Sush, the samaritan

Trust Sushmita Sen to do the unexpected — the actress has taken up the responsibility of the upkeep of her deceased staffer’s HIV positive wife and two sons.

“The one good thing that came out of this whole experience was my rapport with my former staffer, his wife and their two sons. I’m full of admiration for this woman. She’s younger and far less urbane than me, but her wisdom and her acumen in the face of such imminent tragedy just makes me feel so small,” said Sushmita.

“The lady is in an advanced stage of being HIV positive. I’m getting her the best treatment possible. Hher spirit is unbroken.” When you express admiration for her, the actress rebuffs it.

“On the contrary she’s helping my conscience to get lighter, I feel guilty that I knew nothing about my employee’s illness. He was too scared to tell me. His wife had warned him that no one should know about his condition, least of all me. He thought I’d be very upset by the nature of his illness. “He came to meet me shortly before he died. He looked very ill. I thought he had jaundice. He asked me for financial help. I knew there was something seriously wrong. I tried to get in touch with his wife, but couldn’t. The next thing I knew was that he was in a coma.” However, Sushmita did get to speak to him once before he died.
“He got out of his coma to speak to me once on the cell phone. I not only had to deal with the death of my staff, but had to break the news of his wife’s illness to her. This entire harrowing incident was so unexpected.” His wife and children are under Sushmita’s care today.

“I’m doing my best to keep her well. Today, I’m an expert on the illness,” said Sushmita who participated in an AIDS awareness programme with Hollywood actress Ashley Judd early this year.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com