THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When J Ratheesh Kumar, a firefighter at Vizhinjam station was brought to SP Fort Hospital, he was in a semi-coma state and unable to speak. Five hours had already elapsed since he blacked out during a scuba diving training session. Dr Ajith Kumar, who had a quick check on Ratheesh’s diving history, soon arrived at a diagnosis: Ratheesh was suffering from decompression sickness---known as the bends---happens when inert gases in the body form bubbles in the tissues due to variation in pressure during a rapid ascent. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy was the sole treatment to save his life. Ratheesh was subjected to a series of sessions in a chamber where oxygen was used to reduce the size of the bubbles and to eliminate them.
“After 48 hours he started to speak slowly,” says Dr Ajith. It was the diagnosis that was crucial and Ratheesh’s family and friends can’t thank Dr Ajith enough for his miraculous recovery.
