Dr. Kataria’s Laughter Yoga Diary

Every once in a while, a moment or event will come along and remind us of our purpose on this earth. Over the last month, I have had two life-affirming experiences that made me very grateful and happy to be doing the work that I do.

A month ago, I attended a housewarming party in India. Nearly 200 people had gathered to celebrate the new place. I was talking with some friends when a 68-year-old woman suffered a cardiac arrest right before my eyes. I revived her with cardiac massage and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, which brought cheers from the family. The event could have been a tragedy, but instead it was all laughter in the end. The woman, Raj, is a member of the Lokhandwalla Laughter Club in Mumbai, where I started the first laughter club in 1995.

Then, on the sixth of December 2007, I was on my way to Singapore from Mumbai for a business tour. The plane took off at midnight for a five-hour flight. Two hours in, I heard an announcement over the loudspeaker: “If there is a doctor on board, please get in touch with the cabin crew. There is a medical emergency.” I got up immediately and saw a woman lying in the aisle. She was gasping for breath. She could hardly speak and was clearly having a crisis. When I saw her taking out an inhaler, I guessed she was having a severe asthma attack. The flight attendant tried to give her oxygen through a mask, but it wasn’t working. Her respiratory passages were swollen, and she was choking. The woman was so panicked she started praying as if she was going to die.

I asked the flight attendant if there was a medical kit onboard. He pulled out a first aid bag and showed me all the emergency drugs in the kit. I was relieved to find a hydrocortisone needle, which I injected immediately.

The woman’s condition did not improve. I looked for some other injection in the medical box and found another injection: adrenaline 1:1000– a lifesaving drug for asthma patients. I wasted no time and injected subcutaneously(under the skin) it into her thigh.

It worked like magic, and the woman’s bronchospasm ceased. She felt better within a few minutes and was breathing almost normally after five minutes.

I kept a close watch on her condition until we landed in Singapore three hours later. Just before landing, the flight attendant came to my seat and handed me a gift coupon of one hundred US dollars to thank me for my services.

After landing, I helped the woman carry her bag to the immigration desk. We chatted on the way, and she wouldn’t stop blessing me. I found out that her name was Priya and that she is from Mumbai. When we are back in Mumbai, she said she would like to invite me to her house for a dinner. She also asked me to write down the name of the lifesaving injection so she could keep it in her purse for any future emergencies. We exchanged cards and took a photo together.

I work full-time with Laughter Yoga, traveling almost eight months out of the year. Whenever I am in Mumbai, I see patients–free of charge–who cannot pay for doctor services. I help them, but it is truly they who help me keep my medical skills sharp.

I am so thankful that I have not forgotten my medical skills. In the incidences with these women, I was given the chance to use what I remember about healing and save two lives. These kinds of life-and-death situations do not happen very often, and I am glad I was around–with the knowledge I have–to be of service.

I still have the hundred-dollar gift coupon. I don’t feel like spending it. I want to keep it as a souvenir and sweet remembrance of the divine work that I am lucky enough to do.

I am very grateful to my mother who encouraged me to become a medical doctor and serve humanity — whether in Laughter Yoga or medical emergencies, my work is helping people around the world. And that is my greatest joy.