There is a great emphasis to educate people living with HIV in India, in terms of not only knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS but also to understand their medicines, read laboratory results, how to better care for themselves and how to lead a healthy life – mentally, physically, emotionally (and spiritually). I have come across a doctor who suggests that since one partner is HIV Positive, they should abstain from sex. They were even advised to refrain from kissing. HIV is not transmissible via kissing as we all know. True, there are traces of virus present in saliva that can be detected under the...
JoDha's blog
"What kind of a mother are you," screamed a lady, "who can't even take care of a baby...sleeping all the time...kaamchor (lazy asshole)...keeping a babysitter, cook and maid...you can't even handle household chores or a husband, not to even speak of mothering a baby." "Look, I will pay for your medication as and when I can, or else find a job to help support yourself", said a man. "I have to spend money on bills, my parents' treatments, as well as my personal expenses." "You need to adhere strictly to your medication, Jyoti", warned a family doctor. "The way you are taking it, neither on time...
"Looking after my health TODAY gives me a better hope for TOMORROW" - Anne Wilson Schaef DISCLAIMER: What failed on me does NOT mean that it may not work on you. PLEASE listen to your body and go by it accordingly. I know some of my friends who are doing well on Efavirenz. Unlike mine, their CD4 has improved to higher numbers while on that medicine. Depression is one known side effect of this HIV medication, but does not happen to everyone. OMG…. Can’t wait to try!!! Changing my meds - bring it on!!!!! I recall posting happily on facebook, telling friends with a bit of excitement how I am...
“Jyoti, I want to marry you, and this time I am sure of it.” I looked at him, not believing a word. Marry me? An HIV-positive woman? When he couldn’t commit to me for the whole two and half years we were going around?? FLASHBACK: Pune, Aug 4 th 2013 My phone vibrates. 1 message pending I was just getting ready for the HIV Matrimonial Event that was to be held in Pune. I was a Guest Speaker for that event and I had not prepared my speech as yet. Thought that there is still 2-3 hours to go for the ceremony to start, hence I will write at the venue itself. I always keep my phone on the “vibration...
I have kind of “mixed-feelings” with the virus. At one hand, it had ebbed away my life, at other it gave me a new lease of life, with new meaning, and more importantly, the new “ME”. The scars on my left arm is more than enough to say what I have been through--hell and back!! Therefore, I understand that every person, irrespective of their condition and lifestyle, carries their painful PAST to their PRESENT which also paves the way for their FUTURE, depending on how they look at life. In my own words, I would say “ Care a damn about the world, care a damn about people and a damn about how life...
Indian Law, like all other laws, strongly protect and safeguard our rights as an individual. To disclose or not to disclose solely lies on us. But given the Indian conservative and orthodox values, stigma, discrimination and ostracism are the potential risk factors we face. The fear of being outcasted by the society we live in is the main cause of the silence amongst PLWHA. But somewhere the walls have to be broken. Someone has to break it. I know it is not easy, but I also believe that it is not difficult either. Along with disclosure comes emotional and mental traumas. Rejection brings in...
Everyone asks me what’s my secret behind my proactivity in life. How do I manage to work 9 hours a day in office, yet find time for friends? How do I balance my official work to that of Activism? How do I travel from one place to another and still be there for the people who require me on the SAME day?! Yes, I wouldn’t deny that the virus tires you down. It tires you both mentally as well as physically. And all you need is a bed and a pillow. I have often felt like that and still feel it. BUT if you give in to the demands of your body, you become the slave to the virus. Then you make the virus...
Let’s admit it…I have had my bad days MORE than my good days. Days when I feel down, I feel blue, I feel weepy and burst into tears. I love life so much and live each and every moment, every second of it by living in it, dwelling in it, enjoying it and doing something new. I go to the gym (I dropped out later), I watch movies, I party (minus smoking/drinking), I travel and explore new places, I am an avid cyclist and part of the Indian Cyclist Club. I also attend to spiritual class once a week. Then despite all this, why do I still feel this way? No, I don’t think my depression is due to the...
My only requirement would be UNCONDITIONAL love, that is so hard to find nowadays. I see lot of marriage and relationship breaking due to the lack of such love. When one loves a person "unconditionally", he/she goes out of his/her way to love the person EVEN THE MORE without any "expectations". Such love is never based on a terms of Give and Take. When I am sick, I would NOT expect my husband to sit at my side n tend/care for me, BUT then a person is "DUTY BOUND" to look after a sick wife. This is LOVE. You don't ask but still you receive. A good real life example is my ex-boyfriend. I had my...
“Am divorcing u, I can't live with u anymore” said my husband, whom I married in 2004 (when I was negative and got the virus thru medical negligence – Plz refer to my first blog “ Living with HIV”) who finally divorced me in 2008, and even took the custody of my only child knowing that I am unable to take care of him. “U are HIV Poz?????”, exclaimed the HR of the company “But I thought that only prostitues and drug users get it.” “Jo, your treatments are expensive, how can you support yourself on your meager salary? Since you are my friend, I can do my bit to help but I can't keep on helping...