Mr. GG (Name changed) first came into the fold of his journey with treatment when he, his wife and their two sons were registered with the Care and Support Centre Sanjoe Society Dimapur on the 12th of January, 2015. This would seem a positive milestone for the family but it was sadly marred by the passing of his wife, who it was found, was already in the last stage of her AIDS diagnosis. One cannot begin to fathom the unbearable heartbreak Mr. GG must have felt in his loss, and even more so knowing that his two sons, aged five and two years, would have to grow up without their mother right from the outset of a life which was already anything but ideal, in light of their HIV-positive status. Mr. GG, at this point is his life hung at a precarious edge where he had to now single-handedly look after for his two young children, all the while having to deal with the turmoil within himself at the loss of his wife, and the overwhelming guilt he felt for having transmitted the virus to his children. It was, perhaps this guilt and what seemed to him like a losing battle against death that stopped him from revealing his HIV-status to members of his extended family, and seeking their care and support. It was also during this period that Mr. GG was at the stage of his illness where he had to start his Anti-Retroviral Treatment. But as he receded into himself and spiraled into a labyrinth of depression, guilt and despair, his physical health also began to deteriorate with increasingly frequent episodes of disorientation, slurring in his speech, diarrhea, persistent fevers, oral thrush that restricted his food intake, and the invariable weight-loss. His condition was exacerbated by this acute awareness within himself that he was failing in his responsibilities as a father to his two young sons, the elder of whom had had to leave school due to financial constraints, and as a son to his ailing mother who lived with them.
Mr. GG’s ordeal was as much a battle to survive for his children and mother, a battle against the illness ravaging his body, as an emotional and mental battle against the assaults on this very will to survive.
Understandably, he found himself distancing himself from all social fronts. However, as he found out soon enough, in the midst of all his troubles and pain, his journey towards recuperation and the first step towards rebuilding his life had already been taken when he had registered himself and his family with the Care and Support Centre. Following the clinical diagnosis and detection of his Opportunistic Infections and Tuberculosis, the centre liaised with the Holistic Care Centre through which Mr. GG was inducted into a comprehensive treatment regime with the crucial nutritional support being provided. Further, half of the expenses for his treatment were borne by the Holistic Care Centre providing a significant relaxation from having to bear the full financial burden. In a positively expected turn of events, Mr. GG began to show signs of improvement as he began to regain some of his strength and also there was notable change in his disposition as well. Mr. GG seemed to have gained a new lease on life, having weathered the worst of ordeals physically, mentally and emotionally. During the three-week stay at the Holistic Care Centre, DOTS and ART treatments were started, and these had the desired impact on Mr. GG. After he left the Holistic Care Centre, home visits were regularly carried out by the Care and Support Centre Out Reach Workers who, having observed the needs of Mr. GG’s two sons, particularly in regard to their schooling, went on to make appeals for financial support from local resources. This resulted in a bank account being opened in the children’s name, with the assistance of the Care and Support Centre. In a step further, permission was sought after from the elder son’s school to have him re-enrolled with exemption for the long-absence and the admission fees which were due. As headways were made in the education of his two children, Mr. GG saw through the completion of his Anti-Tuberculosis Treatment and was able to commence with his regular ART treatment. The Care and Support Centre continued to support his family and Mr. GG now visits the centre with his two sons regularly. With each visit, seeing this family of three is a constant reminder that no matter the depths that HIV/AIDS can plunge a person and whole families into, despite how irreparable it may seem, there is always hope and a light at the end of the long and painfully dark tunnel. It is a beautiful privilege that the Care and Support Centre and the Holistic Care Centre are able to have a role in helping such individuals and families in helping them see the light and a real blessing in being able to traverse every up and down with them.
There is no denying that the normalcy of life for these individuals and families attains a whole new dimension, with their lives having to revolve around their treatment and their treatment schedules determining how they plan out their days, but if there is anything that one must take away from the real life stories of defeat and gradual triumph, like that of Mr. GG, it is that a person’s HIV-status will never become who he or she is. Despite how the illness completely blankets the person’s entire being, it is not indefinite. The very essence of the person is an indomitable part of who he or she is and no illness can ever extinguish that. The battle against the illness is a battle to rescue this essence and help the person find himself or herself amidst all the darkness, which can be always navigated with the right kind of care, support and a healthy dose of love and empathy.
Mr. GG and his sons are navigators now. And they would surely tell you, or better yet, show you that you can be one too.
