My daughter wanted to have a pair of spectacles.
She thought that it would enhance her ‘look’. Most of her classmates wear spectacles
and she felt that it is a handicap not to have one. She would
put her grandma’s ‘high-powered’ spectacles though she
was warned that she would get a headache. On a trip to a tourist
location she cajoled us to buy her a pair
of spectacles with plain glasses and she enjoyed wearing it
to ‘show off’ to her friends.
As soon as the above cheap stuff was broken in a
few weeks’ time, she started reminding us about the headache and the
need to visit an ophthalmologist. But she was disappointed after the
last two annual check-up, as they said that there was nothing
wrong with her eyes.
This year, as she complained that she is struggling
to read what is written on the board, I took her again to an eye clinic. Though
the optometrist reported a slight ‘power issue’, the ophthalmologist was not
sure. She wanted us to come again the next day for a re-check. The
next day when they came to the conclusion that she needs glasses, my
daughter instantly became jubilant. We went to the optician in the
hospital premises to place order for the glasses. He showed us several frames
and the cheapest frames would cost Rs 1200/-. My daughter chose the
most stylish of the cheapest. Then the person at the counter
told me that the charges for the glasses are separate and one can get them
for as low as Rs 200, but the ‘better’ ones would cost a few thousands. I asked
him whether the cheapest glasses are functionally inferior to the costlier
ones. He said that the cheapest ones also meet the same standard as per the
specification given in the prescription and we left the place after ordering
the best of the cheapest!
That day, by afternoon, my staff spotted redness in
the corners of my eyes. I had not thought that spending time in an eye hospital
with optometrist, ophthalmologist, and optician would give me a free eye
infection. After reaching home, my wife spotted the redness and
concluded that it was an infection. She called up
her colleague who is an ophthalmologist and got the prescription to buy the eye
drops. My daughter went to the pharmacy located in the residential colony and
bought the medicines immediately. I was asked not to watch TV, not to hook to
the laptop and not to read anything. I went to bed at 9.30 pm, a few hours
earlier than my usual bedtime, though I didn't get sleep for long time.
I realized the value of eyes at that point of time.
What is life without our eyes? Recently I read that about 37 million people in
the world are visually impaired. Out of this about 15 million people are from
India. Almost 75% of the cases are avoidable blindness (corneal blindness)
which can be cured by transplanting donated eyes. If I felt impaired a few
hours because I couldn't watch television, read books or work on my laptop, I
really needed to worry and empathize more about those who cannot see anything
for several years. A few months back I suggested to a voluntary organization to
do a campaign for eye donation to get more people enrolled. I also had
discussions with two leading hospitals and tried to develop a team to take the
initiative forward. But the project is yet to take off.
I need to be more sincere on this! We don’t lose
anything by donating our eyes as we do it only after using and misusing
them during our entire lifetime. Whatever covenant we make with
our eyes, they still go where they want! It is written, ‘The eye is the lamp of
the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light’.
It is also written, ‘If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw
it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your
whole body be thrown into hell.’(Mathew 5:29). It would be great if we can
bring light to those who are visually impaired by donating our eyes rather than
making our own way to further darkness.
In the morning I frantically searched for dark sun
glasses to put on. Though it is a myth that conjunctivitis would spread if we
look at someone, I thought it would be better to wear glasses. It is uncomfortable for
people to see the reddish eyes. We always try to
hide the reality behind dark glasses!
As I started scribbling this during the lunch
break, I got repeated calls from my daughter. She asked, ‘Can you tell the
optician to get the glasses today itself as my friends want to see them at the
basketball court this evening?’
“Living in that childish wonder
is a most beautiful feeling - I can so well remember it. There was always
something more - behind and beyond everything - to me, the golden spectacles
were very, very big.” (Kate Greenaway)
If you want
to know about donating eyes and the procedure, click here.
Views are personal Sibichen K Mathew
Views are personal Sibichen K Mathew
