Emedinews Inspiration: Her struggle.....Part One

Today I remember when for the first time I told my mother that Sultan was my colleague, was earning more than me, was tall and of charming personality but was of different religion, my mother's first reaction was of great surprise and she advised me never to meet him again and not to disclose it to my father. But it was the question of my life and Sultan and I were of the view that religion was a very personal thing and religious beliefs could remain intact even after marriage.

My mother told my father same day. He also advised me about the pros and cons of this inter religious marriage and tried his best to convince me otherwise. Sultan and I ultimately had a court-marriage with an understanding that we would remain inseparable in future even under the oddest circumstances. Sultan had no close relative and my parent and relatives were not present on the occasion.

As we had planned, we avoided pregnancy using condom and safe period upto two years of our marriage. These two years were the best years in my life. Our different religions could not dent our family affairs. My parent and other relatives never visited our home. My mother used to ring me occasionally, I visited my parent's home several times but my parent never welcomed me and Sultan. But I was happy with Sultan and never expected more from my parent and other relatives. We were thankful to God that he gave us a beautiful life. Every thing was OK in my life.

The problem began when Sultan started losing weight and developing early fatigue. One of our family friends was a qualified Doctor and he prescribed some medicines to Sultan but he continued to lose weight. One day he visited our home and advised us both to visit a nearby ICTC (Integrated Counselling and Test Center for HIV and AIDS). When we visited the Center, we told the counselor about Sultan’s problem. He sent us to the doctor’s chamber. The doctor enquired in detail about Sultan's problem and asked him about:

His extra marital or pre-marital sexual relations.

History of any blood transfusion in previous five years

Any habit of taking intravenous drugs and sharing needles while doing so.

Sultan said that once in a road accident his nasal bone had been fractured and he had been bleeding profusely. He was taken to a nearby hospital and was asked for one unit of blood transfusion. As he did not have a close relative to give him blood, he had to purchase it from a professional blood donor. This was about five years back. Sultan told the Doctor that he had no pre-marital or extra marital relation. He was advised to undergo HIV test and was also counseled about post test scenario. After an informed consent for the test, blood sample was taken. We were asked to come next day to collect the report.

Rest of the day was a very long day to me. Did Sultan have HIV infection? Did he have extramarital relations? Was my decision to marry him correct? If he turned out to be HIV-positive, should I convey it to my parents and should I continue my sexual relations with him? I was restless. By night, I was sure that he had already transmitted that infection to me. The other part of my brain was arguing that I should wait the result to come. I should not be so cruel even to think against Sultan. After all he was my Love. He was my choice. We vowed to remain inseparable in every circumstance whatsoever they might be. Was it true that he had been transfused blood? But he had no marks of injuries! He had never mentioned the incident to me. What would my future be, if he turned out to be HIV-positive. Had I also had become HIV-positive?

But we had married against the wishes of our parents and society. What of the promises and vows we had taken together? Could a virus of size 120 nm make us separate? Was this virus stronger than the society? What should I do?

(To be continued.............)

(Contributed by Dr.Anil Kumar Jain)