BENGALURU: When Sharad Philip, a 32-year-old man, was handed his medical degree at NIMHANS in December 2017, an extraordinary thing happened. First, his classmates began to applaud, then their families, the faculty and university officials joined in. And within a few minutes all the people in Convention Hall stood up and cheered. Philip’s face shone with pride.
Dr Philip, a psychiatrist at NIMHANS, has a unique way of seeing patients. In fact, he doesn’t see them at all. He has low-vision since early childhood. “Who better than me, who has always been discriminated throughout my life, can empathise with the patients suffering from mental illness,” smiles Philip.
Philip has retinitis pigmentosa in both eyes. This condition changes how the retina responds to light, making it hard to see. The degree of disability is 70 per cent and is permanent.
Philip recalls that as a kid, he was not able to read what was written on the board in classrooms. “When I was in third standard, my mother took me to a doctor, who confirmed the disability. My mother was heart broken.” But, he decided to struggle against all odds.
Philip’s day begins just like any of ours. He works at the rehabilitation centre in NIMHANS. He stays alone in the hostel given to the resident doctors. He wakes up, finishes his daily chores, and walks to work in the same campus. He meets patients, suggests the therapy required and goes on rounds with other doctors. He knows a knack for getting his patients to relax and open up with him. On the other hand, many of his patients won’t even know that he has low-vision!
“I take the help of technology and my colleagues to understand the patients’ problems,” he says.
Clinical examination is one area that Philip feels is challenging when seeing patients. He won’t be able to understand the physical features, in terms of disability, of his patients and needs assistance from his colleagues. But once he gets the reports and diagnosis, there is no stopping for him.
The biggest challenge, according to Philip, is that the lack of opportunities for people like him.“NIMHANS is one of the very few institutes which offers a course for the blind. I was fortunate enough to get admission and get a degree from here,” he says. Philip wants other institutions too to give opportunities to people like him. Philip is also grateful to assistive technology, like screen readers, which makes him less dependent on others.
Philip has written all his exams with the help of a scribe. Vivek Perumal, who has been his scribe for the last three years, says, “Philip is extremely knowledgeable. Both my wife and I used to write for him. We are no value addition for what he knows. He is one of the most brilliant chaps we know.”
Philip has two brothers and he is the eldest. All three of them have the same problem - retinitis pigmentosa. While one of them is pursuing MBA at IIM-B, another is pursuing BSc Mathematics in New Delhi.
Philip says his parents were very encouraging. “My parents never let me make my health issues an excuse and are the most encouraging parents I could have asked for,” beams Philip.
Proud mother ShaliniRaji Philip says, “Initially it was difficult for him to come to terms with his poor vision. Also, he used to be bullied at school especially during sports class. But Philip had the courage to take it sportively and outgrew it. His achievements today speak volumes about him.”
Philip is also well versed in 5 languages -- English, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi and Malayalam. He has travelled across the country with his friends and is learning to play the guitar. “Of course I see the world way too differently and it is a beautiful place. In fact, I credit it to people around me – my family, friends, co-workers and teachers – who make the world beautiful for me,” he says.
‘I don’t want to be limited as an object of inspiration’
Philip is clear that he just doesn’t want to be seen as an ‘object of inspiration’. “When you meet someone with a disability, connect with them as a human. We are normal human beings with the same desires, drives, dreams, and ambitions as the next person. Give credit where it’s due, but don’t reduce us to an object of inspiration that is constantly overcoming simply by living our daily life. You might discover something quite extraordinary… that we are simply ordinary,” he says.