The Stigma

I was in charge of the Infectious Diseases unit for the past 2 days - replacing my colleague who had to take leave because of an accident. It is quite a pity as she had a needle prick injury.. ( she accidentally poked herself the needle she used on a HIV positive patient) and she is 6 months pregnant.

it was a bit of disaster as the risk of her being infected is there however remote it is. Saw her crying in her car when we told her to go home and rest - initially she put up a brave face in front of us but i cannot imagine her anxiety and worry.Lets pray for her and her baby..

In reality - being in the Infectious Disease unit in HKL means you have to take care of those with HIV Positive ( former drug addicts mostly).Being immunosuppressed they are easily infected by the simplest organisms that you and i carry.SImple things like TB is common as well as parasitic brain infection ( eg toxoplasmosis meningoencephalitis )!!! IMagine , me sneezing at them today and they caN DIE tomorrow because of that !!!

If you see them on the street , you would classify them as sampah masyarakat - but here they are in the ward - getting the best and most expensive treatment by the ministry. i may be prejudice but i am not sure whether they are worth the trouble that we take. As physicians it is not for me or you to judge - and in my line of duty - i have to serve regardless. Which becomes such a dilemmna .

My mood for the past 2 days was awful and i feel sorry for those who had to take my temper. hehehehehe.. Today was blood taking day and you can imagine the agony of taking their blood with all the risk at hand ; as well as the difficulty which is YA Allah.. susah giller cause most of their lines are thrombosed and collapsed.

But when one ponders if one is in their shoes ; the treatment that we give is in fact a chance for them to salvage what is left. We can only try - being the messenger and not god on deciding who's good and who's bad. Maybe they were the worst of the worst , but they are humans too and deserve to be treated as such.Typical us ;human beings - we tend to stigmatised and have some sort of resentment against the odd ones . Well, something about life that i learn during this medical posting. but honestly , i dont think i can tahan being in this unit, its just not for me... :) to those who are dedicated in this field , my salute to you guys..