KOCHI: A severely ill five-month-old infant, who needed an emergency cardiac surgery, was brought from SUT Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram to Lissie Hospital here in just 2.55 hours. Traffic police and more than 60 ambulances joined the effort by escorting the vehicle carrying the baby at different stretches along the route. The baby of Thankaraj and Sivakami, who is suffering from congenital heart disease, is in a critical condition and was brought to Kochi in an ICU ambulance with ventilator facility.
Ambulance driver Vijayakumar, a native of Kollam, covered the distance of 205 km in just 2.55 hours. Another ambulance with intensive care facilities and police team escorted the vehicle throughout the journey. The ambulance left Thiruvananthapuram at 12.30 pm and reached Kochi at 3.25 pm. The baby has been shifted to ventilator after screening and the surgery will be performed by paediatric cardiac surgeon Dr. Thomas Mathew on Friday. The hospital said it will bear the cost of the surgery under its free cardiac surgery scheme.
