Thank You MUKTAA! You Gave Me Immense Moral Support
How Do I Tell My Son He Has HIV?
I Will Survive At All Odds
I Want To Volunteer For MUKTAA Work
A Child Without HIV
Feeling Light As A Feather !
Free Calls From My PCO To MUKTAA!
My Son Had Food After 4 Days!
Dying Child – Mother’s Desperate Call For Help
How Do I Tell My Wife She Is HIV Positive?
Save My Niece, Please!
I Am Sure I Have HIV
They Have Thrown Out A Woman And Her Daughter
Thank You MUKTAA! You Gave Me Immense Moral Support
“Hello, MUKTAA. Thank you so much! I did my HIV test just today morning and it is negative. I had called you 3 months back after I had an unprotected exposure with my neighbor. I kept away from wife as you had suggested. The last 3 months have been the worst period of my life. But whenever I got disturbed I would call MUKTAA. Just talking to someone who understands me, accepts me gave so much strength and helped reduce my guilt. Thank you so much. I will never ever put myself in such a situation in the future. Thank you again”.
We regularly receive calls thanking us after the caller gets his report and it turns out negative. Its one of the things that keeps us going. After unsafe exposure there is a three month window period, after which the person needs to test for HIV. This wait can be extremely difficult and stressful.
Top
How Do I Tell My Son He Has HIV?
“Hello, can I get HIV infection if I share utensils or bathroom with an infected person?” – the question came from a 40 year old man. We assured him and asked why was he asking. He burst out – “My 20 year old son is HIV positive for the last 6 years. He does not know it. My wife and I are taking care of him. Now that he is an adult he needs to be aware of his HIV status, else he could put some innocent girl at risk. I cannot tell him. Can someone help me with this?”
A difficult situation indeed! HIV positives and their near and dear ones face such heart breaking situations. Counseling, a positive attitude and accurate information can make all the difference. The caller was referred to a counseling center where a counselor could help him with making this disclosure.
Top
Now, I will have to live for my children
A 35 year old lady identified herself as a repeat caller. She had called 4 months back when her husband was almost on the deathbed. She had gone to the centers suggested for critical care, but could not save her husband. Now she is left alone to look after her 2 sons aged 18 and 15. “My elder son has left his studies and taken a job as office boy. Younger one is in 10th but he just cannot concentrate on his studies. He is having a tough time. My world seems to be crumbling. I need to take care of myself. I have to survive for the sake of my children. I called you to say that I am using the services that you had referred last time, for myself. Thank you.”
HIV is not just a medical problem. It is a social, economic problem as well. The cycle is typical. First the earning male member starts fall ill, drops out of work and in many cases dies. The woman has no time to cope with the loss of her spouse. She has to worry about looking after the family, finding a job, taking care of her infection. As household savings are diverted to medical care, the children drop out of school and the family falls prey to debt. They sink towards destitution.
The woman’s determination to survive at all odds and secure a future for her family was truly inspiring for us at MUKTAA.
Top
I want to volunteer for MUKTAA
A 27 year old engineer called up. “Hello, I have the HIV test report in my hand. Its negative! The first person I felt like sharing my joy and relief is you at MUKTAA. I can’t tell you how relieved I am. I come from a highly cultured family (sic) and had migrated out of Pune for job. On my birthday my friends forced me visit a pub. I had unprotected sex with a call girl only once.” He panicked and called MUKTAA immediately. “I offer to volunteer for MUKTAA. I do not want others to go through nightmare that I have been through.”
Its important to educate children before they enter their sexually active phase of life. We need to teach them to deal with the HUGE peer pressure that they face. The agonizing wait for the test and the relief of the negative report can be life changing!
Top
A Child Without HIV
“Hello, my brother and his wife are both HIV infected. She is pregnant. Both of them are unaware about their status. I don’t want to tell them. They won’t be able to bear the shock. Can you suggest a doctor they can go to? I want them to have a normal baby. Don’t bother about money. I have lots. I just want the baby to be uninfected and the parents should not come to know anything about their HIV status”.
An individual’s HIV status is to be treated with utmost confidentiality. However, often we see cases where everyone but the person concerned seems to know about the test results. Transmission of HIV from mother to child can be brought down to around 2% but this requires active management and support from parents.
Top
I’m feeling light as a peacock feather!
A young man from a very remote village near Nagpur called. “Madam, my friend had an exposure 3 years back and since then he believes that he is infected – without even testing. He has refused to marry, has stopped working and stays alone in a hut outside in the farms – so as not to put others at risk.”. He took Muktaa’s advice and got his friend to test. The man later called back to say that the friend was negative. This time the friend came on to the phone too. “Thank you so much Madam. After 3 years of burden I am feeling as light as a peacock feather”.
