Inspiration corner: the vct scare

My friend shared this story on his blog, and it's a lovely read.. Enjoy

The last time he saw her was sometimes in 2010 just before he went abroad for his Master’s degree. They had been so close, they hung out but were never exclusive in terms of being in a relationship. He had a problem with her age, she was older. She was guess what? 4 months or less older than him but he had said he wouldn’t date a girl who’s a day older than him let alone marry her. She believed they could work things out but he was of the opinion of letting things end on time. In my opinion I think for love to work, they both had to be in love with each other. The moment one flinches then there’s no point going on with the relation. He left for his Masters that night and they kept in touch via BBM and Facebook with the occasional phone calls going either way.

At some point they lost contact and he felt it was a good thing because he didn’t want to string her along. Fast forward 4 years later and they got chatting again via whatsapp, apparently he was just checking on her. They were chatting about everything from work to relationship to the situation in Nigeria then she brought out the VCT card. She asked him if he had done VCT. Oh forgive my manners, for those who don’t know what VCT is. It is Voluntary Counseling and Testing for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). He didn’t know what VCT meant so he quickly asked his Doctor friend stalling her for a few minutes. Luckily for him his Doctor friend was able to respond on time and tell him what it meant. He replied her saying what did she mean, why would she be asking him such a question (at this point he was scared to the bone). She told him she told the other guys she’s been with to go for the VCT too.

To further add to his fear she told him she was going for the VCT the next day and she advised he did same. He thought about it and then said he would go. She asked if they could go together and he declined her offer without mincing words. Thoughts of all the girls he’s been with crept up on his mind and he tried pointing fingers at who could have possibly given him HIV (if yes he had it) and on the other hand he was thinking he was in perfect health because he wasn’t lean and he added weight considerably well. He asked his Doctor friend if it was possible to have the virus and still look healthy and the Doctor responded saying one might not even know he/she has the virus. The Doctor advised him to go for VCT.

He didn’t attempt to go for the VCT even after the Doctor’s advise. At some point people were telling him he was losing weight and so the fear of him having HIV increased. Fortunately for him he got a new job but unfortunately for him they always carried out medical checks on new recruits and some tests were compulsory. The test was done and the results came out a few weeks later. The other new recruits were called for their test results except him. He panicked and was pacing round the office. His other colleagues were wondering what was wrong. They wouldn’t understand. Then the dreaded call came from downstairs asking him to come for his result. It was a long walk down the stairs up to the front office. He was thinking of the worst.

He got the envelope but was to scared to open it. On his way up someone snatched the envelope from him and he chased the person to the top floor yelling I am not finding it funny. You wouldn’t have known it was a corporate environment at that point. He collected the envelope and walked into the toilet to face his demon. He tore the envelope open closing his eyes. He opened his eyes and it turned out that he was HIV free, as a matter of fact both HIV 1 and HIV 2 tests were carried out and they both came out negative. He was glad, the only issue he had was his cholesterol level was a bit high and he was advised to eat vegetables a lot and reduce his beef, chicken and turkey in take with fish being a better option.

He hasn’t reached out to her ever since and boy it was the biggest scare he’s ever gotten since birth. He’s so scared that he has promised to wait till he’s married before he does the nasty again. Abstinence is the safest option he preaches (lol).

This post is in commemoration of the World AIDS day.



Please people go for a VCT if you have never done so to know your status and always go for it every 6 months.

Post via: wwww.dipoogun.com