“Positive” couple leads happy life with baby

“Positive” couple leads happy life with baby
By SNV Sudhir
Visakhapatnam, Nov 27, 2011: Rejecting the idea of living a limited life and conventional wisdom of not to have babies two HIV infected patients in the city got married, had a healthy non HIV baby and living life happily showing a ‘positive’ path to other patients. Pradeep, 28 (Name changed), a supervisor in a small firm, was infected with HIV after he married a relative in 2007.
After realizing his condition he immediately divorced his wife. Life was like a hell for him after that. He could not face his family, friends and society. And he wanted to slowly die. It was in 2008 that he came in contact with Sunanda, 24 (name changed), another HIV infected patient through ‘Society for Visakha Network of Positive People living with HIV’.
They both struck a chord immediately seeing each other and decided to get married. Now they both are happily married ‘positive’ couple and proud parents of a 2 year old baby girl. “I thought it’s the end of my life. I wanted to end my life before the virus killed me. Then I came in contact with this woman who later became part of my life. Now we have one more addition to our family, my cute baby,” Pradeep told this correspondent.
Now the baby is everything to the couple. “It was like we found life in the form of our baby. Yes, we know that we can’t live long like you people. But will be very happy until we take the last breath. We also have future plans for our daughter. We will get her admitted in a good school and give her the best possible education. And after us we planned finances such a way that she need not look for anything except for her parents,” said Sunanda with moist eyes.
Sunanda is also working hard along with her husband to save money for the baby’s future. The Society’s president, Lakshmi talking to this correspondent says that it was through regular counseling as part Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission (PPCT) programme that both the HIV patients could think about having a baby. Fortunately with constant counseling and enough measures baby delivered didn’t have HIV.
“There is this stigma still in the society towards HIV patients. They think its end of their life after infected with killer virus. But this couple proved the other way round,” says Lakhshmi, who is also an HIV infected patient since 8 years.
She added that tired of fighting stigma from the society, HIV affected persons in the three districts of north Andhra –Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam decided that they would take care of themselves, by becoming a family. The HIV patients have formed a network among them and involving each other in their lives, be it to attend a celebration or to help one of them in need.
The patients even help each other in their last rituals. The society which was started in 2005 with just 200 members now has members more than 5,000. There are also some marriages happen among themselves. “It’s an inspiring success story of a network. HIV patients should not suffer indoors. They should come out and lead happy life,” says district Aids Control Society project manager Sailaja.