25 May,2014 07:40 AM IST | | Anuradha Varanasi
Police constable Vikas Thorbole's windpipe was ruptured and his oesophagus severely damaged after he was brutalised on election day in a Shiv Sena-MNS clash a month ago
A month after he was seriously injured on election day, Vikas Thorbole, a constable from Trombay police station, is all set to be discharged from hospital having survived rather miraculously.
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Constable Thorbole yesterday and at the hospital earlier (below)
Thorbole, 39, was bashed up during a clash between Shiv Sena and MNS supporters - an attack that left his wind pipe and oesophagus (food pipe) severely damaged.
Speaking to Sunday mid-day after battling for his life in Joy Hospital in Chembur for a month, Thorbole spoke about how his only thoughts were that he had to survive for his loved ones.
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While he has been told by his superiors not to speak about how he was attacked during the clash, he said he remembered how blood sprayed out of his throat when he tried to talk to the doctors after being rushed to the hospital.
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"Someone was holding my throat as I was bleeding profusely and when a doctor asked me my name, I realised I was unable to talk," recalled Thorbole. "My sons asked me why I joined the police force if it is a job that can kill me," said Thorbole. "Now my only concern is that I should regain my health so I can resume work," added Vikas.
What the doctors say
While the constable underwent a major surgery to treat his ruptured windpipe and oesophagus on May 24, he spent a week in the ICU where he was in an unconscious state. Dr Roy Patankar, director of the privately-run hospital said his voicebox was also damaged. "In most cases where the windpipe is cut in half, the patient doesn't survive. It is a miracle Thorbole is alive and able to speak again," he said.
