Ambulance Driver Covers 516 km in Under 7 Hours to Transport Infant Needing Heart Surgery.

When ambulance driver Thamim was called for work on Wednesday night, he thought it was just another emergency call. However, when he reached his workplace – Pariyaaram Medical College in Kannur – he was asked to do something that has probably not been done in the past. He had to transport a critically ill infant from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram – a distance of over 500 km – as fast as he could.

Thamim knew he had a task to accomplish and failure was not an option. Fathima Labia, the 31-day-old infact, needed to undergo an emergency heart surgery. He had been suffering from prolonged breathlessness since last week. Doctors in Kannur said he needed immediate specialised medical attention. They advised her parents to take her to SRI Chithra Mission Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.

Racing Against Time

Time was running out fast. Air lifting Fathima to Thiruvananthapuram was considered to be the only plausible option. But the nearest airports – Calicut or Mangalore – were at least five hours away by road. It was decided that to transport Fathima to Thirvanthapuram via road.

The hospital management in Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram, state police and Thamim joined hands to complete a feat which resembled a movie plot. The Kerala Police created a 516-km green corridor for a smooth and obstacle-free drive of the ambulance.
A special team was deployed to coordinate with the traffic police of all the districts through which the ambulance had to pass. At about 8.20 pm on Wednesday, Thamim started for the journey which he had never attempted in his life so far. His ambulance was accompanied by at least two SUVs of the Kerala Police to make sure that Thamim didn’t have to slow down.