We have had several cases where the sense of guilt and anguish is so high the person doesn’t even want to test for HIV. Even where testing is done, in many cases there is no counseling. In one case, the person lived for ten years with the belief that he was HIV positive! Nobody told him about the need to take a second confirmatory test, till he called MUKTAA. To his chagrin and delight he found that it had been a false positive. “I wasted 10 years of my life.”
Top
Free Calls From My PCO To MUKTAA!
A middle aged shopkeeper from Buldhana in eastern Maharashtra, called for his relative was suffering from AIDS. No one was ready to take care of her and he wanted to know what could be done for her. Our counselor suggested that he take the patient to Nagpur Medical Hospital and referred him to the Nagpur network of positive people. The man called back after few days. He was quite excited. Treatment had done gotten the women almost back to life. The visit to the network of positive people was an eye-opener! They saw HIV infected people living a healthy life full of hope! He was so moved by the experience that he sent us a letter thanking us “Your guidance changed our lives! I will allow free calls to MUKTAA from the STD booth at my shop!”
This case has been extremely inspiring for us! MUKTAA changes lives for the better and here is yet another example. Makes all the struggle very much worth it.
Top
My Son Had Food After 4 Days!
A father called from Mumbai. “ Can HIV spread by eating blood stained cake?” he asked. After he was assured that it doesn’t, he revealed that his son had been to a birthday party and there he ate a piece of cake which he remembers having a drop of blood on it. “Since then he believes that is HIV infected and refuses to eat anything. For the last 4 days he has not touched a grain of food.” The counselor talked to the child and explained him that HIV can never spread by this route. Half an hour later, the father called to say that his son has eaten food after 4 days.
There is so much fear about HIV. This leads to panic reactions. Accurate information is the biggest weapon against this disease.
Top
Dying Child – Mother’s Desperate Call For Help
A call came from Gangakhed, Parbhani. A four month old child of a HIV positive mother was having severe diarrhea. The doctor in the village refused to treat the child. She had a bitter experience with the civil hospital as well. In desperation, the mother called up MUKTAA to seek direction – how could she save her 4 month old child? The counselor could hear the waiting sound of the baby in the background as the mother was just crying and begging for help on the phone. “Should I come to Pune – no one is treating my child here”. The counselor referred them to Parbhani’s positive peoples network. They visited his home and took charge of the baby. We don’t know what happened after that.
Ignorance and fear abounds even amidst doctors and medical professionals. We have heard several cases of discrimination and stigmatization from the very places that should heal.
Top
How Do I Tell My Wife She Is HIV Positive?
The call was from Mumbai. The caller asked to know about care to be given to HIV positive person in great detail. “My wife has HIV. It was detected during her pregnancy. We lost the child.” The caller was uninfected. He was crying inconsolably over the phone. “I am not interested to know how my wife got infected. I have not told her about her status and now she wants a baby. How can I fulfill her wish without putting myself at risk?”
The chance of mother to child transmission can be brought down to 2% with active management of the pregnancy and precautions post delivery.
Top
Save My Niece, Please!
“Hello, I am a retired government servant. I read about MUKTAA in Sakaal (a Marathi daily) and immediately called you. My 8 year old niece is staying with me. She is HIV positive and is on ART (HIV treatment) costing Rs. 1500/- month. She has lost both parents to AIDS. I will take care of her like my own child lifelong, but I cannot afford these costly medicines. Can you suggest where I can get subsidized ART?” The caller was referred of a private practitioner who gives free ART for children.
Death of the parents leaves children extremely vulnerable to poverty and destitution. ‘HIV orphans’ are most appalling face of this disease. Left to fend for themselves, these children face the prospect of a life of disease with little or no chance of adoption. Recently the government has started free ART for children – a much needed step in the right direction.
Top
I Am Sure I Have HIV
“I had unprotected sex with a call girl 9 months back. I have done HIV test every month since then. All reports are negative, still I cannot convince myself that I am not HIV infected. I have heard of DNA-PCR. Should I do that?”
This is a very common scenario. The caller needed a long counseling session to convince him that he should stop going for any further tests and take precautions in the future.
Top
They Have Thrown Out A Woman And Her Daughter
“I am from a village near Thane. One woman from my village has lost her husband to AIDS and after that her in-laws have thrown her out of the house, along with her 4 years old daughter. The woman is lying in one dark dirty corner of the government hospital here. Nobody in the village dare come forward to help her- they feel they will get infected from her. I want to help her. What can your help line can do for her?”
The caller was given address of a shelter home for HIV positives. Stigmatisation is a real problem here. Family members refuse to even come to cremate the body of an AIDS victim. One group – Deepa Griha in Pune, has volunteers who cremate bodies of AIDS patients that nobody else will touch– wonderful work!
