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
