HIV is a gift from god

[Guest guest]

HIV is a gift from god'

M T SajuFirst Published : 07 Nov 2008 02:39:00 AM ISTLast Updated :

09 Nov 2008 01:51:26 AM IST

Her friends called her `Radio' because she

would chat all the while. That was a decade ago. " These days, TV is

my husband, " says Daisy, sitting in her Chennai home at

Kodambakkam, where she has been living for six years — alone, all

this while.

The air inside her old single-bedroom flat smells of

spirit and dettol. Two small teddy bear dolls, facing each other,

hang from the window. A Bible, two portraits of Jesus, some NGO

guidelines for AIDS patients and a couple of pirated DVDs. That's

all.

The only expensive thing in the room is a laptop, property of

the NGO with whom she is working. As we talk, Daisy opens a word

file on her laptop. She is writing her memoirs. " I've completed 25

pages. I want to finish it as early as possible, " she says. The copy

reads almost like a guideline for HIV-positive people. But that

doesn't matter. It's just a beginning. Daisy has a lot to tell, even

though she doubts whether words can ever explain the helplessness of

a woman who unexpectedly gets to know about her HIV status while

working in an orthodox Muslim country in the late 1990s.

" I was working as a lab technician at a hospital in Oman. One day, a group of

accident victims was admitted. Our blood bank was running out of stock. So I had

to donate blood. The donor test was done. Out of the eight samples, only mine

was HIV-positive. It was shocking. Fearing deportation, I kept my HIV status

secret, " she says.

Many sleepless nights followed. Finally, Daisy told her sister, who

worked as a nurse in a nearby hospital, and a close friend. She got

in touch with a person in Madurai who promised he would get her

medicine to cure HIV patients. But there was a problem: the cost,

around Rs 1 lakh, and who would find this amount? With her sister's

help she somehow managed to get the money. But the medicine didn't

work.

For a while, she stayed at her sister's house. " Though my sister

treated many HIV people, she was scared. Those days, in Oman they

used to treat AIDS patients after covering the whole body. Nobody

would enter those wards other than the duty doctor and nurses. So my

sister advised me to go back to India, " says Daisy.

Daisy was clueless about how she got infected until she saw her

husband 's medical report. " When I came back I went to Vellore,

my native place (in north Tamil Nadu). My husband was sick. His

parents were taking care of my three-year-old daughter. At home, he

confessed that he was HIV positive. " It was a frying-pan-to-fire

situation for Daisy. She was forced to return to Oman. " I wanted to

give my daughter a good education, for which I needed money.

My husband was not earning a single rupee. So I decided to go back to

work. " Daisy's husband was against this. To stop her, he tore up her

passport. But she somehow managed to get a new passport and left for

Oman. Back in Oman, things went from bad to worse. Her sister was not

happy with her return. Then, her husband started harassing her over

phone and letters. " My husband used to call me three times a day

asking me to return. He alleged that I was having a relationship with

someone. Having the virus was not a problem but torture by my husband

was. " Finally, she returned to India.

Her husband had circulated `noti­ces' with her picture attached among her

friends and relatives in Vellore, disclosing her HIV status. " Even my mother was

scared to come near me, " she says. " I had to use a separate bathroom, towel and

soap. It was disgusting. But I didn't want to live with my husband. "

Frustrated, Daisy went back again to Oman where she was

shifted to a hospital on Mazeera Island. But her husband didn't keep

quiet. He fired his last salvo — a letter to the ruler. But the

hospital authorities were sympathetic, though they asked her to

undergo one more test, which she did. The result was the same. As she

was getting ready for her return, she got a telegram from

India: " is dead " . But it was too late.

At Oman airport, everything was done in a hurry. " They stamped `contagious

disease' on my visa, " she remembers. " Three rows before and behind me were kept

vacant. But the airhostesses were nice, they trea­ted me well. " The death of

her husband was a turning point.

" I met a couple of people from the NGOs in Chennai who advised me to continue to

work for the welfare of HIV patients. Now, I am happy. I don't even worry about

my disease. I am happy, " she says.

" My only hope is my daughter, " she says and shows me the girl's

photographs taken a couple of months ago when she attained puberty.

Thank god, she is HIV-negative, " sighs Daisy.

— saju.madhavankutty@...

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=%E2%80%

98HIV+is+a+gift+from+god%E2%80%

99 & artid=mZnjSebfaJM= & SectionID=f4OberbKin4= & MainSectionID=f4OberbKin4

= & SEO=HIV,+DAISY & SectionName=cxWvYpmNp4fBHAeKn3LcnQ==