My Life and NIPAH Virus
Tenzin Lhadon
I
thought that i had the greatest family ever...
Actually
I had, until he came into my life...NIPHA VIRUS!.He was something that i can't
control, something unacceptable and something.... horrible!
I
lived in a village called Sungai Nipha in Malaysia with my parents and my
younger sister who is barely a year old. As for me, I am Gina, a ten years old
girl...I was everyone’s favourite and laughter. I use to help my father with
his farm and my mother with her animal husbandary..When i get free time i use
to help my uncle and aunt with their shops and i also use to spent time with
the grandparents listening to their folk tales....I had no friend that i could
play with because i was always busy helping the elder one accept for Ream,My
cute baby pig..She was all i have as a friend.
Everything
was going fine and happy...But one dreadful evening, my mother got sick. She
had very high fever and she coughed a lot..We showed her to doctor and they
said it will go away quickly..We gave her the medicine that doctor prescribed
and slept. Next morning, She was quite better than last night so she went to
work. We thought it was not that much serious as it happened to be.Day after
day,she keep having headache and high fever. She keeps coughing a lot and
somethimes she can't even breadth..We called our Uncle and aunt, they carried
her to the city for a better doctor.I was left with my Ream and aunt..I got so
worried and scared..Scared thinking that she will leave me alone and
forever..For the whole two weeks i had no one that could nurse me to sleep..My
aunt barely comes to me as she got super busy with her shop.All i had as my
parent and as my family was Ream..she was all i had.
After
two weeks, I hurried outside with joy and excitement to meet my mother once
again...I found my father and uncle crying and sobbing until they saw me and my
father came running towards me and hugged me..That time i didn't feel the
warmth of his body but the cold sorrow that he brought with him..And my first
greatest love and laughter was snatched away from me..
Along
with my father some of the nurses and doctors came for check up and took some sample of what my
mother use to have and wear..After some days they came again, and this time
they has the reason behind why my mother died, the newly found desease NIPHA
VIRUS!!.They told us that it was their first time knowing such kind of virus as
they never had such desease before..They said they don't have cure right now so
all we could do is to prevent it before anything gets wrong..They started
going all around the village in search
of infected people..Not many days after my mother died,Someone was also got by
that virus and then day after day many poeple got sick and we came to know that
this virus can spread though human to human through direct contact. ,many were
dead and many were scared..The doctors
can't do anything,they just gave hopes to those who were dying and created
awareness to those who were scared and was fully stranger to such kind of
desease...
Months
passed and the doctors and the researchers got to know more about the
virus..They found that the virus can spread among humans and to those who have
close contact with infected pigs thus they wanted all the pigs in our village
to be killed.Even my Ream...I told them
she was not infected and dangerouse..i told them she had nothing to do with
that virus..i told them i need her and I told them she is a part of my
family.But no one listened, even my father.They took away all the pigs and
killed them without a single mercy..And then
our village has became a cemetry with full of unburied dead body of
humans and pigs..people were scared about there unknowing death..They don't
want to be captured by that deadly desease and they they don't want to die
being a host of that virus..Most of them moved to city and so my uncle and aunt
did.They carried my little sister with them and promised my dad to take care of
her and raise her well..Our village were under big research and was also in
great danger..Half of our poeple were dead and one forth went to city.people
like me and my father were left helping the doctors and researcher.
I
once dreamed of my own family with my own parents.I once wish for my parents to
live long so that my children will have
someone they call as grandparents. I wished to have a wonderful and a happy
life.But now all those dreams and my wishes washed away with the endless blood
of my poor villagers and the animals.
My
father wants me to go with my aunt,but i
don't wanna let him die alone..i wanted
to take care of him until he take his last breath.Day after day my father got
worse and he was near his death.All i could do is watch him dying, suffering
and crying out in pain so much.I couldn't even guide my parents well to their death bed.I couldn't
get good time to give them a nice farewell and i couldn't get enough time to
tell them how much i love them and how much i will miss them..All i could do is
cry, cry and cry my lungs out.
People
sent by the government gave us food and shelter..They had been very nice to us,
specially Dr.Clay.He was with me when i was hopeless and crying endless after
my father's death."Thats enough!!"I shouted myself by the river under
the full moon."I had this enough of you...you took away all i had..All my
poor family and my friend..Now i had no one to rely upon and its all your
fault..What have i done to you that you could be so rude to me like
this..Why??"I cried talking to myself."Ahem..sorry to interrupt your
crying but can I join you??"This was the first time meeting with
Dr.Clay.He sat beside me.."This is nobody's fault...And if you really want
to blame someone.Then blame him."He pointed to a fruit bad hanging on a
tree.."We were first clueless about this dreadful desease..Nobody knows
until your mother came.You can't blame yourself or no one..And not only you but
most of the villager's lost there loving family..Some are orpan like you,some
lost there children..And some are not wanting this sad story of there life..Not
only you but all are struggling hard and wanting this to end fast....Listen,
you have to be strong and and never let that virus catch you.."He was
right after all...I have been only worring about myself and my family..I have
been so selfish...I couldn't waste my limited life crying and regreting what
happened in past..I have to feel lucky that i am still alive and have to make
the best out of it.."Can you please help me??"i asked.And he
nodded."I have to go to city...i have to go to my aunt and uncle..Can you
please do that for me??"I plead."What about coming with me and being
something that could help them...I am unmarried and have no family...You could
be a family..what do you say??"He suggested.."Thank you so much for
your kindness..I would love to do so.."i agreed and decided to spent my
life with him...
Year
passed and my village became smaller with healthy people but leaded by hundred
death of my poor villagers.That virus has spread among country to country by
the time..Thousand were died in Bangladesh, Singapore and India.We still hasn't
found any cure for that virus and still many people are dying around the
world..And recently there was an outbreak of Nipha virus in a place called
Kerela in India.
We
still can't stop and eliminate that virus forever.It keeps spreading and
spreading killing thousand of innocent poeple.Me and my group went to diffrent
part of the world where Nipha has attacked.We help as much as we could and
helped as much as we can..
"Dr.Gina,
our next visit is Kerela,India"My assistant told me.."Sure...Lets do
this thing!....We don't know how many people we will be able to save and how
many poeple will die infront of
us....But we still need to help them and do whatever we can to prevent it
because.."i shouted.."PREVENTION IS BETTER THEN CURE!!!"we all
shouted....
