TOI: Be positive, live life to the fullest, says HIV patient: August 07, 2008 | HIV / AIDS : News Articles

Mumbai: “You can’t change the past, but the present is in your hands and you should live it to the fullest.’’ That’s the dose of optimism Ghatkopar resident Shabana Patel doles out as she sums up her life after she was diagnosed with HIV and lost her husband to it.

“While medicines, diagnosis and facilities for HIV management have improved since 1998 when I was diagnosed, it is still as difficult for a person to accept the fact that s\he is infected,’’ she says, quickly pointing out that it was the support of family members that helped her tide over the
difficult time. She conveys an important message for caregivers when she points out that her parents too must have suffered anguish and trauma but they never made her realise their pain.

When her husband was diagnosed, the couple didn’t even know about the medication available. “Anti-retroviral therapy (ART) cost Rs 40,000 at that time. Today it is available free in all public hospitals,’’ she says.

“I work from 10 am to 10 pm and do a lot of travelling too. In fact, I am more active now than before. Earlier I was a typical housewife only restricted to home,’’ she says.

She was advised to undergo a test after her husband was diagnosed as HIV positive. Mapping the leaps of progress, she recalls that she was merely handed out her ‘positive’ report at a private laboratory without a word of solace and the doctor even told her father the findings. “Today, every individual is assured their confidentiality at a testing centre,’’ she points out.

It was when she met another HIV positive person a year after her diagnosis that her life took a turn for the better. “I feared that I’d die in two to three months, but when I met HIV patients and shared my experiences I discovered hope,’’ she says. She also learnt what the virus did to her body, got counselled and is today an active member of the Network of Positive People in Maharashtra, a support group for people living with HIV/AIDS which has 18,000 members.

She is on ART since two months and goes to bed looking forward to the next day. “Reading and preparing oneself for the medication makes treatment effective and easy,’’ she says.

(Network of Positive People can be contacted at 9225505177)

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