Dr. Anoop C. Parameswaran

“Kerala is truly one of the most serenely beautiful places in the world.”

Dr. Anoop C. Parameswaran MD, hailing from Karamana, Thiruvanthapuram, is a Cardiology Specialist in Springfield, Missouri, USA. Born and educated in Thiruvanthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, he graduated with an MBBS degree in 1999 from Trivandrum Medical College and later did his Master’s in USA, followed by residencies and fellowships at Cleveland Clinic foundation, Albert Einstein Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine/Texas heart Institute after having arrived there in the year 2000. Dr. Anoop affiliates with many hospitals including Mercy Hospital Springfield, has over 21 years of diverse experiences, especially in Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) and is a much respected and highly sought after medical professional, who has been living with his family in Springfield, Missouri, for 8 years now.

Tell us about your childhood and how it influenced your career choice?
I had a very carefree childhood. Since my father was employed in Nigeria, I spent several years there, before moving to Thiruvanthapuram. I was fortunate to live in a home where I was never pressured to choose a particular career. In fact, my parents encouraged me to investigate many different fields. A memorable time during my schooldays was getting the chance to act in a Malayalam movie starring Mammootty called ‘Manu Uncle’, which won a National Award too for the Best Children& Film of 1988. I was chosen after an audition involving several hundred kids. The shooting was almost 6 months long and my parents did not fret even though I had lost so much school time. Those 6 months were the most fun I had ever had. Although, I briefly toyed with the idea of a career in the movies, when my next movie offer came, I decided that an education was more important to me and my parents supported my decision. My father Dr. MKP Nair, is a Radiologist and my mother Dr. Chandrika P. Nair is a dentist. Growing up around them, I always knew that I wanted to be a doctor. I was also fortunate to be surrounded by good friends who were motivated as well to go to Medical College. We studied together and challenged ourselves and were fortunate enough to be admitted to Trivandrum Medical College.

After acquiring my MBBS degree from Trivandrum Medical College, I had plans to go to the USA for higher studies. However, as a back up, I wrote the Kerala entrance test too and fortunately qualified for MS Orthopedics at Trivandrum Medical College. It was a difficult decision to leave this hard-won seat and fly to an unknown future in the USA. I still vividly remember landing in Heathrow airport in London in the year 2000 and wondering whether I had made a mistake by leaving an orthopedic fellowship to head to an unknown destiny. The first two years during my Masters in the USA were tough. I lived in a studio apartment without any furniture and slept on the floor for nearly a year before some of my kind professors donated their used furniture to me.

I do have to mention a very kind American professor who would cook Indian food for me and drop it off at my door every week! In addition to maintaining a full-time work scholarship, working 40 hours a week, I had to find time at night and on the weekends to study for the United States medical licensing examination. Fortunately, I was able to get good scores on the tests and started my residency at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio in 2002.

Residency and fellowships were even tougher with long work hours, night call, etc. It was not uncommon to work 30 hours straight without any sleep and be totally exhausted at the end, to a degree that I did not think was possible to continue. I remember one such instance where, after working a long shift, I was driving home in a blizzard and slid off the road in a momentary lapse of judgement. Fortunately, neither me nor anyone else were hurt.

My father Dr. MKP Nair, is a Radiologist and my mother Dr. Chandrika P. Nair is a dentist. Growing up around them, I always knew that I wanted to be a doctor. I was also fortunate to be surrounded by good friends who were motivated as well to go to Medical College.

During the early days, I was also awfully homesick; this combined with the heavy workload would often make me feel extremely overwhelmed. However, I remained positive and kept dreaming of better days to come. In the words of Langston Hughes, “Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.”

Challenging cases as a heart specialist:
To be honest, everyday at work is a challenge. Just the other day, I had a patient who had a hole in the heart in a very unusual location that was undiagnosed by multiple tests over many years and was finally picked up with a specialized cardiac MRI scan. It isvery satisfying when you can provide an answer to a patient that had eluded them for many years. One other case that comes to mind is an older lady who had an aortic valve replacement many years ago who was admitted with severe dysfunction of the valve. In the past, this would have needed another surgery which she would not have survived. With new technology, she received a valve that was inserted through her groin without need for open heart surgery and she made a remarkable recovery and was discharged in just a few days.

What do you like about the United States?

The United States is a robust democracy much like India. The rule of law is very strong here. In general, people are extremely nice and very hard working. In this country, if you have the talent and if you work hard, there is nothing beyond your reach.

A memorable time during my schooldays was getting the chance to act in a Malayalam movie starring Mammootty called ‘Manu Uncle’, which won a National Award too for the Best Children’s Film of 1988.

Tell us about your family.
My wife, Seema, also hails from Kowdiar in Thiruvanthapuram. She is a Dentist who practices in town. I have 2 kids; Madhav a 9 year old boy who is in 4th grade and a baby girl, Meera, who is just two months old.

What do you do in your spare time? What are your hobbies?
The little time that I do get off, we like to travel, watch movies and spend time with family. I have a great interest in photography and spend a considerable amount of time taking pictures, mostly of wildlife. I also experiment with cinematography and video editing.

Which is your favorite travel destination in the world?
As much as we love traveling around the world and love places like the Caribbean, Bermuda, Alaska, etc, nothing beats travelling back home to Kerala.

Which are your favorite travel destinations in Kerala?
We love going to Kovalam, Varkala beach and Munnar.

No matter how many nuclear bombs we have and how many missions to Mars we plan, I truly do not believe we can be developed in the true sense if we do not have cleanliness and a reliable way for our citizens to dispose off waste and keep our cities clean and garbage free.

What do you think needs to be done to make Kerala a more attractive tourist
destination?

Kerala is blessed with such beautiful beaches, waterways, tea plantation covered hills, warm people and is truly one of the most serenely beautiful places in the world. However, each time I visit, I am saddened by the poor state of sanitation and cleanliness in ‘God's own country’. No matter how many nuclear bombs we have and how many missions to Mars we plan, I truly do not believe we can be developed in the true sense if we do not have cleanliness and a reliable way for our citizens to dispose of waste and keep our cities clean and garbage free. This is the bane of Kerala and India. Once this issue is fixed, I feel we will so much closer to being a perfect travel destination. Obviously, other issues such as infrastructure, state of roads etc, need to be improved as well.

“Kerala is blessed with such beautiful beaches, waterways, tea plantation covered hills, warm people and is truly one of the most serenely beautiful places in the world. However, each time I visit, I am saddened by the poor state of sanitation and cleanliness in ‘God’s own country’.