Leave A Vision Behind

-Madhura Mandlik

I sat , dazed, on the chair in the hospital casualty. My world had crumbled in a matter of few hours. My precious little girl ,had left us behind. All it took was a slight delay to push the brakes. The noise of the tyres screeching still haunts my being as I keep on playing the scene on rewind in my mind. Such a beautiful girl , smart and intelligent , was no more. My wife wailed besides me , but all I could do was stare , numb. This felt like our end.

As we were completing the required formalities in the hospital, we were approached by this lady. She spoke to us for hours , consoled us , shared our grief. I still remember the operating doctor , came to our family spoke about how we could help.The woman whose name was Meera, told us how our little angel could help someone else . My parents seemed sceptical, saying it would not help our girl rest in peace. But Meera stated that my girl would be happy, she would help someone live a better life.

They elaborated the procedure , cleared our doubts. My little girl would not be disfigured, it would be like nothing was a miss. So we took the call , hopefully the right one as we signed on the forms. And somehow as I laid my girl to peace I felt less numb.

It has been a few months now, since that day and we are trying to get into our mundane lives. My family is not the same anymore and it never will. People say time heals everything, and I hope that it does , that it heals my family.

We sit at the dining table, my wife and I listening to the morning news, both in a hurry to get to work.The bell rings and opening the door I find a little girl , holding her mother and father’s hand. She gives me a toothy grin, and I can’t help but smile back.

The father speaks “Thank you sir . You have made my family happy”

“Thank you uncle. You gave me my eyes back and I could see my Mummy and Papa . You are my angel” she says with innocence. And in that moment I could see my little girl in her. My baby had added colour to someone’s life , when there was nothing left in ours. Her eyes became another’s vision.

Where we stand ?

• India has 15 million blind people
• Corneal blindness is 4^th major cause of blindness,globally
• Only 25,000 donors every year
• Cornea can be donated after death
• In India Tamilnadu had highest (7434) cornea collection followed by Andhra Pradesh (6518) and Gujarat (5631) in 2013-2014.
• 75% of blind patients can be treated, but there is a shortage of corneal donation for transplantation.

It is a huge decision to give away a part of your loved one .To take that decision at such a crucial and grieving hour. But open your heart and let someone else live on!