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Tale 5 of of healers suffering themselves )
It was a hot summer day and the dentist was surrounded by shadows of patients around. The patient sitting in front wanted a tooth extraction. An extraction of a tooth which was already loose , like lost character , was a proverbial left hand work for a right handed dentist. The right handed dentist , however , forgot to take right precautions which are universal in nature and usage. Shhhh, trrrr and the tooth was out but in the process Madam dentist got her hand injured by the tooth extractor. There was blood everywhere. Patients shadows disappeared so as to allow some Sunshine in the form of help from dentist working next to her. The Govt. Dental Hospital , Amritsar facilities were better than many similar govt hospitals in the country. Still , Dr. Sandeep , made sure to get it seen and cared for by best of surgeons around. Stitches were not suggested. A course of antibiotics, shot of tetanus and few pain killers were supposed to do the healing job. The wound , however , was taking long time to heal. Worried Sandeep took the help of a dermatologist, who ensured the wound healing.
The injury disappeared from the body and was also on the verge of extinction from her grey cells, when a lady pierces the usual crowd of patients surrounding her. The lady wanted to talk to her in camera but sensing the dentist's reluctance , she started whispering in her ears. The whispers soon became louder and louder in Sandeep's auditory interpretation cells. The lady just told about the HIV status of her husband , whose loose tooth had struck her hard a few days ago. Panic set in.
Sandeep rushed to the nearest lab and waited with missing breaths for the result. How she passed those two suspense hours , were no less than the best of horror movies. She was bathing in her own sweat in the air conditioned lab. A tentative positive tests made her paler than a severely jaundiced patient. Looking for experts , she reached a trusted and trained pathologist for confirmation of HIV presence in her body. She was to marry a veterinarian from Canada after few months and this jolt might be lethal for everything ahead n her life , she thought. She was repenting the day , she did not take universal precautions. Proverbs ,at times ,describe the situations best. She was in the hearsay of " ab pachtaye hot Kya jab chirian chug gayi khet- its useless to cry over spilt milk. ".
A drowning man will clutch at a straw, and she was no exception. True to the character of the nations natives , who are snake charmers and believers of tantras and mantras , she also took the shelter of a " Sadhu Baba". Babaji gave her a straw of assurances of removing HIV from her body. She also clutched to the straw like a andh bhakt ( blind follower) believing in miracles.
Miracles neither occur nor occurred. She reached the limits of her stress coping capabilities. Her conscience forced her to run away from the marriage and save the life of her fiancé. In the suicidal bid, she called him and announced the break on phone itself. She cited serious ailment as a reason. The fiancé was by now had started loving her. He did not run away from showing it too. He arranged a personal meeting in no time so as to understand her ailment. The love and affection showered by him succeeded in knowing the truth. Behaving much different than many " gentleman ", the ordinary looking veterinarian, convinced her to age together despite HIV. He assured that no one on the families will ever know and they will tie the nuptial knot. Once the marriage is solemnized, he will assure her reaching his work place Canada at the earliest. They will have best of treatment there and live happily ever after - was the ultimate plan.
Execution of the plan started in right earnest, marriage preparations were on and in full swing , when one day Sandeep got a devastating phone call. The person on the other side of the line was none other than the Sadhu Babaji, who once showed her the moon. Babaji had somehow come to know about their plans. He was no more a baba now and became a Bhai- Bhai of Bollywood. He stepped on to the black mail ladder. Sandeep herself ,in her weaker moments told him about the boy and his family. Baba started threatening her with disclosure of her status to boy's family ( boy he knew was already in the knowhow of Sandeep's disease). Blackmailers have their own tactics and simpletons like a dental surgeon girl can't succeed in not falling prey to them. Sandeep was no exception. Babaji started exhorting money. The silsila ( process) went on till Sandeep exhausted her financial resources.She had to tell her fiancé about the new developments. The fiancé, however, could deal with Babaji
with strong arm tactics. Marriage got solemnized. The Honey moon period once again saw precautions being thrown into wind. Sandeep's husband returned to Canada with all promises of calling her asap.
Proverbs did not leave Sandeep however. Man proposes God disposes became true for her once again. The short honey moon became a nine month wait for pleasure. Sandeep despite being a medico still did not know about mother to child prevention.
