NEGOTIATING SILENCE

                                                         NEGOTIATING SILENCE

Mrs. Umeh came to our small clinic in tears, her baby was dying, his body temperature was up and his arms and legs were twitching. She needed help and she wanted it fast.

As her cry for attention grew louder, I noticed a dark man about six and half feet tall trailing her everywhere she went.

Her child was looking malnourished and almost paper white. After consultation with the doctor, they were sent to the laboratory for urgent blood grouping as the child needed fresh blood transfusion.

At the laboratory, the mystery man turned out to be the child’s father, he had come to donate the blood his child needed. As we carried out the required tests on his blood sample, it turned that Mr. Umeh, a police officer was HIV positive.

“Oga” he exclaimed please, please don’t tell my wife, so we obtained the blood from another source after he made incoherent excuses to his wife on why he could not donate, and the child was transfused.

Few days later, after declining another post-test counseling session, Mr. Umeh, appeared at my residence with a sack of beans and a white envelope in his hands. In his words “I have come to thank you for all the help and assistance you offered me and my wife when our child was on admission at your Hospital” As I watched him deceptively spew those words, he reminded me of his earlier demand that his test results be kept secret. I thankfully rejected his gifts and advised him to seek counsel and treatment fast.

As he left my house I realized how far people are willing to go in order to conceal an ailment.

Few months later, his wife was back at our clinic, this time to register at the antenatal clinic, I was interested in her HIV results and waited anxiously for it.

To the amazement of all including myself, the result was negative! I immediately asked for a repeat test and the result was the same, she was asked to return for another repeat test in 4 months’ time.

As I left the clinic that day, I pondered over many possibilities. As the disease control officer of the community, I was bent on ensuring that I had all the information before reaching a conclusion.

When she returned four months later, she was already seven months pregnant but was still looking strong and healthy. After her samples collected and analyzed, the results still came back negative.

As she walked away with her results, the team brainstormed over the possibilities, as I was slid into depression. I knew Mr. Umeh had not been faithful to his wife, I knew he was HIV positive, I knew he

did not want her to know, I knew I wanted to prevent her and her unborn child from getting infected, yet I was helpless because the tests were done in strict confidentiality.

Quote

“You can’t make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen.”—Michelle Obama