In the small town of Garrison, there lived a young man named Skye. He was a bright, brainy student whose only aim was to get a scholarship at his favourite university abroad. Owing to his unwearying efforts, he secured admission to a top-notch medical school in the United States. Soon after the commencement of his classes, his diligence, shrewdness, and continuous distinctions made him famous amongst his friends and fellows, who gave him the title of “genius.”
However, fate had written some tests in his life. One day, Skye felt a bout of severe dysentery and emesis during the lecture. Immediately, he was taken to the nearest hospital, where he had to stay for more than a week. Since he needed prompt therapy, an IV line was injected into his left wrist to maintain his body fluids and electrolytes. Unfortunately, as the nurse pricked the IV line with the needle, she accidentally pricked her own finger instead in a rush. As a result, some blood oozed out of the nurse’s finger, but her expression seemed to remain as stationary as if it were routine. Thus, the nurse carelessly wiped her hands and went off to attend to another patient.
After a week of medication, when Skye’s condition was over the hump, he was discharged from the hospital after his doctor’s consultation. He returned, took the prescribed medicines for some days, and recovered completely. Then, he continued life as usual and started going to college. Six months later, the Thalassemia Support Foundation (TSF) – a non-profit organization to support thalassemia patients – arranged a blood donation camp at Skye’s campus. The TSF’s primary purpose was to alleviate the suffering of patients with thalassemia through the application of modern methods of curative and palliative treatment irrespective of their ability to pay, education of health care professionals and the public, and research into the causes and treatment of blood diseases. Skye and his friends had decided to donate blood to deserving patients with blood disorders. First they attended a seminar related to the working of NGOs and then went to donate blood at a donor camp. Before blood donation, as a necessity, the professional attendant carried out blood screening tests with high-quality blood screening test kits for HIV, Malaria, Syphilis, Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B. After having completed the whole donation procedure, all the kids went home.
A couple of days later, Skye received a phone call from the Principal’s office. He got very enthusiastic as he expected another certificate for being on the list of scholarships; thus, he walked energetically towards the office, knocked at the door, and asked for permission to enter. With the Principal’s approval, he entered the room and saw another man sitting there. He was a doctor from the NGO of blood donation. After exchanging salutations with both of them, Skye sat down, very excited yet nervous about the scholarship.
However, the doctor sitting next to him seemed apprehensive and started asking, “Have you ever been to a hospital or been exposed to blood?” Skye recalled his hospital experience and hesitatingly nodded, ” Yes Sir! I was admitted to the hospital six months ago when I might’ve been exposed to a nurse’s blood while she was inserting an IV line in my arm.”
On this, the doctor told him that the blood screening test had revealed him to be Hepatitis Positive. The shocking revelation of this terrible news made Skye distressed. All his exhilaration turned into sorrow. Shattered, he went home and kept grieving the mishap for several days; nevertheless, the mishap had changed his life for the better. He emerged from his sorrow with a decision that he would never let others experience the same.
Nowadays, although he is living on the edge like many other Hepatitis patients around the world, he aims to prevent the transmission of Hepatitis through regular awareness campaigns in his university, town, and various societies. Through these, he conveys the message to the youth to be extremely careful while getting blood work done and to be extra cautious when in contact with agents that could be the cause of life-threatening diseases like hepatitis.
Even a little carelessness can cause significant anomalies, and just a little precaution can save generations. If you have been through something, you should try your best never to let anyone else go through the same.
