Support Mahandeva and Puranjot's Family

Through Open Table MDI, Puranjot and Mahandeva have provided free food to our community for many years. It's time to rally and help them through this tough time. This money will help them with travel, food - really anything to help them breathe a bit. It is hard for them to ask for support, but through our help, we can give them some much-needed relief.

In June, Mahandeva began treatment for esophageal cancer. After finishing his treatments in mid-July, he traveled to Boston for an Esophagectomy (MIE). As he said before the surgery, “Don’t ask me how they figured out how to do this, but apparently, it’s a thing.”

Mahandeva was released from Brigham and Women’s in Boston on August 14. He drove home with his wife, Puranjot, and they began to settle into their new normal. While they expected some tough times ahead, they weren’t expecting what came next.

On Thursday evening, Mahandeva spiked a fever and had some lung issues. After consulting with a PA down in Boston, he went to the ER at 11:30 am on Friday. They coordinated with his surgeon in Boston and ran several tests. A CT scan showed a possible leak in the new connection they’ve made inside his body after his esophagus was removed. They tested for this possibility while they were in Boston, but that initial CT scan came back clear. His surgeon immediately wanted to get him back down to Boston for an exploratory scope and to plan the next steps.

This is a major blow to his recovery, to him, and to the entire family. Of course, he’s handled every setback with profound grace and calm. His doctors and nurses at MDI kept commenting that they couldn’t believe his demeanor after everything he’d been through.

After spending 21 hours in the ER, he was finally transported to Bar Harbor Airport via ambulance at 9:00 am on August 17 and is flying down to Boston via LifeFlight’s medical airplane. We are so lucky to have these skilled clinicians who offer these lifesaving services to our rural community.

Puranjot is staying in Bar Harbor, for now, to try to get their house in order, get a kid packed for college, and just generally try to make sense of life. It is possible that after the scope, his surgeon will want to observe him for a bit. If it’s anything more serious, Puranjot will be jumping on her own plane down to Boston.