Visual Perception

“This is beautiful Petey!” Sophie exclaimed in delight.

Peter felt a warm glow inside. He loved it when she called him Petey. Everyone else called him Peter or just Pete.

“Tell me,” Sophie continued in her enthusiastic tone, “is this the best place you’ve seen till now? This is simply terrific!”

They were standing on the wooden bridge, overlooking the river, which was reflecting the evening sun’s rays. She could feel the cold spray of water on her face from the exquisite waterfalls, as if it had a healing touch of its own. She lifted her head further and secretly hoped that it had. The peals of laughter from the kids below, and the joyful shrieks from the guys diving into the deep-side of the river just made her question a tad insignificant. 

Peter gazed at her, pleased with her reaction. He had found this place a couple of weeks back, and he wanted to get Sophie there ever since that moment.

"Yes, it is," he answered with a smile. "What about you?"

He bit his tongue immediately. Stupid, stupid me. He started with a hint of an apology, "Sophie, I didn’t mean to say…"

She turned towards him and interrupted him with an understanding smile, "I know. It’s okay."

He felt as if she could see right through him, even though he knew that…

"Anyway, it IS the best place I’ve been to,"she said cheerfully, "and I thank you for bringing me here."

"So, how did you find this place?"

Peter thought for a moment, trying to recollect. 

"Well, Andy and I were searching for our lost football, and we just stumbled upon this place. Then, we went back and told everyone about it. I was waiting for you to come back, to show you this," he explained, unconsciously spreading his arms wide. He felt a pang of guilt for the second time. Sophie just smiled at him, but there was a touch of sadness in it. He knew he hadn’t done anything wrong. He turned away from the waterfalls and looked at the crimson sun, and thought, If only she had at least half of what I have.

"I wish Petey," she whispered, leaning further onto the railing of the bridge. Peter was surprised, had he spoken out his thoughts aloud?

"I really wish."

DONATE EYES – GIVE YOUR SIGHT

As India celebrates the 26^th National Eye Donation Fortnight [August 25 – September 8], it is only right that we pause and think about those who have never known what it means to be able to see. The line from the Saturday Herald grabbed my attention, and I thought, well let me help the EBAI [Eye Bank Association of India] in spreading some awareness to a dozen more people who read my blog upon my continuous insistence. 

There are 4.6 million corneally blind people in our country, about 2.7 million below the age of 12. Of the 4.6 million blind, at least 3 million can gain their sight through a corneal transplant. 

What is corneal blindness?

The front, clear and transparent tissue of the eye – the focusing element- is called the cornea. If the cornea becomes cloudy, vision is dramatically reduced or lost, ergo, corneal blindness. The cornea of the eyes belonging to a deceased person can be used to restore vision in a corneally blind person. There have been no synthetic substitutes developed so far.

But, I had a laser surgery recently...

Anyone [from the age of one] can donate eyes, even if they wear spectacles or have poor eye sight or had a successful eye surgery. Even those who have a medical history such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma or tuberculosis can donate their eyes. Just don’t get infections such as rabies, syphilis, infectious hepatitis, septicemia, or AIDS. Or even worse, don’t die from an unknown cause – it will complicate matters.

So, what should I do?

The easy part – Take a pledge [online or at the nearest eye bank] to donate your eyes after death. And, kindly have a neat death, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I call this the easy part because, well, taking a pledge and all might make you feel better, but it is your relatives or friends who carry out your wishes of eye donation. Even if you haven’t taken a pledge, you just have to make people around you aware of your intentions. The pledge is just a ‘’noble deed’’, not mandatory.

I hereby take this opportunity to take a pledge –EBAI / any other medical centre, my eyes, although short sighted, are all yours after I die. So is the rest of my body, just don’t burn it please.

The hard part – MAKE EYE DONATION A FAMILY TRADITION! Pass on the message to your family members. The eyes can be removed at home or any other place where the body is kept after death. It does not delay the funeral as the entire procedure finishes within half an hour. Convince them that it is not against any religious belief, in fact, it is considered as an expression of the highest humanitarian ideas. Remove all those fears of disfigurement. Moreover, the service of eye removal is free of cost.

Brush aside the stupid misconceptions about being born blind in the next birth, which prevents the next of kin to donate the eyes of the dead.

Lastly, eyes which cannot be used for corneal transplantation are used for research and education purposes. So, you are making a contribution one way or the other.

The hardest part – So, you have taken the pledge to donate eyes. Your siblings have taken the pledge. Your parents and relatives have taken the pledge. Now, the important points to be kept in mind –

Close the eyelids of the deceased.

Switch off the fan or the air conditioners.

Raise the head of the deceased slightly by placing a pillow underneath.

Contact the nearest eye bank as quickly as possible. 1919 is a toll free number provided by BSNL all over the country to facilitate easy access to the nearest eye bank.

If the death certificate from the physician is available, keep it ready.

Eye donation can be done only with the written consent of the next of kin in the presence of two witnesses.

My question is – this is the hardest part- what if you are the next of kin? What if you have to make that call, while you mourn the loss of your loved one? The eye removal has to be done within 6 hours of death. So, do you think you can be strong and remember at that moment, to make that call? Can you? Can I make it? Only time will tell. But at least, I’m aware of the steps to be taken now.

PS – Don’t try to be a hero and detach one of your eyes now itself. Donation from living persons is not accepted.