Rising above HIV diagnosis and turning pain into purpose
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Shobha Shukla – CNS
Contd from previous issue
At that time, I did not know much about the disease and neither did my mother. I just took my pills regularly because my mother asked me to do so. It was only when I was 17-18 years old that I understood the gravity of my illness and gradually accepted to live with it," she said. She faced several challenges including discrimination from her relatives. "But my mother always stood by me and took good care of me. So compared to other children living with HIV, I was in a much better position," she reflected.
"Around150 adolescents living with HIV with whom I have been working, come from very difficult family backgrounds and faced far greater challenges than I had. Almost 70% of them were semi-orphans, who depended on single parents or elderly grandparents. So due to lack of proper care, they would often miss their medication. Some of them had been adopted without anyone knowing about their positive status. (To be contd)
Contd from previous issue
At that time, I did not know much about the disease and neither did my mother. I just took my pills regularly because my mother asked me to do so. It was only when I was 17-18 years old that I understood the gravity of my illness and gradually accepted to live with it," she said. She faced several challenges including discrimination from her relatives. "But my mother always stood by me and took good care of me. So compared to other children living with HIV, I was in a much better position," she reflected.
"Around150 adolescents living with HIV with whom I have been working, come from very difficult family backgrounds and faced far greater challenges than I had. Almost 70% of them were semi-orphans, who depended on single parents or elderly grandparents. So due to lack of proper care, they would often miss their medication. Some of them had been adopted without anyone knowing about their positive status. (To be contd)