Scourge stalks family of three

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Scourge stalks family of three

Doctors give up on Park Circus couple, infant infected with AIDS

The Telegraph March 9, 2002 - Tarak Nath De

The icy hand of death are ready to snatch a 31-year-old housewife and her six-month-old son, courtesy an 'irresponsible' husband, who hid the fact that he was infected with AIDS.

A few years ago, the couple, from Park Circus, was unaware of the death threat. Today, the woman sheds silent tears.

Sources said Supratim (name changed), a small-time trader on College Street, married Satarupa (name changed) a couple of years ago. Supratim's doctor, who was aware that he frequented brothels, advised him not to marry. Supratim was even urged to inform satarupa about his sexual habits.

But peer pressure willed otherwise. Supratim did not disclose the fact to his wife that he was a possible AIDS carrier. The couple was married off with much fanfare.

Last year, Satarupa delivered a boy. Today, all three are affected by the dreaded virus.

Doctors attending on the couple and their baby consider their's a lost case. "We are trying our best to ease the pain but there is not much hope. The husband is responsible for the tragedy," they aver.

At the school of Tropical Medicine, Satarupa and her child are a picture of helplessness. "Ours was a love match. We met in college and courted each other for five years. I did not know he would frequent the red-light areas. If I had even aninkling of it, I would have stepped out of the relationship," Satarupa lamented. She blames the family physician for not informing her of Supratim's habits.

Satarupa, a graduate from Calcutta University, is bitter about the agonising betrayal. She now harbours tremendous hatred for Supratim. "All of us will die within a few years but I am more concerned about my child, who got infected during my pregnancy. Believe me! Just cannot look at his face. Whenever I hug him, I cannot hold back my tears," she told this correspondent. Her parents are sympathetic, but Satarupa blames Supratim for her condition. A repentant Supratim regrets the tragedy that has befallen on his immediate family. "Had I not been swayed by my folks, this would not have occurred. It was my family who forced me to get married and today, they are treating me, my wife and son like outcasts," he says. He confesses that he would love to hold his child, but does not have the courage to tell Satarupa about it.

Doctors say Supratim's days are numbered. His weight has reduced drastically and his food intake is almost nil. "We are looking into the degree of the child's infection. At the moment, only prayers can save him," they add.

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