THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Ranchi, Sept 5: Sneh Lata was only ten years old when a tiny incident turned her world upside down. One evening, while studying under the glow of a tube light in her hometown, Jaspur, a worm flew into her eye. She rubbed it hard, not realising the damage it had caused. Soon after, her eyes turned red and, over time, the clear black cornea began to turn white.
“My family took me to several doctors,” recalls Sneh, “but the whiteness just wouldn’t go away.”
The Promise of a New Beginning
By the mid-1990s, news spread that Ranchi had witnessed its first successful cornea transplant, performed by Dr B.P. Kashyap and Dr Bharti Kashyap at Kashyap Memorial Eye Hospital. For Sneh, this was nothing short of a miracle.
“I read in the media about cornea transplantation and immediately registered myself at the hospital’s eye bank,” she says. “I was young, hopeful, and praying that one day I would see clearly again.”
After waiting for a few months, Sneh finally received the call she had been waiting for. Rushing from Chhattisgarh to Ranchi in just two hours, she made it in time for the delicate procedure that had to be carried out within 24 hours of receiving a donor cornea.
Seeing the World Again
The surgery changed her life forever. “When I opened my eyes after the transplant, everything was bright and clear again. It felt like I had been reborn,” she says with a smile.
The impact of the surgery went far beyond her vision. With her appearance restored and her confidence renewed, Sneh was able to marry and start a new chapter of her life. “Earlier, my eyes looked so white that it was visible even in photographs. After the transplant, I could meet people with confidence. When my husband’s family saw me, they liked me instantly.”
A Life of Gratitude
Today, 28 years later, Sneh lives in Jaipur and continues to cherish the gift of sight. “Every doctor I meet here tells me my transplant was done beautifully. I owe everything to my donors and to the Kashyap doctors who gave me this chance.”
With a quiet sense of gratitude, she adds:
“I bow down to the people whose eyes brightened my life. Their gift has kept me seeing the world for nearly three decades.”
