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Bike dancer recoveringRamya Kannan and Rajesh B. NairFull-face helmet, cardiopulmonary resuscitation saved her— Photo: Special ArrangementRESPONDING TO TREATMENT: Hollis Hawthorne, an American bike dancer, who wasinjured in an accident off Chidambaram, at JIPMER, Puducherry. Later, she wasshifted to Chennai.CHENNAI: To those who are taking care of Hollis Hawthorne, an American bikedancer, injured in an accident on February 24, it seems as if she is finallyturning the corner.Ms. Hollis is being treated in Apollo Speciality Hospital in Teynampet. She is offthe ventilator, breathes on her own, and responds to deep pain stimulus. Herneurosurgeon M. Balamurugan is confident that there will be slow improvement overa period of days or months.“She is a strong, young lady (31) and all she needs now is good nursing care. Ihope with good physiotherapy and rehabilitation, she will be restored to about 90per cent of normal activity in six to eight months’ time,” he told The Hindu onThursday. He says she may not need an air ambulance; that she can fly back home ina passenger aircraft.It was the full-face helmet she was wearing that saved Ms. Hollis’ life, says Dr.Balamurugan. That, and the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) that kept her aliveall the time she was struggling to breathe after a horrific accident on KollidamBridge in Chidambaram.On the narrow bridge, a bus tried to overtake a lorry and Ms. Hollis riding amotorcycle suddenly found herself trapped in the middle. Her boyfriend, HarrisonBartlett, who was riding ahead could see her lose control and hit the road withtremendous impact. As the bleeding Hollis struggled to breathe, he did CPR on her.The crowd that gathered around them found ways to help them: someone called for anambulance; others offered water.A van of German tourists stopped by, picked them up and dove them to a smallclinic south of Chidambaram. They were sent to the Rajah Muthiah Medical CollegeHospital, Annamalai University, and then, to JIPMER in Puducherry. JIPMERAssistant Professor of Neurosurgery Rupesh Kumar said Ms. Hollis had sufferedbrain stem injury and was in coma. Since there was no spontaneous breathing, shewas put on ventilator support.Meanwhile, her mother Diane Allison, a qualified critical care nurse, and aunt JoyWillis flew to Chennai and drove down to Puducherry. They took the decision toshift Ms. Hollis to Apollo in Chennai. “We’ve had angels all the way,” says Ms.Allison, “We are so grateful to everyone in India who helped us right through.”Best medical careBoth she and Mr. Bartlett are confident that Ms. Hollis is receiving the bestmedical care in India. “We only want to fly her back because that would mean goinghome. Besides, Stanford has offered us free care and Hollis has no insurance,”says Bartlett.Ms. Allison is currently paying for hospitalisation expenses. She hopes that the
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