Sunanda

Barrackpore, India

Age 58

Corneal surgery has brought light back to Sunanda’s life, and her spirit. Her vision began to blur 30 years ago – two years before she was married. In 1987, she was diagnosed with corneal dystrophy – a genetic condition that progressively clouds the eye’s transparent outer layer.

By 2007, her watering eyes, severe headaches, and impaired vision made her afraid of going out alone. Her life became more and more dull and uninteresting. She began to sink into depression.

Sunanda was not a candidate for a conventional cornea transplant, but new technology was about to open up her world again. In 2010, she had Keratoprosthesis surgery, also known as K-Pro, at one of the DISHA Eye Hospitals. DISHA, headquartered in West Bengal, is the largest Eye Hospital system in Eastern India. In K-Pro, doctors implant an "artificial cornea," to replace the diseased portion. DISHA did its first "Boston K-Pro" in 2009, the year before Sunanda’s surgery.

The improvement was dramatic. Everything in Sunanda’s life has become easier since her surgery. While her husband used to walk her to the office, she can now walk alone. Sunanda can now do the one thing she loves more than anything – read the newspaper. Her depression is gone – the new light in her eyes goes straight to her spirit.