I can see you better!

Eric Boateng of Ghana, Africa, is a happy man today thanks to his eye surgeries by Dr Padmaja Kumari Rani in July this year. He had not been able to see anything for 2 years, when a Good Samaritan suggested that they go to India. Eric was escorted to LVPEI Hyderabad by his brother Ayyekum Samuel where Dr Padmaja Kumari Rani identified the problem to be retinal detachment in both the eyes caused by a rare blood disorder known as sickle cell disease.

Samuel recalls the doctor coming out of the operating room to announce that his brother's surgery was successfully done. Both the brothers rejoiced as they felt it was so marvelous. When the lights went out one night, Samuel made it a point to gently enquire if Eric could see him in the dark and pat came the reply, ''I can see you and I can see you better!'' Samuel says, ''So we were all laughing.''

After staying for 6 weeks in Hyderabad for the 2 eye surgeries, the brothers have returned to Ghana full of enthusiasm in anticipation of what life has on offer for them.

So that all may realize their full potential

22 year old Venkatesh Potluri, born with congenital glaucoma, first came to LVPEI’s Dr PRK Prasad Centre for Rehabilitation of Blind & Visually Impaired at the age of two. Though his vision is limited to light perception, he has completed his MS by Research following his BTech (Hons) from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad.

What is inspiring and share-worthy about his story is that he achieved his academic accolades through audio rendering of text books as he was born blind; a great deal of grit, determination, parental support and dedicated professional efforts by the rehabilitation team going to make it all possible. He now feels buoyed and confident enough to pursue a PhD too! Thanks to his own spirit of persistence in realizing his goals, Venkatesh has also successfully explored his creative potential. Popularly known as the “drummer boy” for his remarkable skills at the drums, Venkatesh has notched up impressive performances with Hyderabad based rock bands, and even shared stage with the musical maestro A R Rehman as his group member.