Time turns a blind eye to her plight

Ganesh Kondkar’s heart sinks each time he sees his sister, Chanda Gupta, fumbling around and bumping into furniture as she goes about doing chores in her house in a Borivli chawl.

Forty-year-old Gupta suffers from corneal dystrophy, a hereditary condition that affects eyesight as one ages. For several days now, her field of vision has become so restricted that she can’t see anything more than 2m away.

“Her eyes look glazed. She is forced to do all the household chores once her husband goes to work since the family can’t afford a domestic help. Doctors have said a corneal transplant is the only way to improve her vision,” says 52-year-old Kondkar, who has been taking care of her medical expenses. Gutpa lives with her husband, who is employed with a private bangle manufacturing firm, and their two sons.

Kondkar, who lives a stone’s throw away from Gupta’s house, is so emotionally fraught that he wishes he could donate his eye to his sister. “Unfortunately, our law does not permit a living person to donate his eyes,” he says, as his shoulders sag.

But getting an eye transplant surgery performed is easier said than done. Kondkar explains that the procedure is quite time-consuming and complicated. “My sister is the 500th person on the eye donation waiting list,” he complains.

Gupta has reportedly been suffering from corneal dystrophy from her childhood, but the family then never took the condition seriously since general physicians had assured that there was nothing to worry about. “Now, things have got out of hand. Her vision is getting worse by the day,” says Kondkar, who wishes that the family had taken her to an ophthalmologist instead then.

Dr Ragini Parekh, head of ophthalmology department at Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, Byculla, insists that a corneal transplant is the only option left for Gupta.

“Once a transplant is successfully conducted, her vision will definitely improve. She has registered with an eye bank. But, more than 600 patients are on the waiting list.”

She explains that every year, 200 corneal transplants are conducted. Holding this as a touchstone, Gupta is likely to get a transplant only in three years.

Gupta’s spirits are at an all-time low. She recalls, wistfully, that till last year, she could manage to do all her household chores. “The first thought that crossed my mind when I began losing my eyesight was that I may have damaged it because I had spent too much time watching the television and that it could be fixed with a pair of spectacles.”

Reality hit her hard. Kondkar says the sudden loss of her eyesight plunged her into depression. “For a few days now, I am not able to see even things which are up-close. I face problems while cooking food as well,” complains Gupta, even as she counts her blessings that her brother is by her side in her time of need.