India-born Irish allrounder Simi Singh speaks for the first time following successful liver transplant
NEW DELHI: There was a point when India-born Irish cricketer Simi Singh felt his "time had come" and he was going to die. The 37-year-old was oscillating from consciousness to being unconscious, while he was being moved from PGI, Chandigarh to Medanta , Gurugram. At this juncture, he sensed he "wouldn't make it".
As TOI had exclusively reported in its Sept 5 edition, Simi was fighting 'acute liver failure' and was battling for his life at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the country's top hospital.
"The night I was being taken to Medanta, I was coming in and out of my senses. I was starting to lose consciousness. I didn't have any control over my body, that's when I thought my time had come. I am done. I will die. I wasn't sure I would make it," Simi told TOI in an exclusive interview, his first after a successful liver transplant was performed on him by doctors led by the renowned liver transplant surgeon Arvinder Singh Soin at Medanta.
"The thing that kept me going was my will to fight back, especially for my family. I didn't want to die in front of my parents or family."
Recuperating now after having been shifted from the ICU to the private ward at the hospital, the soft-spoken Simi reflected how being an elite sportsperson helped in this life and death situation.
"My background as a sportsperson made me not call it quits, not give up," Simi said. "When you're playing cricket, you're challenged with different situations. You're out of your comfort zone. Such experiences help you to pull through those situations when you're struggling, and you feel death is knocking on the door. I was failing to have control over my body, but I was just trying to fight and my willpower helped me to pull through this challenging situation."
"The doctors also said that my background as a top-level sportsperson helped me to get out of the ventilator quickly. That was due to the physical fitness I had done over the years. My lungs were strong, and I was able to breathe normally soon," he added.
Simi's wife Agamdeep Kaur, a working professional in Dublin, Ireland, donated a part of her liver for the transplant to take place. Post-surgery, Simi has been thinking of his "good times" on the cricketing field to aid his recovery process.
"I am thinking about the good times on the cricketing field when I scored the hundred against South Africa or the five-wicket haul I took. The staff at Medanta knew me and they showed me my videos of batting and bowling. That made me smile and ushered positive thoughts in my mind," Simi said. "I am just trying to read books, stay off the phone as much as I can," he added.
Simi reserved special praise for his wife, who he said was his "lifeline".
"Right from the start, she told me 'I wouldn't let anything happen to you'. After the surgery, when I found out that she had donated her liver, I was really emotional. Both of us have to be strong now, get our recovery thing and get back to normal life for our son who is three years old. We spoke about the future and how we're going to manage everything. Hopefully, when we get back to normalcy, we can travel to somewhere nice so that we can forget this terrible episode," Simi said.
"I have received so many messages from everyone - all my teammates from Ireland, all my previous coaches, couple of coaches from Australia, my previous coach Graham Ford , also Cricket Ireland mentioned about me. My friends in the team, guys like Harry Tector , George Dockrell , Andrew Balbirnie were constantly texting me. Everyone from across the world was praying for me."
Giving insight on his recovery, Simi said, "I have been recovering well. The facilities and medical staff at Medanta are excellent. I have been looked after really well. Within the space of 5-10 days, I am feeling a lot better."
"My family, parents, in-laws, cousins have been there for me 24 hours. Without them, I wouldn't have survived," he added.
Talking about his ailment and the subsequent mishandled treatment at PGI, Chandigarh and a private hospital in Mohali, Simi said, "It was horrible. I couldn't eat anything. I would just have a piece of bread in the morning, and I couldn't eat any more. My heart would be burning. It was a terrible time, which I hope is over for good."
NEW DELHI: There was a point when India-born Irish cricketer Simi Singh felt his "time had come" and he was going to die. The 37-year-old was oscillating from consciousness to being unconscious, while he was being moved from PGI, Chandigarh to Medanta , Gurugram. At this juncture, he sensed he "wouldn't make it".
As TOI had exclusively reported in its Sept 5 edition, Simi was fighting 'acute liver failure' and was battling for his life at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the country's top hospital.
"The night I was being taken to Medanta, I was coming in and out of my senses. I was starting to lose consciousness. I didn't have any control over my body, that's when I thought my time had come. I am done. I will die. I wasn't sure I would make it," Simi told TOI in an exclusive interview, his first after a successful liver transplant was performed on him by doctors led by the renowned liver transplant surgeon Arvinder Singh Soin at Medanta.
"The thing that kept me going was my will to fight back, especially for my family. I didn't want to die in front of my parents or family."
Recuperating now after having been shifted from the ICU to the private ward at the hospital, the soft-spoken Simi reflected how being an elite sportsperson helped in this life and death situation.
"My background as a sportsperson made me not call it quits, not give up," Simi said. "When you're playing cricket, you're challenged with different situations. You're out of your comfort zone. Such experiences help you to pull through those situations when you're struggling, and you feel death is knocking on the door. I was failing to have control over my body, but I was just trying to fight and my willpower helped me to pull through this challenging situation."
"The doctors also said that my background as a top-level sportsperson helped me to get out of the ventilator quickly. That was due to the physical fitness I had done over the years. My lungs were strong, and I was able to breathe normally soon," he added.
Simi's wife Agamdeep Kaur, a working professional in Dublin, Ireland, donated a part of her liver for the transplant to take place. Post-surgery, Simi has been thinking of his "good times" on the cricketing field to aid his recovery process.
"I am thinking about the good times on the cricketing field when I scored the hundred against South Africa or the five-wicket haul I took. The staff at Medanta knew me and they showed me my videos of batting and bowling. That made me smile and ushered positive thoughts in my mind," Simi said. "I am just trying to read books, stay off the phone as much as I can," he added.
Simi reserved special praise for his wife, who he said was his "lifeline".
"Right from the start, she told me 'I wouldn't let anything happen to you'. After the surgery, when I found out that she had donated her liver, I was really emotional. Both of us have to be strong now, get our recovery thing and get back to normal life for our son who is three years old. We spoke about the future and how we're going to manage everything. Hopefully, when we get back to normalcy, we can travel to somewhere nice so that we can forget this terrible episode," Simi said.
"I have received so many messages from everyone - all my teammates from Ireland, all my previous coaches, couple of coaches from Australia, my previous coach Graham Ford , also Cricket Ireland mentioned about me. My friends in the team, guys like Harry Tector , George Dockrell , Andrew Balbirnie were constantly texting me. Everyone from across the world was praying for me."
Giving insight on his recovery, Simi said, "I have been recovering well. The facilities and medical staff at Medanta are excellent. I have been looked after really well. Within the space of 5-10 days, I am feeling a lot better."
"My family, parents, in-laws, cousins have been there for me 24 hours. Without them, I wouldn't have survived," he added.
Talking about his ailment and the subsequent mishandled treatment at PGI, Chandigarh and a private hospital in Mohali, Simi said, "It was horrible. I couldn't eat anything. I would just have a piece of bread in the morning, and I couldn't eat any more. My heart would be burning. It was a terrible time, which I hope is over for good."
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