the ICATT said.
Yasam underwent an operation in South Africa and needed to be repatriated back home to India for further treatment with Chemotherapy but was unable to get back because of the lockdown and travel ban.