Excerpts:
Can Bappi da’s demise be attributed to post-COVID complications?
No, Bappi da had health issues for a long time. Yes, he was infected with COVID in April 2021 but what happened now cannot be called a post-COVID complication. It was due to his OSA # ,Obstructive Sleep Apnea) and current chest infection which had set in due to his obesity. Many obese people tend to have OSA.
Bappi da’s voice had changed…
Yes, that’s because he was on a bypass machine for his night breathing. When one is on a bypass machine, it causes dryness of the throat which can affect the voice.
His son Bappa has come down from the US…
Yes, in fact he was here in the hospital during Bappi da’s previous hospitalisation which had happened 2 to 3 months ago. Bappi da was admitted 3 to 4 times in the past one year. This time, he was admitted for 29 days and of those, he was about 15 days in the ICU. He had been quite sick for some time and in such cases, we keep seeing such results.
Did he have any heart/liver/kidney problems?
Nothing big. But in OSA, any organ can crash without warning and especially the heart. Chemical changes happen in the body which in turn can make the carbon dioxide levels go up and the pH of blood can change.
Was it a case of the heart crashing in the end?
We wouldn’t be able to say that because we had very little time to revive him. But that seems to be the likely reason. He was very critical when he was brought in by ambulance. We did try to revive him in the hospital but… Whatever happened is very sad.
Bappi da was a very cheerful man, wasn’t he?
Yes. Bappi da used to sing for me and tell me many stories. He had said that he was going to sing my favorite song ‘Mumbai se aaya mera dost’ of ‘Aap Ki Khatir’ for me, when he would be fully alright, going through the speech therapy.
What is OSA?
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a disorder caused by the repetitive collapse of the upper airway during sleep. It is the most common sleep-related breathing disorder. OSA occurs when the muscles supporting the soft tissues in your throat, such as your tongue and soft palate, relax.
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