Cong MLA Uma Thomas's health condition improves

Kochi: The medical board attending Congress legislator Uma Thomas announced on Wednesday that her condition was improving and that she had greeted her son with a joyful New Year message.

Dr. Krishnanunni Polakulathhe, the head of the medical team at the private hospital where she remains on a ventilator, said she wished her son a 'Happy New Year' when she saw him.

“Wednesday is her third day of admission in the hospital. Overall she is improving and the X-ray of her lungs shows good progress. Now the challenge is when she can be weaned from the ventilator but it cannot be done aggressively. She says she has pain and we are doing our best to keep it to the minimum,” said Dr Polakulathhe.

“The situation is the question of how many days she has to be on the ventilator. At the moment the ventilator at times stops to allow her to breathe on her own and she breathes on her own. We will have to decide on weaning her from the ventilator. There was a combined medical board meeting and the state government-constituted medical board is also happy with our administration of the patient. Good progress is being made, she has started moving her arms and legs, but she doesn’t remember the fall when I asked her,” added the doctor treating her.

The incident occurred on Sunday evening at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, owned by the CPI(M)-controlled Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA). Uma Thomas tripped over a barricade near the VIP pavilion after greeting State Culture Minister Saji Cherian.

The mishap happened during a Guinness World Record attempt for a mass dance performance featuring around 12,500 participants. The accident has sparked a blame game, with authorities launching an investigation into the event's organisation, IANS reported.

Speaking to IANS, Minister Cherian said he saw with his own eyes when she fell down.

“We were all seated together and she was going back to her seat after exchanging pleasantries with me. Everything happened in a flash and seeing her fall, I expressed shock. Since the dance event was on with mikes blaring all around, the cries for help from those who saw her fall failed to attract attention, but the moment she fell, she was attended to and taken to the hospital. On either side of the place where she fell, there was grass, but her head hit the concrete floor. I also reached the hospital and I could hardly sleep that night after being a witness to the gory accident,” said Cherian.

Uma Thomas, the widow of Congress veteran P.T. Thomas, represents the Thrikkakara Assembly constituency. She entered politics after her husband died in December 2021. She won the bypoll with a margin of over 25,000 votes, defying expectations of a Left victory.

A former student leader during college, Uma is known for her polite demeanour and well-researched speeches in the Assembly. As the only woman Congress legislator in the current Assembly, she holds a significant and symbolic position in her party.