Sad Eyes

That was the first thing I noticed. She had sad eyes. It wasn’t only that she was here for a toothache and needed an extraction. There must be more than that. She was only eight years old and she had very sad eyes.
She lives with her Mother in a remote village on the Mekong River fairly close to the Vietnam border. Her Father died two years ago and her Mother probably will soon. They all are HIV positive.
Although I have no doubt seen many HIV positive patients in the past, she is the first to tell me she is. Most of the previous ones did not know they had the virus. Some know but do not tell. Her Mom is taking retroviral meds but she is not. She has not seen a medical doctor in over two years. Mom says she will try to see one soon.It breaks my heart to know that she probably has very little chance of long term survival. I remember so well when my daughter Brittany was eight. Life was exciting and fun and she had many friends and always had a smile and a twinkle in her eyes. This little girl has no twinkle. She has no smile. She only has sadness in her eyes. Rick