PATNA: Being HIV positive is not the end of life. That's the moral of the story of Heera and Rani, both HIV positive. They are happily married and blessed with two daughters, one of whom has been confirmed as HIV negative while the other is yet to attain the age to undergo the medical test.
Heeralal Rajak, now 36, hails from Garahara village in Begusarai district, 150km from Patna. He was detected HIV positive in 2000. The government would not offer any medical help to people with AIDS in Bihar then. Things became worse for Heera when his Patna-based doctor left Bihar for good in 2004.
Heera would then travel to Varanasi to take free medicines from the anti-retroviral therapy (ART) centre at BHU. He also joined Bihar Network for People Living with HIV-AIDS Society (BNP+) and started helping people with HIV.
It was in 2007 when Heera had taken two HIV positive persons to a hospital at nearby Mokama that he spotted Rani, a native of Saran district. A widow, now 27, she was all alone after her husband with AIDS died in 2005.
Rani's late husband was a daily wage earner in Delhi.
"I inquired about her and came to know she was HIV positive and ostracized by her society. Anything and everything done by her, including food cooked by her, was a no-no for her family and neighbours," Heera told TOI over phone from his village on Thursday.
Heera fell for Rani. "I would often make telephone calls to her and inquire about her health," he said and added they tied the knot in March 2008 with the consent of their families.
The couple's joy knew no bounds when their first daughter, Deepali, tested HIV negative.
"She was born in December 2008. We strictly followed the prescriptions of doctors during the pregnancy of Rani," he said.
The couple was blessed with a second child in June 2010.
"She is 17 months old. I cannot get her tested for HIV till she attains the age of 18 months," Heera said and added she, however, looks like a healthy baby.
Heera used to run a grocery shop before his health complications arose. Now, the only source of income for Heera's nine-member joint family is the pension his father draws from the railways as its retired loco pilot.
"We spent thousands of rupees on medicines every month as the government provides only first-line ART drugs free of cost in Bihar," Heera said and added he often shudders at the thought of what would be the fate of his family the day the railways stopped paying pension.
BNP+ president Gyan Ranjan recalled Heera was hopeless personified when he met him in 2006.
"It's heartening to see he is living a happy life now," he said and hoped Heera's happiness would continue for long.
alokknmishra@gmail.com +919234629956
Heeralal Rajak, now 36, hails from Garahara village in Begusarai district, 150km from Patna. He was detected HIV positive in 2000. The government would not offer any medical help to people with AIDS in Bihar then. Things became worse for Heera when his Patna-based doctor left Bihar for good in 2004.
Heera would then travel to Varanasi to take free medicines from the anti-retroviral therapy (ART) centre at BHU. He also joined Bihar Network for People Living with HIV-AIDS Society (BNP+) and started helping people with HIV.
It was in 2007 when Heera had taken two HIV positive persons to a hospital at nearby Mokama that he spotted Rani, a native of Saran district. A widow, now 27, she was all alone after her husband with AIDS died in 2005.
Rani's late husband was a daily wage earner in Delhi.
"I inquired about her and came to know she was HIV positive and ostracized by her society. Anything and everything done by her, including food cooked by her, was a no-no for her family and neighbours," Heera told TOI over phone from his village on Thursday.
Heera fell for Rani. "I would often make telephone calls to her and inquire about her health," he said and added they tied the knot in March 2008 with the consent of their families.
The couple's joy knew no bounds when their first daughter, Deepali, tested HIV negative.
"She was born in December 2008. We strictly followed the prescriptions of doctors during the pregnancy of Rani," he said.
The couple was blessed with a second child in June 2010.
"She is 17 months old. I cannot get her tested for HIV till she attains the age of 18 months," Heera said and added she, however, looks like a healthy baby.
Heera used to run a grocery shop before his health complications arose. Now, the only source of income for Heera's nine-member joint family is the pension his father draws from the railways as its retired loco pilot.
"We spent thousands of rupees on medicines every month as the government provides only first-line ART drugs free of cost in Bihar," Heera said and added he often shudders at the thought of what would be the fate of his family the day the railways stopped paying pension.
BNP+ president Gyan Ranjan recalled Heera was hopeless personified when he met him in 2006.
"It's heartening to see he is living a happy life now," he said and hoped Heera's happiness would continue for long.
alokknmishra@gmail.com +919234629956
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