A Second Life
By Ajit Tolani
In India, a doctor told me, “I’m sorry, my friend, your game is over — you have only a few months to live.”1
I believe our destinies are decided somewhere else. A friend who knew about my situation knew the family of a doctor in the United States, Dr. Mehta2. His niece put us in touch with him, and he agreed to see me while he was visiting India. “I can’t do anything here,” Dr. Mehta said. “But I can do everything for you at Cleveland Clinic, so fly over as soon as you can.”
When I came to Cleveland Clinic, Global Patient Services went out of their way to take care of everything for me and my family.
I was one of the sickest patients they’ve ever dealt with at Cleveland Clinic3. But the doctors had hope. They said, “Let’s give him a chance” and they wrote out a plan. Seven days after my lung transplant, I started breathing on my own.4
At Cleveland Clinic, they don’t think of a problem as a problem. They think of it as a challenge that needs a solution. They don’t get discouraged by it; they get encouraged by it. They’ll work the problem and figure out a solution for the patient.
I used to focus on work. Now I focus on life, because Cleveland Clinic has given me a second life.
Ajit Tolani enjoys gymnastics, practicing yoga and eating chicken wings.
Ajit Tolani, his wife, Shruti, and their daughter, Anshi. | Photo: Courtesy of Ajit Tolani
Notes
- Scleroderma, a rare autoimmune disease, caused Tolani’s skin and other parts of his body to thicken and harden. It took an especially steep toll on his lungs, with pulmonary fibrosis making it hard for him to breathe.
- Atul Mehta, MD, is a pulmonologist.
- In addition to scleroderma, Tolani had significant esophageal disease. While he waited for a lung transplant, he went into cardiac arrest and overcame an infection.
- Tolani later had laparoscopic antireflux surgery to reduce acid reflux.
A rare autoimmune disease brought Ajit Tolani to Cleveland Clinic from India.