In March, Emerson received a call from his boyfriend. He was in hospital, bedridden.
He had advanced HIV infection, as well as tuberculosis, pneumonia and syphilis. He urged Emerson to get tested too.
"So many things were going through my mind. I picked up the courage to go to the Action for Aids (AfA) evening clinic to get tested," says the 51-year-old graphic designer.
His worst fears came true. The clinic manager said he had tested positive for HIV, but needed another test to confirm it.
"I couldn't even cry," he says, recalling his state of mind at the time.
"So what am I supposed to do next? What do I have to plan for? Do I have to make a doctor's appointment?" While Emerson went for health check-ups and started getting treatment for himself, his boyfriend appeared to be getting better.
But things took a turn when Lance developed an opportunistic infection in hospital. HIV attacks the immune system as it progresses, and patients become vulnerable to infections that can normally be fought off by a healthy immune system. Within weeks, he was dead.
"His death really shocked me," says Emerson, who flew to Taiwan in April 2016 to attend his boyfriend's funeral.
"I couldn't tell his parents who I was. My emotions didn't hit me until I got to the columbarium. I just started crying." For about a year after that, Emerson was in so much grief that he isolated himself.
Denne historien er fra November 30, 2024-utgaven av The Straits Times.
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Denne historien er fra November 30, 2024-utgaven av The Straits Times.
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