Shot in the neck and stomach during the Pahalgam terror attack, made to wait at a local eatery as his wife scrambled for help, and having undergone surgery at a local hospital, Dr A Parmeswaran is now at the national capital’s All India Institute of Medical Science, with doctors saying his condition is critical and the family praying he pulls through. The 31-year-old ENT surgeon from Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu was airlifted to AIIMS on Tuesday after undergoing preliminary surgery at a government medical college in Kashmir’s Anantnag. Sources involved in his treatment told The Indian Express he has extensive injuries in the intestine and liver, and a fractured humerus in his right arm. Story continues below this ad On the second floor where he is admitted, his family members paced up and down the corridor. “We are just praying he recovers and we can take him home,” said Lokmanya Tilak, the maternal uncle of Parmeswaran’s wife, Dr Nayanthara Aravind. She has not spoken since the incident, with the family citing the trauma from the attack. “Yet, she was the one who made him sit on a chair at one of the eateries (in Pahalgam) and sought help from the locals. With help from the local police, they got him to a hospital,” said Tilak. According to sources at AIIMS, “The local medical college team performed a critical life-saving surgery, but since the patient needed intensive, post-operative care, moment-to-moment monitoring and secondary interventions, he was moved to AIIMS in an air ambulance.” Story continues below this ad Sources said a close-range gunshot to the abdomen can cause severe damage to the liver and intestines. The liver can bleed out, sending the body into shock, while the intestines are prone to perforation and bleeding. Doctors at AIIMS said the next few days are critical, given the severity of his injuries. “Nayanthara is in a deep state of shock. She is inside the ward and has barely eaten anything since the attack,” said Tilak. The husband and wife work in a private hospital at Kanchipuram and got married a year and a half ago. The trip to Kashmir was their first outing since the wedding. “Being busy doctors, they couldn’t travel much. But they had been planning this trip for a long time,” said Tilak. “They were keen to visit Baisaran valley as they had heard many stories about the scenic spot from friends. They were supposed to be there for a week.”