10 years old Altaf Hussain visited LRBT hospital with his mother and aunt holding his hands, bringing him to the pediatric ward of LRBT Korangi hospital for a follow up visit.
Altaf by birth had very weak vision and whiteness in his eyes and his parents took him to various government hospitals where the doctors diagnosed cataract. He required immediate surgery but his father Mohammad Amin was a worker at a local estate agency earning Rs. 6000/ month and could not afford to pay Rs. 30,000/-for his surgery as he had to support four more of his children.
Despite being visually impaired Altaf continued to study in a government school close to his house though he couldn’t score high grades. His teachers were very cooperative and helped him in all possible ways. But by the time he reached class 3 he had almost turned blind. He was dropped out and his parents were advised to enroll him into a school for the blind. The desperate parents asked a few relatives for financial help so that they could get their son treated but none came forward.. Altaf was in a worse state as he really wanted to study but he felt his dreams were shattering.
Finally something happened that changed his life forever. A relative came to visit them and seeing his condition told his parents about a free eye hospital in Korangi Karachi. Altaf was delighted to hear the news and immediately went with his parents to LRBT hospital. After thorough examination he was given date for surgery. Upon arriving on the given date his surgery was performed for one eye and the other eye was operated a week later.
Upon his follow up visit to LRBT, Altaf was very excited to be able to see again. Cheerfully he exclaimed; “I have experienced many problems throughout my studies but now will be on the same track as my class fellows. Now I can pursue my goals and fulfill my dreams and the credit goes to the doctors and staff of this hospital who were very kind and compassionate to me throughout”