Until recently, if 19-year-old Ashish Choudhary wanted to read, he had to hold the book a few inches away from his face and squint at the lettering. Writing was even more difficult.
Despite this, the youth from Madhya Pradesh managed to clear the Indian Institutes of Technology Joint Entrance Examination, and started his B.Tech Mechanical at IIT-Madras. But, he still struggled in class — until his English teacher took him to an eye surgeon to determine the problem.
“When I evaluated Ashish, I realised that he had micro corneas. A normal cornea is supposed to be about 11 to 12 mm, but his was only 8 mm. Also, the lenses in his eyes were tilted downwards and the pupil was distorted,” said Amar Agarwal, chairman and managing director, Dr. Agarwal’s Group of Eye Hospitals.
In order to correct this, Dr. Agarwal had to perform two procedures on both eyes — take out his old lens, glue an artificial lens in position using biological glue, and expand the pupil and centre it so the eye could receive light in the right manner.
To expand the pupil, Dr. Agarwal cut away some tissue and ensured the pupil was in the right spot to receive light. Both procedures were completed successfully, he said.
Ashish, who is the son of farmers from Khandwa district, said he had earlier visited many hospitals. “I even underwent a surgery in Indore, but none of it helped,” he said, adding that he had always had great teachers who encouraged him to pursue his studies and aim for the IITs. Now, he can see well with both eyes, he said.
According to Dr. Agarwal, the institute took care of Ashish’s medical expenses that the hospital subsidised. “Parents and teachers need to be aware: if a child is squinting at a book or sitting too close to the television, there may be something wrong with their sight. Consult a doctor immediately,” he said.
Ashish Choudhary, a first-year IIT-Madras student, found it difficult to even read until recently
