A man who was left paralyzed after contracting the deadly Listeria bacteria through raw food defied the odds and made a miraculous recovery.
Patanjali Chary went from being unable to speak, eat or move to regaining the ability to walk in just three months after being treated in a hospital in Turkey.
Although doctors and leading American medical institutions told Chary that his recovery could take up to two years, the 53-year-old was discharged from the Turkish hospital after just three months.
Chary, his wife Jasmin and the medical center’s care team attribute his unexpected recovery to the innovative technology available at the hospital, as well as the “unique” comprehensive care he received, including fresh local produce and a “sense of positivity.” . “Hope and confidence” regarding his health.
Patanjali Chary photographed in an induced coma in Benidorm, Spain, as doctors tried to determine what was wrong with him.
Chary (center) after arriving in Bodrum, Türkiye. She was very weak and could not stand without help.
Chary, who was living in Spain at the time and working at his new company, visited Paris in November 2022 on business, where he was served undercooked food in a restaurant.
He sent the food to the kitchen, but felt no immediate discomfort.
However, about a month later, on New Year’s Eve, He began to feel unwell but attributed his symptoms to a cold.
The next day, he woke up completely paralyzed from the waist down, unable to move.
He was rushed to a hospital in Spain, where doctors initially couldn’t determine what was wrong with him and, because he was deteriorating so quickly, they put him in a medically induced coma and on life support.
Chary told DailyMail.com: “I went to get out of bed and everything stopped. It was shocking.”
It would later be revealed that he had contracted listeria, a potentially deadly bacteria that was infecting his spine.
Listeria is an infection caused by eating foods contaminated with the bacteria listeria monocytogenes.
Most people who eat foods contaminated with listeria will not become seriously ill. But in some cases it can cause confusion and seizures, miscarriages in pregnant women, and even death.
This can happen when the infection spreads beyond the intestine and affects the central nervous system, which can cause body numbness, seizures, and paralysis.
Doctors prescribed him nine different antibiotics in an effort to treat his condition and he emerged from a coma a couple of weeks later.
But immense damage had already been done. Mr. Chary could not speak or move. His limbs were not functioning properly and his vision was affected.
Chary (center back) was able to regain his ability to walk after months of intense rehabilitation.
Furthermore, he was still paralyzed in both legs.
They inserted a feeding tube into his intestine to get nutrients and placed a tube down his throat to help deliver oxygen to his lungs.
In initial efforts to begin his long road to recovery, doctors began passive physical therapy in the hopes that it would help him regain feeling and function in his legs.
Passive physical therapy involves a physical therapist moving parts of the patient to initiate their mind-muscle connection, unlike active physical therapy when the person initiates the movement themselves.
When he did not improve, the hospital informed him that he needed more intensive treatment, but the advanced neurological rehabilitation he needed was not available in Spain.
“My wife searched all over the world,” Mr. Chary said.
A major rehab center in Berlin initially said its providers could help, but two days before the scheduled date, the hospital backed out via email.
This left Mr. Chary’s wife in a panic because doctors had warned them that the longer they waited to start treatment, the lower their chances of recovery.
Shortly after Berlin’s plans fell through, Chary discovered a hospital in Bodrum, Turkey, called Acibadem, which offered to help, but said there was no guarantee that doctors could cure his illness.
When he arrived in Turkey in March 2023, Mr. Chary was still not moving, but he had started talking and eating a little again.
He underwent neurological function tests and further scans, and a comprehensive care plan was put in place.
By this time, his muscles had largely deteriorated because he had been immobile in a hospital bed for so long.
“I needed four people to get up,” Mr. Chary said.
He received 24-hour care and began twice-daily rehabilitation, including hospital bed exercises, standing practice and shuffling.
To help him stand, he was strapped to a bed on a tilting table, which helps stimulate the brain through gravity.
And to try to make it easier for Mr. Chary to walk alone, they used bars that he could hold onto to get up.
Chary also underwent electrical stimulation treatments, which sent signals directly to various nerves in the body.
In addition to all the physical and medical tests that Mr. Chary underwent, he and his wife attributed his rapid and unexpected recovery in part to the holistic approach that Turkish doctors took to caring for him.
There was a two-word Turkish phrase that staff members often used that roughly translates to “Let’s go!” to encourage patients and keep their spirits up.
It became such a common daily mantra that Chary used it to name two cats she often saw in the hospital cafeteria.
They cooked food tailored to his recovery with the right amount of protein and calories using fresh produce from local markets.
Mr. Chary fondly remembers the hospital’s “heart first” approach to his recovery.
‘It was very strange for me to experience that level of care on a daily basis for months… I think that played a huge role in why I’m recovering to the level I am, along with all the other support,’ he said.
His friends and family, including some with experience at Harvard Medical School, believed it would take up to two years for him to recover, but Chary left the hospital after just three months.
He was discharged from Acibadem hospital in June 2023. Mr. Chary’s care in Turkey cost him $200,000.
Now, Mr. Chary continues his therapy at home. He has been out of the hospital for seven months and estimates that he is 90 percent back to normal.
Most patients don’t reach this point until after 18 months, doctors told him.
Chary is just one of thousands of people who contract listeria each year.
Bacteria are widespread in the environment and can be found in raw foods and in the soil and excrement of many mammals, birds and fish.
Mild symptoms of infection include diarrhea and vomiting and usually begin within 24 hours of eating contaminated food and usually last one to three days.
However, if the infection spreads beyond the intestine, it becomes an invasive disease and symptoms appear within two weeks after eating foods contaminated with listeria.
The infection can be treated with antibiotics.
According to the CDC, about 1,600 Americans get listeria each year and about 260 die.