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Rays of Light
The saying goes “a day will come when nations will be judged not by their economic strength, grandiose or splendour of their capital cities and buildings but by the well being of their peoples; by their levels of health, education and social factors; by the respect that is shown for their individuality; by the provision that is made for those who are vulnerable and disabled; and by the protection that is afforded to the growing minds and bodies of the future – the children.”
How Aravind eye hospital being a tertiary level hospital in the true sense is reaching out to help the needy. The simple story of a family enlightens certain facts that say so.
Murugadas and Latha lived with their two sons in a small village-Sornur of Kerela. He was a truck driver and his wife a house wife. Their was a small family that lived happily until one day they found that their elder son was unable to see the blackboard clearly. Slowly the boy stumbled upon furniture’s and his daily activities got curtailed. The entire family was doomed in gloom. The bewildered parents were totally lost. They rushed to a local ophthalmologist for help, who diagnosed the case to be due to developmental Cataract and advised them to go to Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai for an expert opinion and further management.
The parents spirits rose. With anticipation , anxiety and hope they finally landed at the Paediatric ophthalmology department at Aravind, Madurai. The tense, apprehension and fear disappeared after they met the Chief –Dr P. Vijayalakshmi. Latha says “’She was like an angel to us. Her patient listening, soothing words that the child will be able to see after surgery was the first rays of light in our dark world. The child underwent cataract surgery with intraocular implantation in his right eye.
The miracle happened. Following surgery the child gave his first smile and called –“Amma.” That did it. Their was sunshine everywhere. The flowers bloomed and the birds sang. They found happiness again. The other eye was also operated after a gap of 4months. This time they were confident. There steps were sure and steady. They have found their messiah. The child is now 9years old, going to school and performing well. He is a bright and smart child full of wit –whom you will love to meet.
The story does not end here. Once again history repeated itself. The family was struck again with another lightning. But this time it did not leave its mark. The family was well equipped with knowledge and resources to cope with the emergency. It was the lady doctor at Aravind, the ultimate, their saviour.
Vignesh, their 6year old second child came to us with difficulty for recognizing both near and distant objects. He was diagnosed as a case of bilateral congenital cataract. The boy underwent cataract surgery with intraocular lens on 10th of January 2006. He was discharged on January 14, with a visual acuity of 6\12. The smiling faces of the mother and child was a sight to be painted. The eagerness, the joy of seeing the mama’s face, rediscovering the small things of life like grasping a flower and giggling away, intrigued me to follow the child and the family closely. I being the ward doctor had the opportunity and free access to observe the boy and the family without making them conscious. Whenever I called upon them during the routine rounds, the mother’s face would brighten up and she would speak to me. Asking the ward sister –“What is she trying to convey to me “? she would try to communicate to me in Malayalam.
Latha recalls with tears simmering in her eyes-” We are village people and were doomed once when my elder child could not see at all. With few penny, unknown place, no hope in our hearts we travelled all the way to Madurai. The huge building and the waiting time sent tremors in me. I was thinking all the time will these doctors ask a lot of money to save my child’s eye. Will my child be forced into blindness for ever? In so much turmoil I entered the Chief’s cabin. She was full of sympathy, smiled at us and in a reassuring, gentle voice told us not to worry and explained about the surgery, making all arrangements for admission through free hospital. I could not believe my luck. All my fears vanished. She was a goddess for us. Now again when my second boy could not see clearly, we came straight to Aravind with firm faith that my child will see the world again .So fortune smiled and God was kind with us again. Here my boy can see again.” She wiped the tears and smiled at me.
Today she went home with joy and happiness thanking Madam and blessing me. The story does not end here. We went ahead counselling and convincing the father to use aphakic corrections and to undergo certain visual rehabilitation measures. The entire family was finally rehabilitated.
This is a true story, not an imagination. If you just probe deeply certain facts come into light. First the essence of compassion and each patient treated as an individual. Out of the busy schedule, the rich and the poor are given the same welcome. The presence of a counselling team backed with a word of advice by the doctor himself does wonders for the patient. The faith is unbreakable. Second, a highly specialized system and skilled surgeon does wonders- a blind child gets back his vision. The bond is further strengthened. The mission is accomplished – “Service to mankind, - mainly the poor and needy” It is just not a phrase to be quoted in the textbooks but a truth –and a reality practiced at Aravind.
