Love is positively blind!

AHMEDABAD: Vimal Patel (26) recently tied the knot with Nidhi Patel (24). Vimal has been HIV positive for the last ten years. It was a love marriage, and Nidhi wed Vimal with full knowledge of his infection. Nidhi says her love is blind, but positively.
In fact, when Vimal brought up marriage with his physician, the doctor's first reaction was that he should avoid marriage as lying about his HIV status would be unethical and unjust to the girl and he would rarely get a girl who would willingly marry an HIV positive boy for fear of contracting the virus.The doctor was surprised to know that Nidhi, Vimal's girlfriend of three years, knew about his disease right from the beginning and was adamant to take their relationship to the next level.
"I refused to believe my patient and asked him to bring his girlfriend along for counseling. I thought the girl was probably blinded by love and didn't know the seriousness of the disease. I was surprised to meet the girl who was well-aware of the challenges of living with an HIV infected person. In fact, she was adamant that she wouldn't let HIV be an obstacle to her love," says infectious diseases specialist Dr Atul Patel.
Vimal and Nidhi tied the knot recently and are enjoying marital bliss. While their marriage is a personal victory of love, it also reflects a victory of sorts over the acute stigma traditionally attached with HIV.
Experts say that a decade ago, they would have to grapple with not only the physical and mental fallouts the dreaded infection but also emotional manifestations of the being abandoned out of fear-at least two of every ten patients would be divorced and many disowned by their families.
"The current social scenario for HIV patients is far more positive. Not only do we see a lot of HIV positive patients marrying each other, we are also seeing boys and girls with no infection willingly marrying HIV positive people. This trend signifies a greater acceptance of HIV in society and the fact that HIV is not a death sentence. It is a disease which can be managed with good treatment and care," says Dr Patel.
Sunita, 28, is another person who married her boyfriend of two years, Kapil, despite knowing him to be HIV positive. In fact, Sunita's mother consulted a physician with her, to dissuade her, but Sunita prevailed saying that she would like to find out how she could live happily with an HIV positive person. She also got married recently.
ADVISORY FOR HIV DISCORDANT COUPLES
* An HIV discordant couple is where one spouse is HIV negative.
* In such cases, infectious diseases experts say safe sex should be practiced. If the viral load is non-traceable in a blood test, the couple can try for a baby during the fertile period.
* At least two international studies reveal that if the person is on proper HIV medication and the HIV load is untraceable in blood tests, the HIV infection is not spread through sex and other contact.
* When the discordant couple is trying for a baby using unprotected sex, prophylactic anti-viral treatment can be given to the negative spouse.