Top
How Do I Tell My Son He Has HIV?
I Will Survive At All Odds
I Want To Volunteer For MUKTAA Work
A Child Without HIV
Feeling Light As A Feather !
Free Calls From My PCO To MUKTAA!
My Son Had Food After 4 Days!
Dying Child – Mother’s Desperate Call For Help
How Do I Tell My Wife She Is HIV Positive?
Save My Niece, Please!
I Am Sure I Have HIV
They Have Thrown Out A Woman And Her Daughter
Thank You MUKTAA! You Gave Me Immense Moral Support
“Hello, MUKTAA. Thank you so much! I did my HIV test just today morning and it is negative. I had called you 3 months back after I had an unprotected exposure with my neighbor. I kept away from wife as you had suggested. The last 3 months have been the worst period of my life. But whenever I got disturbed I would call MUKTAA. Just talking to someone who understands me, accepts me gave so much strength and helped reduce my guilt. Thank you so much. I will never ever put myself in such a situation in the future. Thank you again”.
We regularly receive calls thanking us after the caller gets his report and it turns out negative. Its one of the things that keeps us going. After unsafe exposure there is a three month window period, after which the person needs to test for HIV. This wait can be extremely difficult and stressful.
Top
How Do I Tell My Son He Has HIV?
“Hello, can I get HIV infection if I share utensils or bathroom with an infected person?” – the question came from a 40 year old man. We assured him and asked why was he asking. He burst out – “My 20 year old son is HIV positive for the last 6 years. He does not know it. My wife and I are taking care of him. Now that he is an adult he needs to be aware of his HIV status, else he could put some innocent girl at risk. I cannot tell him. Can someone help me with this?”
A difficult situation indeed! HIV positives and their near and dear ones face such heart breaking situations. Counseling, a positive attitude and accurate information can make all the difference. The caller was referred to a counseling center where a counselor could help him with making this disclosure.
Top
Now, I will have to live for my children
A 35 year old lady identified herself as a repeat caller. She had called 4 months back when her husband was almost on the deathbed. She had gone to the centers suggested for critical care, but could not save her husband. Now she is left alone to look after her 2 sons aged 18 and 15. “My elder son has left his studies and taken a job as office boy. Younger one is in 10th but he just cannot concentrate on his studies. He is having a tough time. My world seems to be crumbling. I need to take care of myself. I have to survive for the sake of my children. I called you to say that I am using the services that you had referred last time, for myself. Thank you.”
HIV is not just a medical problem. It is a social, economic problem as well. The cycle is typical. First the earning male member starts fall ill, drops out of work and in many cases dies. The woman has no time to cope with the loss of her spouse. She has to worry about looking after the family, finding a job, taking care of her infection. As household savings are diverted to medical care, the children drop out of school and the family falls prey to debt. They sink towards destitution.
The woman’s determination to survive at all odds and secure a future for her family was truly inspiring for us at MUKTAA.
Top
I want to volunteer for MUKTAA
A 27 year old engineer called up. “Hello, I have the HIV test report in my hand. Its negative! The first person I felt like sharing my joy and relief is you at MUKTAA. I can’t tell you how relieved I am. I come from a highly cultured family (sic) and had migrated out of Pune for job. On my birthday my friends forced me visit a pub. I had unprotected sex with a call girl only once.” He panicked and called MUKTAA immediately. “I offer to volunteer for MUKTAA. I do not want others to go through nightmare that I have been through.”
Its important to educate children before they enter their sexually active phase of life. We need to teach them to deal with the HUGE peer pressure that they face. The agonizing wait for the test and the relief of the negative report can be life changing!
Top
A Child Without HIV
“Hello, my brother and his wife are both HIV infected. She is pregnant. Both of them are unaware about their status. I don’t want to tell them. They won’t be able to bear the shock. Can you suggest a doctor they can go to? I want them to have a normal baby. Don’t bother about money. I have lots. I just want the baby to be uninfected and the parents should not come to know anything about their HIV status”.
An individual’s HIV status is to be treated with utmost confidentiality. However, often we see cases where everyone but the person concerned seems to know about the test results. Transmission of HIV from mother to child can be brought down to around 2% but this requires active management and support from parents.
Top
I’m feeling light as a peacock feather!
A young man from a very remote village near Nagpur called. “Madam, my friend had an exposure 3 years back and since then he believes that he is infected – without even testing. He has refused to marry, has stopped working and stays alone in a hut outside in the farms – so as not to put others at risk.”. He took Muktaa’s advice and got his friend to test. The man later called back to say that the friend was negative. This time the friend came on to the phone too. “Thank you so much Madam. After 3 years of burden I am feeling as light as a peacock feather”.
