This Telugu surgeon globetrots flying jet to deliver med supplies

This Telugu surgeon globetrots flying jet to deliver med supplies

Uttara.Varma@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad  13.05.2020

: On the frontline of the pandemic, Dr Venkataramana Vijay has his battles cut out both in the ICU and in the cockpit. The New Yorkbased surgeon and pilot has been delivering medicines from across the globe as cases continue to rise in the US.

The Telugu-American heart surgeon now pilots a Boeing-747 jumbo jet. “Earlier I used to spend half the month flying and half in the operation theatre. But now, I have been travelling to China, Japan and Malaysia to help get medical requirements for the country to help during the pandemic,” says Vijay.

The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) currently regulates cargo operations which includes the operations of Sky Lease Cargo, for whom Vijay works. He has so far flown over 500 tonnes of medical gear such as masks, gloves, PPE equipment, testing kits and ventilator parts to the US.“In China, we land in Changsha and Zheng Zhou, very close to Wuhan, because central China is the manufacturing hub even for medical supplies,” said Vijay, adding that even if one person falls sick, all four pilots would be quarantined.

For Vijay, coming to the US was a forgone conclusion in 1989, considering the opportunities and his family’s academic background. Being a doctor, was a result of not being great at maths, he laughs. But being a pilot was a passion — as his class 2 teacher wrote in his report card — which he pursued after establishing himself as surgeon.

Vijay says seeing hospitals such as Mount Sinai, where he works, teeming with patients reminds him of trauma following 9/11. “I treated patients suffering from asbestos inhalation at that time. As a healthcare provider you realise that the physical wounds can be treated, but one has to hand hold a patient through mental trauma.”