64 years old, Shahida Parveen is struggling with poor health and low vision. Belonging to a poor family, she has accepted that proper healthcare is an extravagance that is not meant for people like her. All her life she has been doing odd jobs to make ends meet but her financial situation just does not get better. While her husband was alive, they had a steady income, meager as it was, which helped them raise their two children. But after his death 12 years ago, life became difficult. Her son, still in his teens then had to find work to help them get by.
Two years ago, Shahida realized that she was losing her eye sight. Afraid to seek medical treatment due to her past experiences with hospitals from her husbands sickness to taking loans from neighbors and friends to pay her his medical bills, she continued with her life without even trying to find out the cause of her failing vision. As time progressed, she gradually found herself unable to go for work. Shahida had been employed in a house in the city where she cooked and cleaned.
Despite her going nearly blind in one eye she persevered, though she was constantly worrying about the time when her progressively deteriorating vision would fail her entirely and she would become completely dependent on others. It was this fear, and some encouragement from one of her neighbors that finally convinced her to go to LRBT Eye Hospital Khanewal.
She was diagnosed with cataract and was advised to go for surgery. Her heart sank when she heard the news and she started asking the doctor about alternative treatment dreading the medical bills of a surgical procedure. However, after a few minutes of counseling, she relaxed; reassured that she would not have to bear even a single rupee for the entire treatment.
Her cataract surgery was performed successfully. She was ecstatic when the bandage was removed from her eye and she had her vision back. She was thankful to LRBT and its donors who made it possible for someone like her to be able to see once again.