A few years ago, I was still working for a well respected medical institution somewhere in Metro Manila. I was tasked by one of the senior medical resident to conduct an interview of a mid-50s woman who was awaiting for her queue outside the ICU waiting. I let her inside on one of the cubicle of the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital which was empty. Before conducting some actual interviews, I made her feel a little bit comfortable with my approach and gave her a pen to fill-out the consent forms prior to HIV/AIDS testing and so we went to room to conduct a private matter relating to her test.
She was a bit nervous about it as when I was about to conduct an interview with her personally. I did asked her some funny and outrageous questions regarding her sexuality? Like how many multiple sex partners did she slept with, Having sex with same gender? She did answered truthfully about it. Did she already had information about HIV/AIDS which transmissible through blood transfusion, sexual contact and others which is kind of a short orientation on the topic of this illness before undergoing blood collection and testing which is mandatory under the current Philippine HIV / AIDS Law (Republic Act 8504). As I became serious on discussing her a bit of the disease which still felt apprehensive. Usually an HIV/AIDS consent for testing interviews are usually conducted by either a Physician, Nurse, Medical Technologist or even a Medical Social Worker trained or oriented to handle cases like these. Still "PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY" is still practiced in order to protect the identity of the patient suspected with this illness.
I was partly doing investigative work (epidemiological study) at that time as I was filling up the forms for National Epidemiological Center by Department of Health and discuss the terms of the tests, when the test will be available in a day if tested NONREACTIVE (NEGATIVE) and if REACTIVE (POSITIVE) it necessary to send her blood sample to National Reference Laboratoty - STD AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory (NRL-SACCL) at the San Lazaro Hospital Compound in Sta. Cruz, Manila which takes about TWO WEEKS to complete the confirmatory test using Western Blot Method.
Somehow she was adamant about it when I asked some personal question about her common law partner and their background on her relationship with him. I learned from her that her partner a 70 year old, retired U.S. Military serviceman and have been staying here in the country for the past 10 years. He had been living in the Louisiana, USA before relocating to the Philippines. She met him a few years ago in Angeles City and they eventually had a common-law marriage. She mentioned that her partner had a wife in the U.S. before and they got divorced eventually relocated in Central Luzon, Philippines.
A day after that, I was asked by the senior resident to follow up the result of the patient to the laboratory to be submitted to the Infectious Disease Specialist - Physician who was in-charge with the patient. The laboratory personnel said that the result is NOT yet available which is a standard protocol laboratory professionals. I asked one of the medical technologist on duty that the person I interviewed has no result yet and her samples were sent to the NRL-SACCL for confirmatory and verification. I was saddened by the fact of what happened to her. As I presumed she is HIV Positive by now? I also learned that her common-law husband is HIV Positive. His confirmatory results were received a week ago and are placed in his charts and a sign was given for precautionary protocol before getting inside his cubicle which made myself a bit weakened and sad that some people are infected with this dreaded disease. The man died eventually after bouts with secondary infection caused by this disease. I don't know what happened to the woman I have interview if she is still alive by now.
A Suicidal Death: What We Should Know
__________________________________________________________________________________A Suicidal Death: What We Should Know
About the Author:
Silent Operator Dan, is 30 something heterosexual male. A part-time blogger, adult scene observer / patron and a frustated writer of some sort although he was a former editor-in-chief of his college newspaper. He currently resides somewhere out of the realm of the city limits and dabbles in high finance and business. You can catch him at http://theconfessionsofayoungman.blogspot.com. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook.
Copyright 2011 - 2014. Confessions of Young Man. All Rights Reserved.
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