MY HIV TEST DRAMA

’The fear of knowing something’s sometimes kills faster than those things’ is the general assumption and predominant notion in town.

Permit me to share with you today my own personal "HIV TEST DRAMA".

Way back when I was an undergraduate, there has always been the advertisement rolling on several media about why everybody should know their HIV status. On several occasions we have had a team of medical experts doing the HIV screening on our campus. Myself and other friends will just deliberately by pass them and ignore their passionate call and beckoning to come and do the screening.

The truth however is that I had no cockroach in my cupboard, but

I was just afraid of the unknown and not mentally cum emotionally ready for the negative aftermath of the screening.  It continued like that till it was time for me to go on Industrial training, which is a period of active practical engagement in ones course of study. It is compulsory for all students in my school and it usually spans through six month.

After many days and months of what seems to be a fruitless search for an attachment, I finally got placement in a private hospital (DIVINE FAVOUR HOSPITAL LIMITED) blessed with the state of the art equipment along Alakia, Iyana church road, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

As a Microbiologist by discipline, I was attached to the medical laboratory department. Having been exposed to practical’s in my school that prides herself as the BEST University of Technology in Nigeria (FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AKURE *FUTA*), it was quite easy to catch up with work in the department. I was trained for about two weeks in fields I was not familiar with and soon I was handling the department in the absence of my boss.

I eventually got trained on how to do HIV screening, and I did it for a lot of our patience. So one day, I finally summoned the courage to do the test for myself. My boss was not aware of the fact that I don’t know my status. But unlike most people who were counseled before and after the screening, for me, there was nothing of such. I was my own councilor and analyst at the same time.

My boss helped me with phlebotomy, I commenced the screening process, my heart was pounding and suddenly my hands were shivering and heads pounding. Millions of thought were flowing through my mind at the same time. I ran out of the laboratory while the screening was in progress, and for the first time in many years, I felt like my heart was going to explode out of my chest.

By the time I came back to the laboratory, the test was already completed. I could not move close at first to check the result. I watched from afar and saw something that looked like a negative result. I gathered all the strength in me and moved closer and I saw it was indeed a negative result. I momentarily became calm, collected and happy. It’s exactly a year ago that I did my screening and am going for a checkup soonest.

No matter what, we must always face our fears.

So today as part of my own little way of ensuring we are all save and eradicate HIV in the 21sy century, I beseech all my readers who have not done the "HIV SCREENING" to please calm down and do so, let’s put the round ball in the round hole. Please go for counseling and do your screening as it will help us to have a save community. And people who test positive can go for treatment as soon as possible.

I join millions of people around the world to say "KNOW YOUR STATUS TODAY"

NO TO STIGMATIZATION

A SAVE WORLD IS OUR CALL

The goal is eradicating HIV AIDS in the 21st century

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

BE SCREENED TODAY 

written by : Agboola Biyi Micheal