Our heroes speak

About 4 years back, our dad developed complications (blood while urinating) while in US. After initial consultations, doctors in US feared the worst and advised immediate medical care. The same night he boarded an outbound flight to Chennai, India. Meanwhile, in a state of panic, we reached out of Dr. T Prithviraj from Apollo Hospitals for help and he agreed to take care of our dad. Under his direction, our dad arrived to an awaiting ambulance ready to administer emergency care. From the airport, he was directly driven to and admitted at Apollo Hospital. After tests, we were told the scariest words that no one should hear- that our dad had bladder cancer. The thought of losing an organ had us frightened to core and that does not even begin to cover the range of emotions we felt. We were worried about the mental and social impact this would have on the day-to-day activities of our dad. With all doom and gloom, our silver lining was having Dr. T. Prithviraj take care of our dad-which, to this date is probably the best collective decision we made. Dr. T Prithviraj's most endearing qualities were his attention to detail, his diligence in diagnosis, and his over whelming care provided to our dad. We still remember his calm demeanour as he explained treatment options including the risk-benefits of each option. He also spent one-on-one time with our dad to alleviate his concerns and helped put his mind at ease ahead of his surgery. On the day of the surgery, we still in awe about the way he seamlessly coordinated all aspects of the surgery. This involved everything from scheduling the operation, assembling the great team of doctors (Dr. Joseph V Thachil, Dr. Raja) and handling the logistics to arrangements for post-surgery recovery phase. After several hours on operating table, Dr. T Prithviraj broke the most memorable news ever - that the surgery was successful and that our dad was cancer free. Looking back, it was the day our dad was blessed with a second chance and words cannot express the gratitude to Dr. T Prithviraj for making it a reality.

For our Dad, recovering from bladder cancer was a life altering and powerful experience. Over the last 4 years, after several highs and lows, he finally adapted to the lifestyle without bladder and clawed his way back to social normalcy. We thought our father won the battle with cancer. But during one fateful day of July 2013, he started showing symptoms of tumour in his tongue. Without any second thought, we rushed to Apollo for an appointment with Dr. T Prithviraj. After series of tests for our dad, his biopsy revealed stage 3tumor in his tongue. We felt that the whole world came crashing down as the thought of him having another surgery was unimaginable. All of us were restless and had several questions due to the recurring nature of his tumour - but, Dr. T Prithviraj was very patient with us and in his usual calm demeanour, answered and explained each one of them. After convincing us of the need for the second surgery, Dr. T Prithviraj reacted fast and immediately scheduled our dad's surgery within the same week. As always, we had no reservation in trusting our dad to the able hands of Dr. T Prithviraj. This time too, Dr. T Prithviraj assembled a great team of doctors (Dr. Sashibhusan) and coordinated the surgery effectively and with ease. Dr. T Prithvira came through for us once again - the surgery was successful and our dad was once again cancer free for second time in four years.

We would like to add that it is not just these two major operations which our father was undergone in Apollo under Dr. T Prithviraj. He also had a major septic gall bladder surgery and a previous tongue operation for a non-cancerous condition and a rectal operation also.

Every one of these operations had gone successfully in the secure hands of Dr. T Prithviraj in the comfort of Apollo with its dedicated staffs. Apart from his surgical expertise, it is his please bed side manners and his comforting words and reassurance that carried us through every one of these difficult situations.

Our dad means a lot to us and has been an integral part of each one of our lives and we are truly blessed to have an opportunity to be around our dad for foreseeable future. Dr. T Prithviraj saved his life twice in 4 years and there are no words to express how grateful we are. Simply put, we genuinely feel that God answered all our prayers through healing touch of Dr. T Prithviraj. We are forever indebted to him.

We would also like to thank the nursing staff, from all shifts, for their kindness and care from the day of admission to our dad's last day. They were professional courteous and we commend them for selfless service.

This note will not be complete without kudos to Apollo Hospitals and the support staff. There is no alternative to Apollo for providing quality patient care with best in class infrastructure and state of the art medical facilities /devices - the professional ambience of the HDU is a for-runner to several institutions even in the west. We have utmost satisfaction for the quality and the value of services rendered by Apollo Hospitals. We would happily recommend this hospital to all our friends and family.

From,

N. Sundarajan (son), N. Halliga (wife) and all the other members of the family.

I find this hospital very neat and clean. They provided me with good medical services. This is where I specifically need to mention the extreme care shown by the doctor and his team. This is one of the best hospitals in this entire region