She delivered a healthy female child. A child with all ten fingers intact, a smart nose , ears and two beautiful big eyes. The baby was duly named Mrignaini.( eyes like peahen) Happiness of motherhood overshadowed her knowledge. Ignorance could not last although. Mrignaini refused to thrive , a worried Sandeep took the little bundle of joy to the pathology lab with all hopes that she will be amongst 2/3 babies born to HIV mothers and be negative. She thought , if her husband has escaped getting the virus ( sex with HIV positive woman has 1:1000 chances only of transmission of HIV, she has read somewhere and her husband was in 999 group) why not the baby will also escape ( virus is transmitted in only one third of babies born to HIV positive mothers even without MTCT prevention). Her wishful thinking , however , was not right this time. Sunaina was HIV positive. The tests at that time used to test only antibodies. This fallacy kept her hopes alive. May be this tests are showing maternal antibodies only, she thought. Loaded with these thoughts, she one day landed in my chamber on the recommendation of the pathologist who tested her baby. Mrignaini was put on ARV's and was back on track of life. She showed signs of improved health, started gaining weight and reaching the milestones of her childhood.
Sandeep was desperate to join her husband and get the Canada Visa. She knew that it will not be easy for her and her daughter to get the VISA in terms of procedural ease and time. She asked for my help in getting her tests reports changed. Sensing my firm " No", she changed path. She stopped visiting me. Not many months would have rolled ,when I got her call from Toronto. Surprise in my voice subsided with the information she wanted to pass me on. She was visiting after few months for further consultation of drugs etc of both hers and Mrignaini.
A typical smell of the perfume she used to wear even in India , announced her visit to my chamber that day. She came loaded with small gifts for me and queries for giving birth to a HIV negative son, without affecting her husband. Before replying her I had a question of mine. The quest to know the method to beat the system was at full to its brim. " Money makes the mare go"- it was her turn to push forward a proverb to quench my thirst. She paid 50 K ( the year was 2005 or so ) for each test to be reported negative and beat the fool proof ( so called ) medical exam system of Canadian appointee doctors ,conducting the medical exam.
Once in Canada as a dependent of a citizen ( her husband) , she could walk into their health system and get the ARV 's , counseling to get pregnant again. Her wishes to have a Son and that too free from HIV got fulfilled. The only sacrifice, she had to make now was to live away from her own daughter , the daughter with beautiful eyes was denied the pleasure of seeing parents on a daily basis.
Mrignaini is now in her teens , on ARV's, living with her maternal grandparents.
Sandeep's journey with HIV which started with a professional knock out punch on her knuckles ( while extracting the tooth). It went berserk in the beginning , courtesy Sadhu Babaji. The loving husband and modern science however could put it on the right track. She is a practicing dentist once again and never forgets the Universal precautions. It is a different matter that she learnt her lessons hard way of self harming professional negligence , few lacs as black mailing money and one lakh of rupees to beat the system.
Some lives are different.
Rakesh Bharti
Tale 5 of of healers suffering themselves )
It was a hot summer day and the dentist was surrounded by shadows of patients around. The patient sitting in front wanted a tooth extraction. An extraction of a tooth which was already loose , like lost character , was a proverbial left hand work for a right handed dentist. The right handed dentist , however , forgot to take right precautions which are universal in nature and usage. Shhhh, trrrr and the tooth was out but in the process Madam dentist got her hand injured by the tooth extractor. There was blood everywhere. Patients shadows disappeared so as to allow some Sunshine in the form of help from dentist working next to her. The Govt. Dental Hospital , Amritsar facilities were better than many similar govt hospitals in the country. Still , Dr. Sandeep , made sure to get it seen and cared for by best of surgeons around. Stitches were not suggested. A course of antibiotics, shot of tetanus and few pain killers were supposed to do the healing job. The wound , however , was taking long time to heal. Worried Sandeep took the help of a dermatologist, who ensured the wound healing.
The injury disappeared from the body and was also on the verge of extinction from her grey cells, when a lady pierces the usual crowd of patients surrounding her. The lady wanted to talk to her in camera but sensing the dentist's reluctance , she started whispering in her ears. The whispers soon became louder and louder in Sandeep's auditory interpretation cells. The lady just told about the HIV status of her husband , whose loose tooth had struck her hard a few days ago. Panic set in.
Sandeep rushed to the nearest lab and waited with missing breaths for the result. How she passed those two suspense hours , were no less than the best of horror movies. She was bathing in her own sweat in the air conditioned lab. A tentative positive tests made her paler than a severely jaundiced patient. Looking for experts , she reached a trusted and trained pathologist for confirmation of HIV presence in her body. She was to marry a veterinarian from Canada after few months and this jolt might be lethal for everything ahead n her life , she thought. She was repenting the day , she did not take universal precautions. Proverbs ,at times ,describe the situations best. She was in the hearsay of " ab pachtaye hot Kya jab chirian chug gayi khet- its useless to cry over spilt milk. ".
A drowning man will clutch at a straw, and she was no exception. True to the character of the nations natives , who are snake charmers and believers of tantras and mantras , she also took the shelter of a " Sadhu Baba". Babaji gave her a straw of assurances of removing HIV from her body. She also clutched to the straw like a andh bhakt ( blind follower) believing in miracles.
