DANBURY — It was 4 a.m. several weeks ago, and Dr. Sakshi Sethi and Nidhi Garg Allen couldn’t sleep.
They were mourning the COVID-19-related deaths of two people close to them back home in India. They were concerned by the fact that so many young people were dying of the virus. They were worried about the small children, orphans, left behind, and anxious about relatives who were unable to find a bed in the crowded hospitals.
Sethi had recently lost her brother-in-law to COVID, and has been avoiding Facebook because almost every day for the past two weeks she has seen the announcement of another young person’s death.
Sethi and Garg Allen felt helpless.
The women, friends for eight years, wanted to do something to help their families, friends and loved ones in smaller, rural areas throughout India. Both had been donating to large non-profits and other organizations, but felt there had to be another way to help.
“We thought, you know, we can form a good team, why don't we both step up and instead of relying on big NGOs (non-governmental organizations), why don't we directly provide help to these communities,” Garg Allen said.
Their main goal: get medical equipment and proper personal protective equipment to smaller hospitals and communities. So, a few weeks ago, they started a fundraiser which they’re calling “Love for India,” and now, are about to send their first shipment out.
Since February, India has been hit hard by the virus, in part because of highly contagious variants as well as increased holiday gatherings. May has seen tripling case counts and deaths that have increased by more than six times the amount a month prior, according to reports from the Associated Press.
On Wednesday, the country hit the highest COVID death toll seen by any country in a single day. Crematoriums are full to overflowing and hospital beds are very hard to find.
If there was any time to send aid back home, it was now.
Collecting materials
The two women, both originally from small towns in India, met in New York City while Sethi was training at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
“It just clicked,” Sethi said. “We’ve been like family since then.”
As a pulmonary and critical care physician at Danbury Hospital, Sethi knew what would be needed at hospitals to properly handle severe COVID-19 cases. She said she can’t imagine having to care for someone with COVID without oxygen machines. Yet, with more than a dozen family members working as doctors in India, Sethi has heard what they are having to work with — and more importantly, what they’re working without.
“If you don't have oxygen, no matter how qualified you are, you can't treat anybody,” Sethi said.
Garg Allen, founder and CEO of Marasim and an adjunct professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Ne York City, has many ties to grassroots organizations in India and had also been getting information from her friends on the ground about the dire need for relief materials.
With Garg Allen’s connections to local organizations and Sethi’s vast medical knowledge, the two thought they’d make a good team.
Garg Allen would connect with those on the ground to organize deliveries, Sethi would ensure the proper equipment was purchased, and Garg Allen’s husband, Abhishek Allen, would help manage the finances and tech aspects of the campaign.
Originally, they started by asking for donations from family and friends. Now, the team has set up a GoFundMe page called “Help Us Save Lives Together Covid crisis in India,” to gain more traction and fund more donations for “Love for India.”
As India hit another record COVID daily death count of 4,329 fatalities Tuesday, which would surpassed the next day, the first shipment of aid materials was headed out.
So far, the page has raised just over $7,700, much of which is being spent on the cost and shipping of four BiPAP machines, which provide a non-invasive oxygen treatment, according to Sethi. The BiPAP machines are also important because they can keep patients from having to be intubated and put on a ventilator, which leads to a higher likelihood of death.
Currently, 80 percent of the beds at the smaller hospitals where the women are sending the medical equipment have been converted to COVID-only beds, Sethi said.
“But these hospitals were not really equipped for managing COVID patients,” Sethi added. “They don't have these BiPAPs and stuff because they were smaller hospitals.”
With more machines, these smaller hospitals won’t have to transfer patients to the larger, overwhelmed hospitals where the ratio of patients to nurses and doctors can sometimes be 50 intensive care patients to four nurses and one attending physician. Sethi said she’s not even sure if the doctors are able to know the names of all their patients in that situation.
“Hopefully, each machine can save many, many lives,” Garg Allen said.
Each BiPAP machine — its initial price and shipping — is costing around $1,200.
Other monetary donations will be used to cover food and medical expenses for families in need and other essential hospital staff.
The Danbury Hospital nurses union has also donated 8,000 surgical masks, 800 N95 masks, along with face shields, to include in the Tuesday shipment, the women said.
In addition to friends, family, and social media, Garg Allen has been reaching out to local yoga studios to see if they’re willing to do some classes to raise funds.
Both are eager and anxious to get back to their families in India as soon as travel is allowed again. But there are still no flights running between the US and India. Sethi had taken two weeks off from her job at Danbury Hospital and was supposed to be there now.
“We all want to be home, and you know, be with our families,” Garg Allen said.
As they keep collecting funds, the women hope to keep sending more machines and relief materials.
“It is a nightmare that we dreaded from the beginning of the pandemic,” wrote Garg Allen on the GoFundMe page. “Please help us help save lives in India.”
May 19, 2021 at 08:23PM
https://www.newstimes.com/local/article/Love-for-India-A-CT-doctor-and-an-artisan-16187840.php
'Love for India': A CT doctor and an artisan entrepreneur send medical supplies to their homeland - Danbury News Times
https://news.google.com/search?q=Send&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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