A bump, not an end

Kalyan-resident Gayatri Kulkarni was 35-years-old and weighed 76 kg when she suffered a heart attack. Post angioplasty, she set out to lose the extra weight and made two 20-minute walks an important part of her daily routine. Pic/Satej Shinde

October 20, 2016. I remember the day clearly; It would have been like any other day, except that it wasn't. I packed my husband and son's dabba, sent them off, finished household chores, tutored a Class X student in the afternoon, brought my son back from school and prepared dinner. Around 8 pm, I felt a strong pain in my chest, as if something was piercing through the centre. I assumed it to be heartburn, something that occurred repeatedly after I was diagnosed with diabetes a year ago and was given medication to keep it in control. There were no other symptoms such as sweating, fatigue or tightness in my chest; I popped an antacid. When that didn't bring relief, I went to see the neighbourhood doctor. He checked my BP. Everything seemed normal so he too assumed it was acidity. I was asked not to worry.

At 1.30 am, I couldn't bear it anymore. My husband and I decided to go to a hospital, and chose the one nearby because we had to leave our then six-year-old son home. Unfortunately, the hospital didn't have a cath lab [catheterisation lab where procedures such as angiogram, angioplasty and implantation of pacemakers are carried out], something we later regretted. Instead of MBBS and MDs, this hospital had doctors with BAMS [Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery], who weren't equipped to handle critical emergency cases. They did an ECG, which came out normal. At around 5 am, I threw up and was diagnosed to have had a heart attack. The doctors started thrombolytic treatment and gave me an injection to dissolve the clot. A few hours later, they asked us to go to a hospital with a cath lab. We went to Fortis Hospital in Kalyan, and an angiography showed clots inside the main artery. I underwent angioplasty and two stents were placed inside my heart that very evening. I was in hospital for a week - four days in ICU and three days in a regular ward - leaving my son in the care of neighbours and extended family. I wasn't scared initially, but when a heart attack was diagnosed and I found out that I would have to undergo angioplasty, I worried about my child, husband and home.

This shifted how I process things now. I was emotionally vulnerable earlier - I would overthink, cry and stress over small things. Now I try to keep my stress under control. I know it is inevitable, especially with the kind of lives we live in metro cities. While there is little that could be done about a situation, I try to take the solution-finding approach. I can't afford to be back in the ICU; who will run my home?

And since this is my rebirth of sorts, I am also trying to make the most of it. I have a postgraduate degree in Science, and wanted to teach but couldn't pursue it full-time. Now I know I can't take a job that requires me to take the local train or induces excessive stress. I looked for a profession that has fixed hours and is linked to my education.

About a year ago, I enrolled in an advanced diploma course in Medical Laboratory Technology. I am just completing my internship, and then I can work as a lab assistant in a pathology lab or department of a hospital. It's an eight-hour job, and in demand in the post-COVID era.

I can't pinpoint the reason for the heart attack. No one in my family has a history of heart related ailments. I had diabetes but that was under control. A year earlier, I had a full-body checkup, and it looked good. Yes, I was a little overweight. I am five feet, four inches tall and weighed 76 kg then, but never led a sedentary lifestyle. I didn't have a househelp then and I don't have one now, so I do all the household chores. Post angioplasty, I lost 15 kg. We are vegetarian, and have always been mindful of eating less oily and spicy food. So I focused on the aspect that often gets neglected - exercise. Doctors suggested going for a walk. Sometimes I divide mine into two parts - a 20-minute walk on the way back from the pathology lab I am interning at, and the other one aligns with my son's playtime in the evening. It has been six years since I survived a heart attack, and I still take about six pills a day. But it does not define me. I want to make the most of my second chance at life and maybe resume singing or radio jockeying, like I used to before I got married.