Not going to post about my dinner. Way too damn lazy. -.-
Shall post about a news article I saw on the 'The New Paper on Sunday'
Sort of sad. :/
They registered their marriage in Singapore during 2009. His wife was from Vietnam. They were married for 2years. But after a year of their marriage, his wife was diagnosed with HIV. His wife then died 2 months ago. When Johnny(not his real name) got married with his wife, he felt like he was the happiest man in the world. But his happiness was short-lived. While coming to terms with his wife death, Johnny found out that he was diagnosed with HIV too. Then came another devastating blow. His one-year old son was also diagnosed with HIV too. "My life is in a total mess now. I have never felt so helpless before." said Johnny. "I am so sad to have lost my wife. When I knew that she was HIV-positive, I told myself that we're already married. I would take care of her no matter what happens. But she is gone now and my son and I have also contracted the disease. I don't know where to find the strength to carry on. I don't know how to take care of my son." It is not clear who had passed the disease to who. But Johnny says that it doesn't matters. Johnny used to work as a marketing executive. But she was sacked because he took too much time off to settle his personal problems. He has only done odd jobs till now and does not have a regular income.
He lives with his parents and siblings but he thinks that they won't be able to accept his and his son's disease. He took extra precautions such as to prevent from cutting himself as HIV is usually transmitted by blood. Johnny is afraid that if he tells his family his condition, they won't be able to accept it and may be kicked out of the house. He has already lost his job and he can't afford to lose the roof over his head too. And he also has a son to take care of.
When they got registered in Singapore, 2009, his wife stopped working and had to return to Vietnam. When she returned to Singapore, she had to keep applying to extend her social visit pass. Last year, Johnny tried to apply a long-term immigration pass for her. But she had to undergo a medical examination which included a general physical examination, a chest x-ray and an HIV test. When they received the result, they found out that his wife was HIV-positive.
"We were shocked to get the medical test result. We thought that since we have already registered our marriage, and were recognised as husband and wife by the law, she would be allowed to say here with me Moreover, she was already pregnant with our first child." said Johnny. Johnny did not know that those who are HIV-positive are unable to be granted an long-term immigration pass.
They went to see an ICA officer and submitted his wife's application together with her medical examination results. But the application was rejected. The officer said that his wife had to leave Singapore now. Johnny then arranged his wife to go back to Vietnam. A month later, he flew to Vietnam to bring his wife back to Singapore but was stopped at the Changi Airport because of her illness. She was then sent back to Vietnam the following day. She returned to Vietnam and lived with her parents and then gave birth there. For the past nine months, Johnny had to shuttle between Singapore and Vietnam to spend time with his family. He was busy shuttling between the two countries and did not go for a HIV test.
At that time, Johnny decided that it wasn't important since he was already married. He wanted to earn more money to provide a good life for his family and didn't expect that his wife would die so suddenly. Two months ago, his wife came down with a fever and had to be hospitalised. His wife called to assure Johnny that she was fine. But Johnny was worried and took the next flight to Vietnam. He got there the next day but he was too late and his wife died when he reached the hospital. His wife died because of tuberculosis.
As they didn't register their marriage in Vietnam, Johnny was unable to bring his son back to Singapore. Therefore, they went for a DNA test. The DNA test result came out and confirmed that Johnny was his father. And the blood test showed another result too. Johnny and his son was HIV-positive.
Now, he hopes to apply for a passport for his son and bring him back to Singapore to take care of him.
-Johnny, 35, a Singaporean former marketing executive who discovered that he has HIV after his Vietnamese wife's death two months ago.
Jiayous Johnny. Don't give up. There are people supporting you. There are people encouraging you. ^^
