The surgical beginning

"After examining the patient he as in, a voice on the phone told me that his state was grave. The patient, Siddharth, had been operating a bike that crashed head-on with a truck driving down a "No Entry" lane. I hurried to the ER and was startled by his condition. His face was cracked in two, with pieces of his mouth scattered inches apart. He was almost unrecognisable, with only a hint of his nose visible, one eye missing, and his bloody mouth and nose clogged with gravel. The sight was strikingly similar to a desecrated archaeological site. I asked about Siddharth's age and was told he was thirty. Although his appearance was dire, I quickly assembled the ER doctors and urged that every possible measure be taken to rescue Siddharth. A team of doctors managed to infuse blood and fluids into him. However, there was a conflict; we couldn't place a breathing tube through his blocked and broken mouth. I recommended an emergency tracheostomy. After being cleaned, Siddharth was taken to the OR where we successfuly connected him to a ventilator and stabilised his vital signs before moving him to the ICU. I told his family, a crowd of twenty, about the extensive surgery that was needed. His head was broken, with blood clots in his brain, but miraculously his abdomen, limbs, and spine were unscathed. We planned to remove the clots first then reconstruct his face if possible. "Will my son survive?" his mother anxiously questioned, my response tried to be comforting but realistic as his eye was likely unrepairable. The agony of a mother possibly losing her child after a lifetime of nurturing him was palpable. The operation commenced the same day, with a question mark incision completed, and a damaged skull found underneath. After removing the brain clots and clearing debris, the plastic and maxillofacial surgeons began reconstructing his face. Using mini screws, they repaired fractures and stitched his lips. The missing eye was restored and his nose rebuilt. A feeding tube was connected directly to Siddharth's stomach, a survival measure that was only one component of the extensive collaboration of various medical and surgical teams required to save him. After the operation, we saw Siddharth in the ICU. His head was swollen, a common symptom of injury, but the process of recovery had begun. For two days, we kept Siddharth sedated, then waited anxiously for him to awaken. His healing brain showed on CT scans. Appearing like stardust, the plates that had reinforced his head added to our hope for his recovery. As the year-end sprung looming, I saw Siddharth, now conscious and recovering. The eye once thought lost was functioning and the rest of his body started healing. Forced to confront his mortality, he now had gained a newfound respect for life. We greeted him and all of our readers with wishes for a Happy New Year.