He became the youngest Bishop in Poland and had written several books on ethics, plays and poetry by the time he was in his thirties. He was an actor, and a sportsman ,an accomplished linguist with a great sense of humor, something that created a deep bond between him and Ronald Reagan according to Mrs. Reagan. I remember seeing a report on NBC as Tim Russert who hosts “ Meet the Press” was sharing his memories of his meetings with the Pope. Russert said the Pope spoke to him in English, his pregnant wife in Italian, a bunch of school kids in Japanese and another person in German, switching from one language to another with ease. Pope John Paul knew the power of the spoken word and used it to take his message far and wide. The globe trotting Pontiff made himself accessible to the world and the world made itself accessible to his charm, warmth and humanity. Under his papacy, Christianity thrived beyond Europe and America, the numbers multiplying rapidly in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Even in communist China there are evidently many underground Christian converts who were deeply moved by his message.

While he was very inflexible on the issue of abortion, gay marriage, divorce and the role of women in the clergy, he was a staunch supporter of human rights and didn’t hesitate to chide President Bush publicly on the Iraq war. He believed in interfaith relations and was the first Pope to visit a mosque and light the eternal flame honoring Holocaust victims.
The last decade of his reign was marred by sex scandals rocking the Catholic Church, his own failing health, but his individual popularity never waned. It was cute to see him scold the most powerful world leaders and to see them meekly take it. His ability to remember names and his sense of humor was well known. Once in Toronto at the World Youth Day as thousands of youth sang-“John Paul Two, we love you” he spontaneously improvised “John Paul…loves you all.” At another time making an obvious dig at his failing health he said to people in Cuba, “Thank you for your applause. It gives me a chance to rest.” When asked once, how many people worked in the Vatican, he responded tongue in cheek, “About half”!

Even though he walked a straight line, and was considered uncompromising in many ways, he would be remembered as the most influential religious leader in the 20th century. He was also one of those rare people who only said what they meant and that itself made him unique.

Bittoo applied the ointment for over 2 weeks only to find the rash turning purple. She rushed her son to emergency where batteries of tests were conducted by physicians. “They did his blood work thrice while we were there, and found the liver enlarged” More tests followed. Initially suspecting it may be leukemia; Karanjeev was put through more testing. It took a week but by that time he began to experience unbearably severe abdominal pain. More checks by a liver specialist, an ultra sound and an MRI revealed complete liver damage. Since then the young boy was mostly bed ridden, with mega doses of medications and steroids being pumped daily into his system. Injections with blood thinners that burn and are very painful as the thinner coursed through his veins were given twice a day to prevent blood clotting, so he could live. As he awaited a liver transplant, his body was getting weaker- and time seemed to be running out.

 The doctors handling his case had to plead his case to UNOS, (the United Network for Organ Sharing); to even consider donating a liver to Karanjeev if there was a match. The network is usually reluctant to give a liver to a patient like Karanjeev, whose case had left doctors confused, and whose chances of survival and complete recovery were not high in their analysis. “The doctors told us that many times during surgery there may be clots that they can’t dissolve, or whatever caused the initial liver damage in Karanjeev, can cause the same liver damage in the second liver or the body may reject the new liver.” For him there will be no second chance if that happens. UNOS gives priority to cases where a complete recovery is assured. The doctors have had to beg and plead his case before UNOS put him at number 20 on the priority list,” Bittoo had said to me when I spoke to her a few months ago. “Our only hope is if someone who is aware of Karanjeev and has a fatality or death in their family specifically asks that the liver be given to Karanjeev. It’s hard for me to say this but for our son to live, someone has to die. The doctors are struggling to help their patient, and for me he is my son and I have a hard time seeing him suffer so much. For UNOS he is a mere statistics, and I understand that.” Bittoo said Karanjeev could barely eat a bowl of cereal in the entire day, and had stomach cramps when he ate. “There was a time he was in such pain; I had to feed him intravenously for 2 months. Then he got so fed up, he started trying to eat a little on his own. But he is so weak. He is in bed all day and then struggles to get up watch a little TV or be on the computer, for a short while and hardly ever goes to school. There are times he says he just can’t take it any more. I cry but don’t show it” Bittoo had said to me.

Their son’s illness had been a financial drain on the Sachars as well. Bittoo works in a bank and rarely went there. Her Husband Chirjeev drives a cab, but quit for 2 months when Karanjeev was initially hospitalized for 2 months. “ I’m very thankful to the bank that they haven’t let me go but have said to come as and when I can, which is not very often and of course I only get paid for the work I do.” The Sachars were faced with about $100, 000 on out of pocket expenses because insurance does not cover the entire treatment. Two fundraisers had netted about 20 thousand dollars for which Bittoo was very grateful.

Karanjeev finally found a donor. His uncle Manjeev Sachar said for the family it was a miracle and Karanjeev couldn’t believe it was happening. His health too had been good and that was the only reason the doctors had decided to operate. He was in the hospital for a week to prepare. Once the doctors had ensured the liver was in good condition and Karanjeev’s body could handle it, they started surgery. “We were so excited. They said a nurse would give us constant update by the hour, which started happening as soon as the surgery began,” says Manjeev.” I cannot express the hope and the excitement we felt for those 4-5 hours, when suddenly the nurse didn’t call and a few minutes later all the three doctors and the nurses assisting them came out together, only to tell us a clot had formed and his heart had stopped. Karanjeev died on the operating table.” 

It has not even been a week, and Manjeev says while the family is still reeling from the shock what has hurt them is that not one of the physicians has bothered to comfort them or explain what went wrong. “I know they see these things happening all the time but the least they can do is help us make better sense of what happened. We keep wondering if there was an oversight or if this was something that could not have been avoided. Not only are we devastated, we are totally confused.” This tragedy also brings home the importance of being living donors.

The last time I saw Karanjeev was at the JAZZY B concert, last November, watching Jazzy B perform. A look of wonder and a smile adorned his face-he looked like any other fourteen year old and yet I knew it must have been one of those very rare days combined with will power for him to be out and about. The sweet smile, the look of joy, his hat worn backward as he watched Jazzy B singing on stage is how I would like to remember him. While one was a life lived fully to change the world, the other is a young life lost and his parents’ world forever darkened, but its my belief that they are both in a better place free of the pain and suffering within and around them.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these columns are solely those of the writers and do not necessarily represent those of the editor/publisher.