COTE D IVOIRE: Family unified in fight against HIV

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

ABIDJAN, 6 Dec 2005 (IRIN/PLUSNEWS) - They could be any ordinary couple in their 30s with a daughter named Sylvie, who just celebrated her fifth birthday. But the reality behind the picture-perfect smiles of Paul and his wife, Viviane, is grim.

Viviane and Sylvie are HIV-positive, and Paul, a 37-year-old with a degree in medicine, can't stop wondering why he never contracted the illness. "Is there any research done on couples like us?"

As Paul recounted the family's experiences of the past two years, Viviane sat silent, rarely smiling. They hope the worst is behind them, but they still fear for their daughter’s future.

Sylvie, who jumped about on her parents' laps before she took to investigating a Coca-Cola bottle, is unaware of her illness. Her parents consider she is still too young to understand.

"Sometimes she asks why she has to take pills if she is not ill," Paul said. "So I tell her that they make her big and strong."

Paul discovered Viviane and Sylvie were HIV-positive after the three of them were tested at a local clinic. He still clearly remembers the day when he went to pick up the results. "It was on 15 September 2004. A social worker said: 'What will you do if you find out your wife’s HIV-positive?' And I said: 'She’s my wife and I love her, so we’re going to fight this together.'"

The bad news did not come as a total surprise, said Paul.

Viviane, who had always been healthy, fell ill after giving birth to Sylvie. She coughed continuously, showed symptoms of tuberculosis and lost at least 15 kilograms in the course of several months. Meanwhile, Sylvie suffered from recurrent pulmonary infections. But it occurred to Paul that his wife and daughter might be HIV-positive only when a doctor friend advised him to have them tested.

It was after the test results came in that Viviane told her husband that her ex-boyfriend had probably succumbed to AIDS.

"I never saw proof, but this is what the family of my ex hinted at when he died,” Viviane said. “I once asked a girlfriend whether I should get tested, but she said: ‘You shouldn't as long as you’re healthy. Once you do the test, you may fall ill. It's better not to think about it at all.’"

Viviane had felt reassured when Paul got tested in 2002 as part of a police school entry examination. The result was negative. "I was afraid to tell Paul about my ex-boyfriend. I thought he might leave me," said Viviane. "When Paul tested negative, I thought: I must be okay then. We had had unprotected sex for at least five years."

Paul said he still didn’t understand. "We shared everything - razor blades, toothbrushes. How can it be possible that I never contracted the virus?"

Paul ekes out a living with temporary jobs in a small private clinic in Cote d’Ivoire’s commercial capital, Abidjan. His connections in the medical field allowed him to save on medical bills, he said; otherwise they would not have been able to cope financially. Already, they can barely make ends meet. They haven't enough money to send Sylvie to school.

With Paul's unflinching care and support, Viviane and Sylvie started taking life-prolonging antiretroviral drugs. For 5,000 CFA francs (about US $10), they receive three-month supplies of ARVs for mother and daughter at a US-sponsored health care centre in Yopougon, a sprawling suburb of Abidjan.

But while she gained physical strength, Viviane began showing signs of severe depression. "She would run out of the house in the middle of the night, crying that all those years of studying were wasted," Paul said. "She even became aggressive and told everybody that she was HIV-positive."

Viviane's family shunned her. The neighbours became distant, politely refusing to share meals or kitchen utensils. Five months into ARV treatment, Viviane hit rock bottom. She was hospitalised in a psychiatric clinic.

The staff at the clinic changed her regimen of ARV drugs, concerned that the depression was a side effect of the medication. After a month of counselling, her psychological problems abated. Yet despite her coming to terms with her illness, Viviane's battle is not over.

"I had always been the darling of the family," said Viviane. "I'm the only girl in my family who has been to university. Now, they are not interested in me anymore. They never call, they never visit. I find it very hard to accept that."

Asked what she had learned since she found out that she was HIV positive, Viviane said after a few moments, "People are afraid of HIV/AIDS. That mentality is difficult to change."

Viviane said she longed most to find a job so that she could stop worrying. "I have a degree in law, but I would do anything to keep my mind busy. Even if I could just sweep floors, I'd do it."

While she stepped away for a moment, Paul explained that Viviane was still worried he would leave her one day.

"She is very insecure," he said. "But I look at the bright side. One day, scientists will find a solution that cures the virus. Tuberculosis used to be fatal, just like the plague. We are both Buddhists, and I believe in prayer. Prayer helps to overcome hardship like this."

[ENDS]