No heart attack, doctors dig out bullet from chest

A sleep on a cot outside her house in Raikhad, 28-year-old Hansa Chaudhary woke up with a sudden piercing pain in her chest. She was rushed to the hospital where the doctor ruled out a cardiac arrest. The mystery behind the pain was cleared the next day when she spotted blood on her right side. An X-ray revealed the unimaginable: Hansa had been shot, and the bullet was lodged in the middle of her chest.Luckily, it had missed all her vital organs. Following a five-hour long operation on Sunday, a team doctors at V S Hospital successfully removed the bullet. Hansa is on the road to recovery.
Gaekwad Haveli police have registered a complaint in this regard. Hansa, who lives in a house in Mansuri ni Chali, is still unable to wrap her head around the fact that she had suffered a bullet wound injury. "It is extremely hot. My son Jaydeep (3) and I were sleeping on a cot. Suddenly, around 11.30 pm, I felt a burning sensation in my chest. I thought I was having a heart attack," said Hansa. She works as a domestic help for a living.
MONITORING CONDITION
Her husband Jagdish, an autorickshaw driver, said, "A neighbour's wall had collapsed and I was at the hospital with the injured, when I received a call that Hansa had taken ill. I took her to our family doctor at Pulse Hospital in Bhimjipura." Cardiologist Darshan Shah took her ECG. "There was no heart trouble. I admitted her as a patient to my clinic to monitor her condition for the next 24 hours," he said. The next morning, Hansa decided to take a bath at the hospital. "I removed my blouse and that is when I saw blood seeping out through a small gash near my right armpit. I called the doctor for help," she said. Dr Shah said, "We did not spot the wound as she complained about chest pain and we attended to that problem. We do not examine the entire body for such a complaint. When Hansa pointed out the gash, we carried out an Xray and found a foreign object lodged in her chest. I consulted a radiologist who recommended that she undergo an HRCT thorax test. It revealed that the object was, in fact, a bullet."
MORE TESTS CONDUCTED
Hansa was rushed to V S Hospital where more tests were carried out. After being kept under observation for some hours, she was operated on by a team of cardio-thoracic surgeons including V G Agrawal, B D Shah, and Pranav Modi on Sunday. Dr Agrawal said, "The bullet had entered through her right arm and lodged itself in the torso, causing chest pain. However, she was lucky that it had not pierced any organ. She is doing well after the operation." The hospital informed the police. ACP (E-Div) B Z Patel said, "This case is mysterious. We are investigating where the bullet came from, and how could a woman be shot without anyone realising it." Jagdish said, "I am an auto driver and have never fought with anyone. I do not have any enemies. I have no idea who would have shot Hansa."
STILL IN SHOCK
Asked how Hansa did not realise she had been shot and bleeding, the 28-year- old said, "I live in a crowded area. It is extremely hot and I was drenched in sweat even though I was sleeping outside. When I experienced the burn, I thought it was a heart attack. I was already sticky with sweat so I did not realise that some of it could be blood. My blouse was maroon in colour so I did not spot the blood. When the nurses cleaned me up after ECG, I thought the light red stains could have been colour transferred from the blouse. Also, I wasn't bleeding profusely at all. I only spotted the wound the next day while bathing. I am still in shock about the whole thing."