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A Touching Tale of a +ve Person
Author: Premshila Singh  | Posted: 07-03-2008 | Comments: 0 | Views: 5 | Rating: (54)  (?) 
It seems to be a fight against destiny, a hope against hope and an effort which would defy any medical argument that its generally not possible for an HIV infected couple to enjoy parenthood of a HIV negative child. On the eve of the World AIDS Day (December 1), Headlines India did come across one such unfortunate HIV positive couple, which is fortunate enough to have progeny - a seven years old sweet daughter, who is HIV negative. Naveen Kumar and his wife has been living with the virus for the past 8 years, but to everyone's surprise their daughter does not carry the deadly virus. Their daughter might be fortunate enough to overcome the limitations of her parents, but ironically it has never been easy for her to fight the social apathy, such minorities of the society are destined to face. Delhi School refuse to admit Naveen's daughter- Anjali (name changed), just because her parents were HIV positive.
Naveen,38 and a marketing executive of an NGO, is not afraid to admit that he is HIV positive. But things have never been easy for him too. “Those days the discrimination was at its peak. The only term was AIDS, irrespective of whether one has been tested HIV positive or AIDS,” Naveen says, while sharing his memory of horrific early days when he was detected carrying the disease . His infection falls into exceptional category, wherein a husband caught up with the disease through his wife. "No, not for a moment. Ours was love marriage, which is based on trust and nothing else," comes prompt reply, when asked whether he did doubt his wife even for a moment. His wife,a Manipuri had to be administered blood for a medical problem. As, there was no blood bank, she took blood from a man who was in the window period of HIV. The virus entered her body through the blood stream.
The memory still haunts him as he continues to elaborate about the inauspicious day of 1999, when during a routine check of pregnancy, his wife was reported HIV+ve. "I was totally shocked, my feet were trembling and the documents fell down from my hands, I just could not believe. I thought I could hide the report for sometime, but she could sense there is something wrong. When I told her, she just could not take it. She locked her self in the bathroom for 9 hours and kept crying. We stopped talking to each other for many days, but later on we accepted it as our destiny."
Naveen's elder brother, who at that time was the head of the family, asked him to leave home immediately. His parents kept mum. At present, he is facing some property issue with his brother. “Even then I was not bothered. I just walked out. I didn't even care before moving out that I had my wife with me too, to take care of,” Naveen recalls the tough decision he had to take in adverse conditions. The immediate concern for him was the unborn child, but to his dismay, he was turned down by the medical fraternity numerous times, denying to treat his wife. “When I consulted gynaecologists at the so called premier medical institute of the country, AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), they called the unborn child, as a ' loath of meat' and advised me to dump it," says Naveen tearfully.
But, all these adversities did not bog down the couple. They consulted one of the best HIV specialists in Delhi. Both took his prescription seriously and did what ever he advised. The glitter in Naveen's eye is enough to explain the efforts, which he must have undertaken to ensure that both the child and mother remain healthy. Problem mounted in the eighth month of his wife's pregnancy when doctors at AIIMS, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital as well as Ram Manohar Lohia refused to entertain his wife. Private hospitals were charging around a lakh of rupees for delivery. “Our last hope was Manipur and we find ourselves fortunate enough that we got such a doctor who assured safe delivery. I was ready with the right dosage of medicine for the infant to protect her(child) against the dreaded virus”, he states.
Naveen, a founder member of the 'Delhi Network of Positive People' and a marketing executive with Sahara, an NGO, is too busy in his work these days. He works extra time to meet the medical needs of his wife and to secure better future for his daughter. His wife is in a critical condition. She is on second line of treatment. But all these adversities do not deter the couple from leading a life which is exemplary and worth emulating by a general mortal. There are very few people who are so 'positive' about life. “Death for us is a fact of life, which others perhaps are afraid of. I take extra care of myself. In the past seven years, I have not undergone any medication. My CD4 cell count is normal (670). Doctors say that I need no medication for next seven years, I want to live because my daughter needs me, I want to see her grow”, says Naveen with a sense of confidence which can move mountains.
It has been 20 years, since the virus was first detected in the country, so called gigantic efforts are going on at national and international level to curb the virus, and at the same time make people aware of it. Questioning the massive awareness campaign, Naveen says, “ What have we achieved in terms of awareness. 70 per cent of the total fund is used for the purpose. If a person like me living in the Capital of the country is facing so much discrimination for being HIV+ve, what kind of awareness are we talking about.”
The most important weapon against this deadly disease as posed by the awareness campaigns, is use of condom. “Many, rather I should say that most of Indians do not know how to wear it properly. They use nails to wear it, without pondering on it that it might puncture it. There is a proper procedure , which people must be made aware of, ” advices Naveen.
Denying the new report released by NACO (National AIDS Control Organisation), published in July 2007, as per which the number of HIV / AIDS cases in India currently stands at 2.5 million, less than half of 5.7 million cases as estimated earlier, he says, “ The government does not want to create panic. That's all." Naveen is not at all happy with the approach and policies of the government as well as NGO's- whom he calls as hypocrites.
Nevertheless, he is still hopeful that the government comes out with 'second line of treatment', which includes treatment with around 18 drugs. This mode of medication costs around Rs 8000 a month. Last, but not the least, he urges the authorities to give special attention to the HIV+ children, widows, elders because according to him , and quite rightly so, these are the most vulnerable section of the society.
For more news and articles from India visit www.headlinesindia.com
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About the Author:Premshila Singh is a reporter working with www.headlinesindia.com
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