A middle aged man was admitted with type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease. He was a Hindu religious teacher, well versed in the ancient Hindu religious texts and epics, and an ardent devotee of Hanuman, the Monkey God. To explain world events and happenings, he quoted extensively from Hindu mythology. Within no time he had established a good rapport with the treating team, and many of the ward staff and patients became his disciples.
He was to undergo coronary angioplasty for coronary artery disease. Unfortunately the angioplasty was complicated by coronary dissection and was converted to coronary artery bypass graft. Postoperatively he had sternotomy infection and sternal wound dehiscence. He recovered after a stormy postoperative course.
During the ward round one day, he smiled and said in a matter of fact manner that he had been told before the operation that coronary angioplasty was a routine, safe, and quick procedure; he had not expected to be turned by doctors from a mere disciple and devotee of Hanuman into the God himself.
According to Ramayana, Hanuman is an ardent devotee of Lord Rama and Goddess Sita. To display and confirm his devotion to them, Hanuman split open his chest in the midline with his bare hands, and his heart showed images of Lord Rama and Goddess Sita.
