HYderabad: Achievements are among the most significant milestones in life. When someone discovers something or helps an individual, it surely deserves appreciation. Most of us strive to achieve our goals, and it is quite fortunate when our efforts are recognised and appreciated.
Women achievers deserve to be celebrated, and the 41st Devi Awards conducted in Hyderabad honoured several remarkable women.
One amongst them was Dr Sirisha Senthil, network associate director at the Kalathur Venugopal Reddy Glaucoma Institute at the L V Prasad Eye Institute. We speak to her about her work and research aimed at making life easier for people with eye problems.
Medicine was not my first choice. But because I was too young to realise its importance, it took time. After I got into it, I think there was no looking back. It is one of those professions where you can make a huge difference in people’s lives every day, and I enjoy doing it.
Knowing that every single day, whoever we see or treat, whether an elderly person or a child, gives us an opportunity to make a difference in their lives keeps us going.
I know it is hard, with a lot of hard work, long hours and sometimes very challenging situations. But when you see a smile on someone’s face and they tell you that their mother is able to see better or that their child is doing very well in school because the treatment made a difference, I think all those difficulties simply vanish.
Apart from that, I work at an institute where it is not just about seeing and treating patients but also about making a difference to the speciality.
For ophthalmology to progress, we need new research and treatment options that we can provide not just for our patients but also for our institute, country and the rest of the world.
I have also been able to train the younger generation to take on the challenge and make a difference to people’s lives across the country and the world. I think it is a huge opportunity, and we are privileged. I should be thankful to God and to my family, who have been very supportive because it is not easy.
A woman managing home and going to work is not easy at all, but my family has been very patient and has cherished every small thing I do and every achievement I accomplish.
I think it was my maternal grandfather who was very keen that I study medicine. The reason I took up ophthalmology was my husband. Now, I am a glaucoma specialist. I never intended to become one, but I really love children. Apart from treating glaucoma, I also treat children affected by this condition.
It is a severe condition, and if left untreated, children can go blind and live with blindness for the rest of their lives.I think it is this passion and the ability to make a difference in their lives that make us persist and continue caring for them.
Childhood glaucoma is a condition in which children are born with the disease. Often, parents are not aware of the condition. There was one family in which three children were affected by the same condition.
After their first child was born with the condition, the parents had a second baby, thinking the first child was blind and the second would be fine and could take care of the first. However, the second child was also affected, and so was the third.
It was very disturbing to see the mother go through all these difficulties. Often, fathers are not very supportive, and it becomes even more difficult, especially when the child is a girl.
When they were planning for their next child, we conducted genetic testing to find out why the disease was occurring. When they learnt that the next baby would not be affected and they had a healthy child, it was overwhelming to see their happiness.
Science has advanced so much that we can now conduct such testing even before the mother becomes pregnant, at the embryo stage itself.
We are able to do that, and we can actually help prevent children from being born with conditions for which no treatment is available. Seeing those parents have a healthy child and watching that child grow is just amazing.
Apart from the conventional treatments we offer, there are several diseases that require different approaches. India’s population is large, and there are many genetic conditions within families and communities, particularly in communities where marriages take place within the same family or community.
Because of this, there are several opportunities to care for these patients in different ways. Once upon a time, there were certain conditions for which no treatment was available.
If someone had such a condition, we could only express our regret, manage the situation and ensure that the person remained comfortable.
From there, we have progressed to a stage where we can treat and even cure some of these conditions. I think that is where we are definitely making progress.
With the collaborations we have within our institute and with institutions outside the country, we are able to move forward and make a difference.
