EXCLUSIVE: Indian origin doctor, who received grand reception in US, says health workers should remain 'confident'

By Anshu Dubey

Dr. Uma Madhusudana a doctor hailing from Mysuru and practicing at the South Windsor Hospital in Connecticut, US made it to the headlines across the globe on Tuesday after she was given a 100-car salute by Americans for her extraordinary service rendered during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The video of the applaud went viral on social media in no time that exhibited an entourage of people driving their cars. Dr. Uma could also be seen standing in her front yard and waving at the parade.

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WION: In these times of stress and strife it was one of those visuals where humanity, reverence and gratitude all rolled into one which brought smiles to everyone who witnessed the video. What did you feel and what was going through your mind?

Dr. Uma: First of all I would like to thank the South Windsor town where I live who organised this for the frontline workers and I was fortunate to be one of them. It was really overwhelming, emotional and so much of gratitude, appreciation, love, and care for all of us and when this video went viral I was thinking why, but I did see that the same thing got replicated in one of the cities in India referring to this video and now I feel even more good about this.

WION: The kind and scale of toll COVID-19 has taken, can you sum up your experience as an expert and the message that you have for people in India which is getting into seemingly the most critical and serious phase now?

Dr. Uma: The effects of COVID-19 has been far-reaching on many levels. It has jeopardized the nation's health, economy, everything. So I would say social distancing is the way to go to contain this disease and also to be abiding by the govt rules of social distancing, handwashing and not touching the face, wearing masks. All of this is very important so that we can together prevent the spread of this disease.

WION: Several frontline health workers would want to hear from you in India on how to cope and deal with this contagion and handle themselves and the patients under such stressful circumstances. Your message to them?

Dr. Uma: My message to the healthcare or the frontline workers would be that this is the stage that is filled with fear and anxiety but I feel we are the ones who are chosen to be in the frontline battle. Hence the most important thing is that we need to be confident about what we are doing. Protection is very important, so protect yourself with proper PPEs, handwashing, wearing masks and I would like to stress on emotional and mental health. Mental health is such a big component when we are going through this COVID-19 for all the frontline workers. For example, I work at Heart for Healthcare, we have a support system where we can call in since we can't express our feelings to our families, as they are stressed too for us going to work every day and returning. Hence we need a support system where we can share counselling, which may be a very big part at this point in time. Do exercises, yoga, watch TV, whatever you can de-stress with. It is very very important that we stay physically and mentally healthy to work as a team and come out strong.

It's not just about me, it's for all the frontline workers and it's a big shout out to all of them risking their lives on the frontline