Join me in pray

We are keeping our fingers crossed as my colleague in Hindustan Times Manish Dixit is struggling for life in the National hospital in Bhopal. He is suffering from severe pneumonia. Both the lungs are massively congested. How this happened is a mystery. Doctors suspect it could be due to fungal /bacterial emission from repeatedly re-circulated air from the AC at Manish’s bedroom. What lends credence to the suspicion is the fact his wife and a son are also afflicted with the same problem but in lesser degree.
Just imagine the condition of the family at the moment! Manish’s 64-year-old father is fighting hard with himself to look sanguine. The mother is just quiet. Younger brother is pillar of strength.
Many of us in the reporting section have had little sleep since Manish was admitted. He is with us since launching of the paper nine years ago. In fact, I know him for the last 15 years when he used to come to National Mail.
Crisis, as the cliché goes, brings out best of the human beings. How true! Most of my colleagues are doing every thing possible to see that Manish gets best of treatment. We have spoken to doctors in Mumbai, Delhi, Nagpur and , of course, Bhopal.
For three days, our routine is confined to hospitals, office and home. We felt sad that we couldn’t give good coverage to the first phase of Lok Sabha poll. How could we?
It is not only we in HT who are doing our duty to Manish. Chief Secretary Rakesh Sahni came to the hospital and is keeping himself abreast about Manish’s health. Commissioner, Public Relations, Manoj Shrivastava, spent many hours while Manish was to be shifted to AIIMS by air ambulance. Manoj guided arrangements on his mobile. He looked genuinely concerned. It wasn’t as though he were doing a PR man’s job for a journalist. The AIIMS shifting plan was, however, dropped on the advise of the doyen of Bhopal’s medical fraternity Dr NP Mishra.
The aborted plan also got me in touch with Sanchita Sharma, our health editor in HT in Delhi. I haven’t met her but when I explained Manish’s condition on mobile she said, “ok, bring him here and I will take care of treatment at AIIMS. Nothing to worry.”
Sanchita’s assurance contrasted with Mazhar Ulla Khan’s dithering. I spoke to Sanchita for the first time but I know Mazhar for the last 18 years. We worked in National Mail (wound up English paper of the Bhaskar group) for seven years. He is now public relations officer with the Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC).
Desperate, as we all were due to Manish’s critical condition, I called up Mazhar to know if BMHRC could do something for the pneumonia patient. Frankly, I expected him to say, “ Arre Bade Bhaiya, just bring him here. Every thing will be taken care of”. I expected too much from him. Any way.

Please join in praying for Manish's speedy recovery.