Miracles neither occur nor occurred. She reached the limits of her stress coping capabilities. Her conscience forced her to run away from the marriage and save the life of her fiancé. In the suicidal bid, she called him and announced the break on phone itself. She cited serious ailment as a reason. The fiancé was by now had started loving her. He did not run away from showing it too. He arranged a personal meeting in no time so as to understand her ailment. The love and affection showered by him succeeded in knowing the truth. Behaving much different than many " gentleman ", the ordinary looking veterinarian, convinced her to age together despite HIV. He assured that no one on the families will ever know and they will tie the nuptial knot. Once the marriage is solemnized, he will assure her reaching his work place Canada at the earliest. They will have best of treatment there and live happily ever after - was the ultimate plan.
Execution of the plan started in right earnest, marriage preparations were on and in full swing , when one day Sandeep got a devastating phone call. The person on the other side of the line was none other than the Sadhu Babaji, who once showed her the moon. Babaji had somehow come to know about their plans. He was no more a baba now and became a Bhai- Bhai of Bollywood. He stepped on to the black mail ladder. Sandeep herself ,in her weaker moments told him about the boy and his family. Baba started threatening her with disclosure of her status to boy's family ( boy he knew was already in the knowhow of Sandeep's disease). Blackmailers have their own tactics and simpletons like a dental surgeon girl can't succeed in not falling prey to them. Sandeep was no exception. Babaji started exhorting money. The silsila ( process) went on till Sandeep exhausted her financial resources.She had to tell her fiancé about the new developments. The fiancé, however, could deal with Babaji
with strong arm tactics. Marriage got solemnized. The Honey moon period once again saw precautions being thrown into wind. Sandeep's husband returned to Canada with all promises of calling her asap.
Proverbs did not leave Sandeep however. Man proposes God disposes became true for her once again. The short honey moon became a nine month wait for pleasure. Sandeep despite being a medico still did not know about mother to child prevention.
She delivered a healthy female child. A child with all ten fingers intact, a smart nose , ears and two beautiful big eyes. The baby was duly named Mrignaini.( eyes like peahen) Happiness of motherhood overshadowed her knowledge. Ignorance could not last although. Mrignaini refused to thrive , a worried Sandeep took the little bundle of joy to the pathology lab with all hopes that she will be amongst 2/3 babies born to HIV mothers and be negative. She thought , if her husband has escaped getting the virus ( sex with HIV positive woman has 1:1000 chances only of transmission of HIV, she has read somewhere and her husband was in 999 group) why not the baby will also escape ( virus is transmitted in only one third of babies born to HIV positive mothers even without MTCT prevention). Her wishful thinking , however , was not right this time. Sunaina was HIV positive. The tests at that time used to test only antibodies. This fallacy kept her hopes alive. May be this tests are showing maternal antibodies only, she thought. Loaded with these thoughts, she one day landed in my chamber on the recommendation of the pathologist who tested her baby. Mrignaini was put on ARV's and was back on track of life. She showed signs of improved health, started gaining weight and reaching the milestones of her childhood.
Sandeep was desperate to join her husband and get the Canada Visa. She knew that it will not be easy for her and her daughter to get the VISA in terms of procedural ease and time. She asked for my help in getting her tests reports changed. Sensing my firm " No", she changed path. She stopped visiting me. Not many months would have rolled ,when I got her call from Toronto. Surprise in my voice subsided with the information she wanted to pass me on. She was visiting after few months for further consultation of drugs etc of both hers and Mrignaini.
A typical smell of the perfume she used to wear even in India , announced her visit to my chamber that day. She came loaded with small gifts for me and queries for giving birth to a HIV negative son, without affecting her husband. Before replying her I had a question of mine. The quest to know the method to beat the system was at full to its brim. " Money makes the mare go"- it was her turn to push forward a proverb to quench my thirst. She paid 50 K ( the year was 2005 or so ) for each test to be reported negative and beat the fool proof ( so called ) medical exam system of Canadian appointee doctors ,conducting the medical exam.
Once in Canada as a dependent of a citizen ( her husband) , she could walk into their health system and get the ARV 's , counseling to get pregnant again. Her wishes to have a Son and that too free from HIV got fulfilled. The only sacrifice, she had to make now was to live away from her own daughter , the daughter with beautiful eyes was denied the pleasure of seeing parents on a daily basis.
Mrignaini is now in her teens , on ARV's, living with her maternal grandparents.
Sandeep's journey with HIV which started with a professional knock out punch on her knuckles ( while extracting the tooth). It went berserk in the beginning , courtesy Sadhu Babaji. The loving husband and modern science however could put it on the right track. She is a practicing dentist once again and never forgets the Universal precautions. It is a different matter that she learnt her lessons hard way of self harming professional negligence , few lacs as black mailing money and one lakh of rupees to beat the system.
Some lives are different.
Rakesh Bharti
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