The Gift of Vision

Punjilal, or fondly known as Raju, came to Ahmedabad when he was barely 21 years old. He hails from a small village near Dungarpur in Rajasthan. He arrived in Ahmedabad with the dream to help his father meet ends as he was not able to support his children- 3 sons and 3 daughters with the income from a small agricultural land in the village.

“I joined a housekeeping agency in Ahmedabad and was deputed at IRM house as a housekeeper. The pay was less but I was glad that I could take some of the family burdens off from my father’s shoulders.

As soon as I started my job, I started losing my vision, which came to such a severe state that I faced complete loss of vision. To get my eyes checked, I went to the Municipal Eye Hospital. With the prescribed medication, I could enjoy some relief but started losing vision again within a year. Even the hospital couldn’t provide any answers. Due to financial constraints, I was not in a position to consult any private ophthalmologist for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Ultimately, I had to give up on my dreams and went back to my village and help my father.

At such a time, Cadila Pharmaceuticals came to my aid. My seniors and colleagues were aware of the Kaka-Ba hospital and the quality health services being provided for no cost. To my surprise, my team coordinated with the CSR team of Cadila who set up everything at KaKa-Ba hospital.”

On hospitalization at Kaka-Ba, it was found that Raju had developed Cataract in his eye and also his eye pressure was very high. This eye pressure is known as IOP (intraocular pressure) in medical terms. It is this elevated eye pressure that causes damage to the eye (optic) nerve. If it remains untreated for a long time, it leads to total blindness.

The Kaka-Ba team faced a difficult challenge as the case had become complicated due to previous improper treatment. However, the expert panel of Ophthalmologists at Kaka-Ba hospital handled this critical challenge very tactfully. The doctors first controlled the IOP with proper medications and once it was under control, they removed the cataract from his eye.

“I feel extremely lucky to have finally got my eyesight back. I had lost all hope and had made peace with working in the village all my life. But through my team’s and Kaka-Ba’s support, I am back to my original job at IRM house and can now fulfil my and my family’s dreams.”