- Jim Reed
- BBC Health Correspondent
photo source, Family Photo
As a child, Michael was diagnosed with hemophilia, a hereditary disorder that prevents bleeding easily.
A BBC review of documents in the UK’s national archives found that regarding 150 children with hemophilia in the 1980s were infected with the immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The patient’s family came forward to present evidence in a public investigation into what has been dubbed the “worst medical disaster in the history of the National Health Service (NHS).”
Almost 36 years have passed, but Linda still vividly remembers the news that her son Michael was infected with HIV in late October 1986. HIV is the virus that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
At the time, Linda headed to the hospital following being contacted by medical staff at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham.
His 16-year-old son was already suffering from hemophilia, a hereditary disease that prevents blood from clotting properly from an early age.
So Linda speculated that it would be a discussion regarding moving her son’s dedicated hospital to the ‘Queen Elizabeth Hospital’, a large-scale hospital in Birmingham.
“My husband[마이클의 의붓아버지]”It was a very normal day waiting for me in the parking lot outside this hospital,” said Linda. “But suddenly, the doctor said, ‘Michael was positive in the HIV test,’ and calmly spoke as if talking regarding the weather. She felt her heart sink,” she recalled.
“I went back to my husband who was in the car and talked to him. On the way home, no one spoke. Everyone was in shock.”
HIV positive
At that time, it was in the early stages of the AIDS crisis, a few months before the British government launched a TV campaign called ‘I hope you don’t die by ignorance’ in 1987 and advertised AIDS education for the entire nation.
However, the stigma and stigma attached to AIDS was already evident in reality.
In 1985, when a student who had also had hemophilia tested positive for AIDS antibodies, dozens of parents brought their children from the same elementary school.
That’s why Michael didn’t want to tell his friends and family regarding the positive test.
“That’s how my son reacted,” said Linda. “I endured it alone without telling anyone.”
Michael’s mother, Linda, said: “My son didn’t tell his friends or anyone because he wanted to feel like a normal person.”
“Michael didn’t tell his friends or anyone else because he wanted to feel like a normal person.”
Between 1970 and 1991, 1,250 people with blood diseases who received a new drug called ‘blood clotting factor VIII’ became infected with HIV in the UK. It was a treatment to replace the lack of clotting protein in the blood.
Among them were 175 children who were treated by NHS medical staff at hospitals, schools and hemophilia clinics.
It is estimated that tens of thousands of people have also been exposed to hepatitis C through treatment or blood transfusions. Hepatitis C can cause liver failure and liver cancer.
Before the advent of antiretroviral drugs, regarding half of these HIV-infected people died of AIDS-related diseases.
‘Inmates and drug users’
At that time, there were not enough blood products in Britain, so ‘blood clotting factor 8’ was being imported from the United States.
The ‘blood clotting factor VIII’ formulation is made by collecting plasma from thousands of donors. So if even one of the donors is HIV positive, the virus can spread.
American pharmaceutical companies were paid to buy plasma. However, they also approached high-risk groups, such as inmates and drug users.
Meanwhile, Linda remembered an AIDS briefing held at the Children’s Hospital in Birmingham in 1984, two years before Michael tested positive. She was the first to hear regarding AIDS at the time and she was told that Linda told her to look out for some symptoms.
But Linda said she and her family were never fully aware of the dangers. She even says that one nurse told Linda not to worry, she said, “Michael is fine”.
Meanwhile, Michael continued to receive blood products imported from the United States.
photo source, File photo
Former ‘Queen Elizabeth Hospital’ in Birmingham. The hospital moved to another location in 2010.
Then, when Michael entered his late teens, he started showing signs of various abnormalities, such as sweating at night, having a high fever, or getting the flu.
But Michael continued to work hard. He travels, enjoys music, and supports his favorite West Bromwich Albion FC.
Then he said, “We had an important match for West Bromwich Albion FC at Wembley (near London), but Michael’s condition was really bad.”
“So we decorated the car (with all the necessary stuff) and let Michael meet his friends in the car. Michael wanted more than his physical condition to be able to go to the arena.”
Eventually, however, as his immune system began to crumble, Michael lost weight, felt tired, and his memory deteriorated.
photo source, FAMILY PHOTO
Michael in his youth. Michael passed away on May 26, 1995, exactly one week before his 26th birthday.
Michael was transferred to the Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham. Linda, who was then working as a cook in a nursing home, quit her job and took care of her son. It was the last few months of her son’s life.
Linda recalled, “My son joked with me, ‘I don’t think my mother is a nanny,’ but I only said, ‘Don’t worry, son.'”
He even plagued Michael with meningitis and pneumonia. All were diseases caused by HIV, which was infected as a child.
So on May 26, 1995, exactly one week before his 26th birthday, Michael left his mother Linda forever.
special investigation
Thirty years following Michael’s death, Linda is still presenting evidence in a long-running public investigation into the medical disaster.
Linda will be attending an extraordinary session of Congress with other parents to share her experiences as a family of HIV-infected children in the 7’s and 80’s.
“I felt I had to do this,” Linda said, “because I want to help uncover the truth.”
“We want to know the exact truth regarding why it might have happened in the first place, and why it might have continued.”
*As requested by Linda, last name was not disclosed.
