Doctor Châu Văn Thức, deputy head of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Department of Huế City’s Centre for Disease Control. Photo suckhoedoisong.vn

HUẾ CITY – In a career where lives often hang in the balance, a doctor who has spent 17 years treating HIV in Huế has found that stigma can fade as surely as symptoms when care is delivered with courage and compassion.

During 17 years of working in HIV/AIDS treatment, doctor Châu Văn Thức, deputy head of the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Department of Huế City’s Centre for Disease Control, has gone through many emotional levels.

From the first days of hesitation until today, the doctor can say with all his emotion: "Seeing patients healthy and living well is the greatest joy of a doctor."

Thức has been working at the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Centre (now the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Department, the Huế City Centre for Disease Control) since 2008.

At that time, HIV/AIDS was still a disease many people feared and doctors treating HIV were jokingly called “AIDS doctors”.

In his memory, when starting the medical profession, every time he told his friends that he was treating HIV/AIDS patients, many people were hesitant or laughed.

People with HIV are essentially victims of circumstances so the more he is involved in the work, the more he feels sympathy and love for them.

From a young doctor who was still confused when interacting with patients, he became a friend, companion and even a spiritual support for hundreds of people living with HIV.

During 17 years working as an “HIV doctor”, he witnessed hundreds of desperate lives revived.

One of the patients he remembered most is N.V.H (it is not a real name), who was infected with HIV in the years when few people dared to publicly disclose their illness.

The day he met the patient, Thức saw an ultimate fear in his eyes. That was the fear of being exposed, of being shunned and losing everything.

"However, he was very strong and courageous. I encouraged him a lot to get treatment because he was afraid of revealing his secret,” Thức recalled.

“When the treatment was stable and he achieved the undetectable index, he returned to normal life. Now the couple has two children, both healthy," he told suckhoedoisong.vn.

The story of H is a lively proof of advancements in HIV treatment in Việt Nam, according to the doctor.

“If people were detected earlier with HIV infection and strictly comply with the treatment protocols, they can absolutely live healthily and safely have children,” Thức said.

“When detected with HIV infection, H had planned to undergo IVF but when he achieved the undetectable index, it was no longer necessary. Now his two children are both over ten years old," said the doctor.

Doctor Châu Văn Thức is checking a patient. Photo suckhoedoisong.vn

In the past in Việt Nam, treatment drugs were scarce and had many serious side effects.

"At that time, old-generation antiviral drugs had many serious side effects. Now the three-component combination drugs are highly effective and have much fewer side effects," he said.

Since the years marked by social reservation and discrimination, up to now, Thức and his colleagues have created a safe space where patients can come to receive medicine, treatment and be listened to like friends.

According to the doctor, for people with HIV, physical illness is only part of the problem but psychological trauma is really the biggest challenge.

The patients feel inferior, afraid of being discriminated against and many are desperate. Some people think HIV is a death sentence, a mistake. The task of every doctor here is to help them understand that they can still live a good, useful life, he said.

“Many people waited for me in the very early morning with anxious eyes. Some asked for a quick check because they were afraid of meeting acquaintances. Others were holding medicines with shaking hands,” he said.

At those moments, the doctor patiently talked with them, explaining that the illness could be controlled well if they strictly followed treatment.

Many patients have followed the doctor for more than ten years and are close like family.

Thức still remembered a little girl who was infected by her mother. After many years of treatment, she was in stable condition.

“But unfortunately, she got family trouble and fell into depression and then stopped using medicine. She died when she was only 18. I am haunted by her death,” the doctor said.

From those losses, he cherishes even more the lives that are still living healthily.

In the past, as many as two dozen patients might die each year; now there are only a few late arrivals in the final stage.

Nearly 500 HIV patients are receiving outpatient treatment at the department, a figure that reflects the efforts of the medical team who have quietly fought against a disease still burdened with stigma.

“Now, each year, only a few patients die. The rest live healthily, work and have children as normal. That is the greatest ‘reward’ for us,” Thức said.

There were times when Thức considered requesting a transfer. But when he looked back at the patients he had treated, saw them living healthily with families and children, he realised he could not leave. He learned to love once more.

The HIV patients under Thức’s care come from all walks of life. Some are teachers, some were once monks, some work as amateur performers.

For each person, he finds a way to arrange appointments that are discreet and suitable so they feel secure during treatment.

In recent years, with the shift towards early detection, immediate treatment, people living with HIV have had greater chances of living healthily.

However, according to the doctor, new challenges lie among younger patients, especially gay men. They are often complacent, believing they are healthy and stop taking their medication midway. Therefore, treatment must go hand in hand with counselling and companionship to ensure their cooperation.

During the work, Thức has witnessed many tears, tears of despair and tears of joy. Some who once hid from society are now confident enough to marry, have children, live positively and even return to support newly diagnosed patients.

“When a former patient comes back to help others, no joy can compare,” he said.

In his office, day after day, Thức quietly dispenses medication, listens and encourages. Each pill handed out, each comforting word offered, is a seed of hope planted.

“They do not deserve rejection. When they are loved, they gain the strength to live well. Then this disease will no longer be something to fear,” he said.

Seventeen years on, countless generations of patients have passed through, yet Doctor Châu Văn Thức remains a dedicated doctor sowing hope and healing not only bodies but also hearts. VNS