From Darkness To Bliss – A story of three generations
I am a trainee at the Aravind – ORBIS project getting trained in Paediatric Ophthalmology at Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai and it gives me immense pleasure in depicting the following tale, which in my knowledge is the epitome of changing trends in the field of catering quality eye care.
Om Shiv, a 4 months old male infant, who belongs to Mainpuri in the state of Uttar Pradesh crossed the two day train journey to come to Paediatric department at Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai one morning accompanied by his parents and his elder sister. He was born on the 2nd of August 2005. The parents thought his eyes were absolutely normal at birth. One day, as his elder sister was trying to feed him, her dress brushed against his right eye, following which he had watering. The parents consulted two local ophthalmologists immediately. One of them, who was a former trainee at our institute diagnosed the child having cataract in both eyes and advised surgical removal of the same at Aravind eye hospital, Madurai. The father wanted to free his child from the possible future visual incapacitation, but he was not entirely convinced about adopting a surgical procedure for the purpose.
Mr., Ramesh Chandra Mishra, a 35 year old school teacher and the father of the aforesaid baby was told by his mother that he was having cataract in both his eyes (from birth) since he was 8 years old. His parents never advised him a consultation with an Ophthalmologist. He himself was reasonably satisfied with the vision he had, though he had to resort to a corrective head posture to see things clearly. He consulted an Ophthalmologist without the knowledge of his parents and was advised surgery, but Mr. Ramesh thought the doctor couldn't reply to his queries and doubts properly. He decided against the surgery and learned to live with the partial handicap.
Mr. Satyanarayan Mishra, a 65 year old musician, who happens to be the grand father of Om Shiv, came to know that he has cataract in both eyes (from birth) at some point in his life. He had a firm opinion that his eyes will be destroyed if he underwent a surgical procedure for cataract. Some amount of this thought had percolated to his son, Mr. Ramesh which is also why he was averse to a surgical procedure as the treatment modality.
Mr. Ramesh arrived at Madurai to get a consultation for his son with an element of doubt about adopting surgery for the baby’s cataract, if it is advised. However, by the same day afternoon, he was more than keen to get Om Shiv’s eyes operated. He recalls the events of the day this way,” From the moment we stepped into Aravind eye hospital, I never felt even close to being away from home. We were attended to immediately, my son was registered and we were accompanied by a staff of the hospital to every place we needed to go. The doctors in the Paediatric Ophthalmology department were equally co operative and they spent time to give us the preliminary idea about cataracts and their management. I then talked to the magnanimous chief of the department, Dr. P. Vijayalakshmi, who extended her tender and caring attitude to explain to us all we wanted to know about cataracts. I finally talked to some parents on my way out who had got their kids operated here, all of them seemed very happy at the result. I had little doubt after all this about the fact that the only outcome possible for my son in this place is favorable”.
Om Shiv got admitted and was operated in his right eye. On the first post operative day, he had a clear and quiet eye that hardly bore any sign of surgery. This was even noticed by the parents and they decided to go ahead and get the other eye operated as well, which they did, a week after.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ramesh thought about seeking an opinion about his own eyes. He speaks out his thought at that moment,” When I saw such a large number of people getting treated and operated here, I thought I might be helped too “.
He registered himself for a consultation. On the same evening, he was an in-patient himself waiting to be operated in his right eye the next day. On being asked about this decision, he says, “The co operation and counseling system of the hospital this time was no less impressive than it was the first time." My apprehensions were addressed to so nicely by the doctors and the counselors that it wiped off whatever little hesitations I had. I wonder how they do it for so many patients everyday”.
Mr. Ramesh was overjoyed with pleasure on the first post operative day as he immediately noticed the difference. Without thinking twice, he got his other eye operated too, 4 days after the second surgery of his son.
Thus, we have three generations of a family having the same problem in their eyes from birth. Yet, the grandfather never got the necessary treatment; the father delayed it for quite sometime and the newly arrived angel got it at just about the right time. This goes a distance to explain the value of creating a neatly interwoven network of clinical and surgical skills with a vigilant paraclinical activity like counseling and nursing. We are very happy to have this network working in our institute which brings broad grins onto families such as the Mishras.
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