Chetan was finally taken back home on last Thursday (26th February). His final rites have been completed in his home town Mangalore, India. We were strengthened by Chetan mom's for all these days, and she left States on 25th February. We all miss Chetan, but definetely got a wonderful family for all of us in form of his parents and relatives.

Chetan's fund:

Update on 16th Feb (Monday):
Chetan's lungs totally collapsed at 7.30pm on sunday(15th Feb). He wasn't expected to survive until his mom comes. Haemodialysis was performed, and his mom came here at 11.30pm(Sunday). He was struggling all night, and gave up fighting at 8.30am (Monday). He will be taken back home(India) as soon as formalities are completed here.

Update on 14th Feb (Saturday):
Chetan has the worst CO2 levels today. His O2 levels are normal. Creatinine has come down today morning(Feb15th), which were high for a day, is good for his kidneys. Still no major improvements, and tonight(Feb15th) Chetan's mom will be here.

Update on 13th Feb (Friday):
Chetan was again kept on 'Roto bed'. There was no improvement in his respiratory condition, and late night news is that his carbondioxide levels again went high. Chetan's mom and his paternal uncle will be here on Sunday night. We pray he will be recovering faster and for strength of his family in this situation.

Update on 12th Feb (Thursday):
Today, Chetan showed some progress in his respiration. Although he is still on 100% AR, his arterial oxygen levels have increased, and Carbondioxide levels came down, which show his lungs have started functioning. Doctors are hopeful, he will make good progress in couple of days.

Update on 11th Feb (Wednesday):
Doctors replaced the current ventilator which is being used for AR(artificial respiration), with Oscilloscope Ventilator to increase his heart rate and facilitate better oxygen flow. They are trying different ways to make his lungs fully functional. He is still 100% dependent on AR. His temperature came down a little more (about 99F), and Medical staff are postive that new treatment will work for Chetan.

Update on 10th Feb (Tuesday):
No imrovement from yesterday. Most of today, Chetan was kept in 100% artificial respiration(AR). He was given new medication for his lungs, for which his body seem to respond well. His temperature was better today. They may perform Tracheostomy (a pipe through his thorax for his lungs) in a few days if needed. He is still in 'rotobed'

Update on 9th Feb (Monday):
Chetan's condition is same as yesterday with very little improvement. His dependency on artificial respiration(AR) has been the same, occasionally varying from 60%-80%. Over the weekend, 60% AR was tried and he didnt respond well. Now he is 80% under AR. He was shifted to 'roto bed', which may help to spread fluids in his lungs across, and to get absorbed faster.

DETAILS SO FAR REGARDING CHETAN:

Incident: On Thursday (5th February, 2009) at 10 PM Chetan was coming from UT to off campus apartments. He got down at 3500 Sutherland Ave, Kat bus stop, and was crossing the road when he was hit by car. The driver in the car informed Police about the incident, and in 30mins police and ambulance were here to transfer him to UT Medical Center (UTMC) on Alcoa Hwy.

Injuries: No one knew how badly Chetan was injured until he was operated on that night at 1:30am. Initial observation was his legs being broken, with one leg having a severe compound fracture, and other having two fractures. He had injuries on head, neck and hip. He was operated for both his leg fractures first, during which rods were placed in both legs and metal in leg for compound fracture. From later examination, he had injuries all over his body. He has a fracture in his upper skull, a fracture in nose, and a fracture near right ear. He has a fracture in his vertebrate, which is effecting his neck movement. He has a fracture on hip. Even though all these are not critical, they are allowing them to heal on course of time, rather operate.

Recovery: He has problem with lungs, probably developed due to inhalation of blood, or due to shock. Due to this, from the time of his surgery (6th February, 2009) early morning, he was under artificial respiration. He was running under low pressure for a day, and he is slowly stabilizing. Normal respiration is slowly being restored, but may take time. As on 8th Feb, 2009 he is still under artificial respiration and probably going to take another day or two for his lungs to fully recover. He may have to stay in Intensive care for another 10 days or so, after which he may be shifted to general care unit.

Insurance and Medical Expenses: So far CIE (Centre for International Education) and DSA (Dean of Student Affairs) at UT have been very co-operative. Chetan's Student Health Insurance has transferred to UTMC, and we are hopeful that his Insurance will suffice his charges atleast to 80%. CIE is positive on trading the rest of the amount that insurance may not cover with UTMC. As far as we know, the health care costs could be a minimum of $100,000 which leaves us to wonder how much burden Chetan may have in addition even after his insurance acting perfectly. Talking with some known people, who have seen or known how health system works here, it is possible that Chetan may have to bare heavy costs during recovery.

Charges: DSA at UT has been very co-operative, and we hope they will allow us to have UT attorneys to look into Chetan's case, and place charges against this tragic incident in legal manner. As all this is long process, and currently we are waiting for Chetan's parents to be here soon, it is evident that we need very large amount of money to help Chetan, and we are looking forward at all the channels to let them help Chetan, in every possible way.

You can visit this website daily for updates on his health.

Thank you,
Manthan