October 20, 2016. I remember the day clearly; It would have been like any other day, except that it wasn’t. I packed my husband and son’s dabba, sent them off, finished household chores, tutored a Class X student in the afternoon, brought my son back from school and prepared dinner. Around 8 pm, I felt a strong pain in my chest, as if something was piercing through the centre. I assumed it to be heartburn, something that occurred repeatedly after I was diagnosed with diabetes a year ago and was given medication to keep it in control. There were no other symptoms such as sweating, fatigue or tightness in my chest; I popped an antacid. When that didn’t bring relief, I went to see the neighbourhood doctor. He checked my BP. Everything seemed normal so he too assumed it was acidity. I was asked not to worry. 

At 1.30 am, I couldn’t bear it anymore. My husband and I decided to go to a hospital, and chose the one nearby because we had to leave our then six-year-old son home. Unfortunately, the hospital didn’t have a cath lab [catheterisation lab where procedures such as angiogram, angioplasty and implantation of pacemakers are carried out], something we later regretted. Instead of MBBS and MDs, this hospital had doctors with BAMS [Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery], who weren’t equipped to handle critical emergency cases. They did an ECG, which came out normal. At around 5 am, I threw up and was diagnosed to have had a heart attack. The doctors started thrombolytic treatment and gave me an injection to dissolve the clot. A few hours later, they asked us to go to a hospital with a cath lab. We went to Fortis Hospital in Kalyan, and an angiography showed clots inside the main artery. I underwent angioplasty and two stents were placed inside my heart that very evening. I was in hospital for a week—four days in ICU and three days in a regular ward— leaving my son in the care of neighbours and extended family.  I wasn’t scared initially, but when a heart attack was diagnosed and I found out that I would have to undergo angioplasty, I worried about my child, husband and home.