Mr. "Shen" (his true identity will not be revealed), who became this city's first HIV carrier in 1993, has led a normal life thanks to the love and care from his family members, doctors and colleagues.
"My thanks should first go to my wife," said Shen, who was infected with the deadly virus while living abroad.
"When the doctor told my wife that I may have been infected with HIV during a dental operation, she said, 'I believe in my husband, and no matter how he got the virus, I will never give up on him,'" recalled Shen.
During his first year with HIV, he isolated himself from others. His wife accompanied him day and night, keeping him from despair.
"We are a family if you are alive," his wife told him, "but the family would vanish if you were to die. Our son and I will not be happy."
Apart from his family, medical workers have offered a great deal of love and care to "Shen".
The doctors from the Shenyang AIDS/HIV control center speak with him often over the phone to give him medical advice. In addition, a well-known expert on HIV/AIDS living in Beijing, who has asked to remain anonymous, has kept in touch with "Shen" for the past 10 years.
Shang Hong, a professor from the HIV/AIDS research cell of China Medical University, has provided him medicine free of charge over the past decade.
When Shen started a new job, his first day was touching. Several colleagues began to argue upon learning that he was an HIV carrier. At lunch time, one of them approached him with a bowl of soup, proposing that they share it.
Shen's neighbors are very kind to him. During holidays, his neighbors invite him to play cards.
(eastday.com January 14, 2003)