We have had several cases where the sense of guilt and anguish is so high the person doesn’t even want to test for HIV. Even where testing is done, in many cases there is no counseling. In one case, the person lived for ten years with the belief that he was HIV positive! Nobody told him about the need to take a second confirmatory test, till he called MUKTAA. To his chagrin and delight he found that it had been a false positive. “I wasted 10 years of my life.”
Top
Free Calls From My PCO To MUKTAA!
A middle aged shopkeeper from Buldhana in eastern Maharashtra, called for his relative was suffering from AIDS. No one was ready to take care of her and he wanted to know what could be done for her. Our counselor suggested that he take the patient to Nagpur Medical Hospital and referred him to the Nagpur network of positive people. The man called back after few days. He was quite excited. Treatment had done gotten the women almost back to life. The visit to the network of positive people was an eye-opener! They saw HIV infected people living a healthy life full of hope! He was so moved by the experience that he sent us a letter thanking us “Your guidance changed our lives! I will allow free calls to MUKTAA from the STD booth at my shop!”
This case has been extremely inspiring for us! MUKTAA changes lives for the better and here is yet another example. Makes all the struggle very much worth it.
Top
My Son Had Food After 4 Days!
A father called from Mumbai. “ Can HIV spread by eating blood stained cake?” he asked. After he was assured that it doesn’t, he revealed that his son had been to a birthday party and there he ate a piece of cake which he remembers having a drop of blood on it. “Since then he believes that is HIV infected and refuses to eat anything. For the last 4 days he has not touched a grain of food.” The counselor talked to the child and explained him that HIV can never spread by this route. Half an hour later, the father called to say that his son has eaten food after 4 days.
There is so much fear about HIV. This leads to panic reactions. Accurate information is the biggest weapon against this disease.
Top
Dying Child – Mother’s Desperate Call For Help
A call came from Gangakhed, Parbhani. A four month old child of a HIV positive mother was having severe diarrhea. The doctor in the village refused to treat the child. She had a bitter experience with the civil hospital as well. In desperation, the mother called up MUKTAA to seek direction – how could she save her 4 month old child? The counselor could hear the waiting sound of the baby in the background as the mother was just crying and begging for help on the phone. “Should I come to Pune – no one is treating my child here”. The counselor referred them to Parbhani’s positive peoples network. They visited his home and took charge of the baby. We don’t know what happened after that.
Ignorance and fear abounds even amidst doctors and medical professionals. We have heard several cases of discrimination and stigmatization from the very places that should heal.
Top
How Do I Tell My Wife She Is HIV Positive?
The call was from Mumbai. The caller asked to know about care to be given to HIV positive person in great detail. “My wife has HIV. It was detected during her pregnancy. We lost the child.” The caller was uninfected. He was crying inconsolably over the phone. “I am not interested to know how my wife got infected. I have not told her about her status and now she wants a baby. How can I fulfill her wish without putting myself at risk?”
The chance of mother to child transmission can be brought down to 2% with active management of the pregnancy and precautions post delivery.
Top
Save My Niece, Please!
“Hello, I am a retired government servant. I read about MUKTAA in Sakaal (a Marathi daily) and immediately called you. My 8 year old niece is staying with me. She is HIV positive and is on ART (HIV treatment) costing Rs. 1500/- month. She has lost both parents to AIDS. I will take care of her like my own child lifelong, but I cannot afford these costly medicines. Can you suggest where I can get subsidized ART?” The caller was referred of a private practitioner who gives free ART for children.
Death of the parents leaves children extremely vulnerable to poverty and destitution. ‘HIV orphans’ are most appalling face of this disease. Left to fend for themselves, these children face the prospect of a life of disease with little or no chance of adoption. Recently the government has started free ART for children – a much needed step in the right direction.
Top
I Am Sure I Have HIV
“I had unprotected sex with a call girl 9 months back. I have done HIV test every month since then. All reports are negative, still I cannot convince myself that I am not HIV infected. I have heard of DNA-PCR. Should I do that?”
This is a very common scenario. The caller needed a long counseling session to convince him that he should stop going for any further tests and take precautions in the future.
Top
They Have Thrown Out A Woman And Her Daughter
“I am from a village near Thane. One woman from my village has lost her husband to AIDS and after that her in-laws have thrown her out of the house, along with her 4 years old daughter. The woman is lying in one dark dirty corner of the government hospital here. Nobody in the village dare come forward to help her- they feel they will get infected from her. I want to help her. What can your help line can do for her?”
The caller was given address of a shelter home for HIV positives. Stigmatisation is a real problem here. Family members refuse to even come to cremate the body of an AIDS victim. One group – Deepa Griha in Pune, has volunteers who cremate bodies of AIDS patients that nobody else will touch– wonderful work!
Top
