MARCH, 2019 | The Health
Exclusive
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Picture 1: Teddy Mobile Clinic’s group of
volunteers
Picture 2: Volunteers providing free
medical care to the needy
Picture 3: Every Wednesday, Teddy Mobile
Clinic provides free medical care at Jalan
Hang Lekiu and Masjid Negara
Picture 4: Vicki Treadell, UK High
Commissioner in Malaysia presenting Dr
Madhusudhan Shanmugam with the Point
of Light award
Picture 5: Patients go through a quick
registration process before having their
temperature, blood sugar level and blood
pressure taken.
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computer emits colourful lights, and we just had to ask.
He reveals that it’s a gaming PC.
“When I can’t sleep at night, I play PUBG. Or I’ll do
some entertaining tik tok videos to pass the time,” he
grins. Dr Madhusudhan shows off his impersonation
skills, and sense of humour, as the famous Tamil
comedian and actor, Vadivelu. In these videos, he goes
into full acting mode, wearing bandages, scarves, and
sometimes bath towels.
Teddy Bear Doctor
“People used to have the idea that the nick name teddy
bear doctor was due to my size. However, it is actu-
ally because I give teddy bears to kids. I love kids and
making them smile. Thar was one of the reason I love
visiting orphanages. People soon came to know of this,
so they would donate a ton of teddy bears,” he eyes
light up.
“We had a whole car full of teddy bears so whenever
we would see a kid, we would pass them a teddy bear.
Even my room has a lot of teddy bears!” Dr Madhu
laughs.
“There are a lot of good memories. One particular
family we used to help was an OKU couple. They treated
us like family. The husband has sadly passed away but
we still make it a point to visit the wife and she’s very
close. Every morning she sends us good morning
messages.”
No doubt in his line of work, there are bound to be
heart-breaking tales. Dr Madhu tells us that the reason
his patients become homeless is because their family
has chased them away due to their illness. One of his
patients who is almost in his 70’s had a habit of bedwet-
ting the bed, and the family scolded him and chased
him out of the house. Another woeful tale is an uncle
who ran away from home because he was suffering from
cancer and did not want his kids to suffer because of
him.
“We tried to counsel him but he didn’t want to be
a burden to his family. He knew that his son was only
The Commonwealth Points of Light award which
was bestowed to him.
making enough to support his own family so he felt
better off being on the streets. One of our abuse cases,
the reason he became a drug addict was because his
parents were drug addicts and abused him as a child.
He then ran away at the age of 14 and has been living
on the streets ever since. There a lot of reasons why
they are homeless, you just need to talk to them, “he
explains.
If you think everyone would embrace Dr Madhu’s
efforts with open arms and smiles, sadly no. He
explained to us that there was a minority who did not
like what his volunteers and him were doing, stating
that we were spoiling the homeless.
“We even get messages saying that we are doing this
for fame. Initially when we started, we used to wonder
how people could come to such thoughts but now we
just have one focus in mind. That is doing something
that is beneficial to others.”
A man with a dream
Hidden talent:
... I would have
been a cook! I
love cooking. On
the weekends,
I’ll make sure
my mom’s not
cooking and I’ll
take over the
kitchen. Usually
if my friends are
having a small
function, they will
call me to cook.”
What does Dr Madhu see for himself in the near future?
That question got him smiling.
“We will be opening a restaurant, well more of a
food truck in two more months! We are currently in
midst of preparation. Three of us will be doing this
venture together. Due to the nature of my work, I will be
there only on weekends. Weekdays will be run by my
friends.”
Will the recipes all come from you and will it include
mutton varuval?
“Yes, recipes are Chef Madhu’s!”
“On the Teddy Mobile clinic side, we are planning to
have free transportation to different areas. The hospi-
tals are indeed providing good treatment but many are
unable to afford to go to the hospital. Some of them are
on wheelchairs, some require to go to the hospital three
times a week for treatment and it incurs a high cost on
them. Recently my volunteers gathered and bought me
a van. We were thinking of hiring a homeless person to
do the driving.” — The Health