Kathmandu, February 9
Dr Karbir Nath Yogi had remained as a constant presence in late Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala’s life, especially after Koirala had tongue cancer. Onlinekhabar talked to Dr Yogi about Koirala’s medication and asked him a crucial question: Why did they — he and other aides — not admit Koirala to a hospital?
Here’s his response:
Because of a hectic, unforgiving schedule, Koirala’s health had deteriorated in the last few days. I repeatedly advised him to slow down. I suggested him to stop meeting people and stop talking to people over the phone. But there was no question of him slowing down. Because of the Nepali Congress’ general convention, he got busier than ever.
Koirala was suffering from various chronic diseases. He had cancer, TB, COPD (compulsive obstructive pulmonary disorder and lung complications, meaning interactions with people would increase the chances of infection. He had been on on-off oxygen support for five weeks because of respiratory complications. He used to be on ventilator support at night and in the daytime when he was home.
Due to the chill, his health had deteriorated since last Saturday. I conducted a medical checkup on him at his home. He was suffering from cold, he had pneumonia, so I put him on medication, administering antibiotics. I was at his residence on Sunday as well. That day, he refused to eat anything. His vital statistics were just fine. On Monday, he had meals in the morning and in the afternoon, but he refused to have anything in the evening. The progressive decrease of oxygen level in his blood was a cause for concern. I discussed this issue with fellow doctors at Koirala’s residence. We decided to continue with antibiotics administration.
Till the evening, he was doing just fine. Till 11 pm, he was conscious. At 11.30 pm, he went to the bathroom. At 12, Koirala passed out and we started a frantic search for an ambulance to rush him to hospital. Before we could manage an ambulance, he passed away, at 12.50 am. We did not think about taking him to hospital because there was no need to do so. We started searching for an ambulance when his condition became critical.
Koirala was suffering from various ailments, but pneumonia was the cause of his death.
