Am I Positive?

by Abdurrahman Sarmis

  Chapter 5

  The Big Day

  Finally, the big day arrived. Alex and Brian met and went to hospital together for their appointment. First Alex entered Dr. Hussain’s room. Doctor Hussain welcomed him and he told Alex that his result was positive. Alex shocked. Dr. Hussain relaxed him,

  “Please don’t panic. Your confirmation test result Western Blot is positive.”

  “What about other test doctor?” Alex asked.

  “Other test is HIV RNA test. It shows how many viruses you carry on your blood. And, unfortunately….It is very high positive Alex. You carry HIV right now on your blood.”

  “Oh nooooo, very high positive?…”, Alex shouted.

  “Please man, relax. We are talking. Yes it is very high positive but not late for treatment. Please, relax.” Dr. Hussain tried to calm him down.

  Brian heard his scream and entered into room very fast. He helped Dr. Hussain to calm down Alex. He hugged him. Alex was crying. Dr. Hussain told him,

  “Alex, please calm down. It doesn’t mean you are going to die in a short time. Nobody knows when to die. We can even die right now, maybe an earthquake happens. We never know. Allah gave us a lifespan and one day everybody will die. Allah says,

  “Every soul will taste death. Then to Us will you be returned. (Ankabut, 57)” in Holy book Qur’an.

  So, we are all gonna die Alex. Would it be worth to ruin all of our life with this fear? Calm down please.”

  Alex calmed down after a short shocking time and they sat down.

  Alex asked, “What is gonna happen to me, doc? I don’t wanna die...Am i not too young? I also wanna get rid of these f… drugs… Please help me doc...please”

  “Here why i am here Alex. I am here to help you, you are not alone. So, if you are ok now, we can talk about our plans. We need to do some more blood tests, these tests will indicate your inner organ’s medical situation and the power of your immune system against microorganisms. We have lymphocytes having war against microbes. This HIV is a virus which is attacking these lymphocytes. One of these lymphocytes are CD4+ T lymphocytes. So, it is very important to check your CD4+ T lymphocytes ratio in your blood. The higher ratio you have, the stronger immune system you have. One more another test is about HIV you carry on your blood. We will check this virus’ resistance situation against our medicines. Also, i want some more other tests about some viruses which can transmit through needle and sexual contact. And i am going to write a prescription for you, so you can also start your therapy. We can’t wait for other test results, because number of virus in your blood is high. But don’t worry, if you follow our advices and visit us properly on time, you may not have problems Alex. So, deal?”

  Alex shook his head and started to feel better. He got over the first shock. He thanked doctor and followed his advices. Dr. Hussain arranged a paper for him to get his medicines and blood tests. He was very thankful to him. And it was Brian’s queue.

  Brian asked excitingly, “What about my result doc?”

  Dr. Hussain replied: “Your western blot test is negative Brian. Your body doesn’t have an anti core (which is a weapon produced by human body) against HIV. That’s actually good, it means your body have not produced a weapon, so HIV is not in your body. But….”

  Brian was excited more with the word “but”...

  “Yes doc, yes, but what?” he asked excitingly.

  “But, you had a suspicious event, a needle accident from a HIV positive person’s needle. So, we need to check your blood tests 3 months later. HIV has a period. It hides itself from us in human body. Tests are usually negative during first couple of months, sometimes it takes 6 months to get positive. So, you should visit us periodically till we can say you are absolutely negative. Meanwhile, you should keep yourself away from all risky habits. You should not use drugs, no sex with someone suspicious, or you better don’t have sex with anyone. Don’t be stressful, we just need to follow you to be sure, ok? Do you promise me not to use drugs again?” informed and asked Dr. Hussain.

  Brian said: “Oh doc, i promise i will try my best but i can’t promise doc. I need your support.”

  “You should be away from bad friends buddy. I would like to be your buddy, we can hang out at weekends if you like?” asked Dr. Hussain.

  “Oh really doc? Sure, i would like to.” replied Brian.

  Dr. Hussain said he was gonna call him this weekend. Brian was so surprised, and they left to get medicines of Alex. And Alex gave blood samples. They were very surprised about Dr. Hussain’s attitude. Normally, it would be very expensive for them to get all of these. Tests, medicines, examination...But they did not pay anything. And they gained a new friend, Dr. Hussain.

  “Oh man, this guy is Muslim and a very kind doc...isn’t he Alex?” asked Brian.

  “Yeah man, he is the nicest guy i ever met. I thought there is no nice, gracious people around ever. We live in a garbage bro. Full of sh...t...I would like to know him more. Maybe we can get rid of this garbage, huh?” replied and asked Alex.

  “Yeah maybe bro. But i hear very bad news about Muslims on TV. They cut heads of non-Muslims, and they say they do it because of their religion. They say their God orders so. But this guy, he is also Muslim, i don’t know which is real Islam. Maybe this doc, he changed in our country. But i also would like to learn more about him and his religion, Islam.” replied Brian.

  “And, what about my situation bro? Am i not gonna use drugs again? I really don’t wanna die but i am so much addicted man. Doc said we should be away from bad friends. Where am i gonna live Brian? I am homeless, all people around me are very bad people, they use drugs, they rape, they steal...That’s not happiness...i can’t see a future. Some of them became very rich by stealing, drug trade etc… But they keep hurting, man. I know one of them, he died from AIDS. He was very rich but his money could not save him. So this is not true way Brian…Please man, let’s become friends with this doc, he is my last hope to get rid of from this garbage.” told Alex.

  “Oh Alex, we will see buddy, now please relax. You are not alone. Maybe, i will be positive too, huh?” asked Brian.

  “Oh man, i am so f…. sorry man...It is my fault. I hope you won’t be positive man….I can’t forgive myself if you get virus. Oh sh...t, how did i let you use my needle? My dumb…. head…” said very sadly Alex.

  “Hey hey hey Alex, take it easy, it is ok, it is ok...No worries, time is gonna show but calm down man. We are gonna try our best to win this enemy, ok? Sorry i didn’t wanna hurt you. But we are not alone. I really believe and trust this doc, i hope he won’t leave us in the lurch. And maybe one day, we can have a hospital and hire him…” told Brian.

  Alex smiled and asked, “Oh yeah, it is nice to dream huh?”

  Brian replied, “Yeah man, but i have a great hope man, why not? Life is short and if this doc is sincere, i guess we can do lots of things with him. We will see…”