Thanks For Your Love
Second Opinion

The country of Singapore is full of beautiful light at night, on the main highway Orchard Road, malls and various places that are getting lively with the sparkling lights of the city.

That night Tommy decided to walk through the city that night which was not far from his apartment. Fernando is still busy with his job choosing to stay in the apartment. After dinner they had already eaten together.

Tommy did not know whether to cut off temporary communication with his wife and all his family was the right decision or not. But he hopes it is the right decision. Because if he keeps in touch with Rome, it will be difficult for him to answer all his wife's questions.

After taking a walk, Tommy decided to go home and rest. Because his appointment with doctor Sinta is at 8 am Singapore time.

"Your master is ready? Here I have made breakfast Mr. "greet Fernando when I see Tommy who just came out of his room.

"Thank you Fer–" he said and sat down in front of Fernando.

"Master, Madam asked about Mister." Fernando is a little hesitant to say it but he also has to tell that he got a message from Mrs Roma.

"Tell him you don't know anything Fer–."

"But Tuan–." Fernando did not continue his speech because Tommy had already cut it first.

"He didn't know you were with me Fer–. And you better not activate the Indonesian number. We will buy Singapore numbers. If it's an office matter, have them contact you via email."

Fernando can only obey the orders of his superiors. Without being able to do much to help his boss. The problem faced by his boss was his personal problem.

After breakfast they went straight to the Hospital where Sinta's doctor worked. Because they had made an appointment first and Sinta's doctor had not opened his practice schedule so Tommy did not need to queue for a consultation with the doctor.

"Please sit down Sir." said Sinta when the two men had entered his room along with one of the nurses who escorted him.

"Call Tommy, maybe we're the same age" Tommy said, then sat in front of the woman.

"Please wait at the nurse's desk, Din" he told the nurse named Dinda.

"All right, doctor." he said, then walked out of the room.

"Can I help Tom?" ask Sinta directly to the point and try to talk as familiar as possible with his patient.

"I think the doctor has heard my reasons from my Assistant Fernando why I want to see a doctor."

"Yay–, right. Then?"

"I want to do a checkup like Sandy did Doc?"

"What is your relationship with Sandy?" tanya Sinta made Tommy frown his forehead. "Sorry, asisnten you're just saying that you want to know about Sandy's illness not to say your relationship with Sandy." Tommy looked at Fernando who was sitting on a separate bench with him behind him. Then Fernando nodded his head.

"You need not fear Tom, I can guarantee the confidentiality of your identity and the results of our counseling. And actually I can't leak Sandy's diagnosis to you either."

"If you have decided to come all the way to see me it means you are ready and must be honest with what you feel and you face now" said Sinta reassured Tommy.

"I want to get tested for HIV. Please help me, what should I do?" tommy said softly and straight to the point.

"May I know why?"

"I used to be Gay, and Sandy was my partner."

"Have you? Then now?" the doctor scrunched his forehead.

"Now I'm cured and I just got married." Sinta seemed surprised to hear Tommy who said that he was cured because it was impossible for such a couple to be cured. "I wouldn't want to hurt and dirty my wife if I also had that damned disease."

Sinta looked in admiration at the man sitting in front of her, very rarely does anyone think about it most people would be happy to pass the cursed disease on to others because he thinks that not only himself will suffer. That's what happens in most of the country. When there was a leak of state secrets about HIV disease that once shocked the country.

Tommy also tells how his relationship with Sandy first.

"At the end of the day, patients don't need any special preparation to get tested for HIV" said the doctor.

"However, some things should be done before further examination."

"Some tests and types of examination are also diverse, ranging from Antibody Tests, PCR Tests (polymerase chain reaction) and the last antibody-antigen combination test (Ab-Ag test)"

"What's the difference between each test, Doc? Then which is the most accurate and the fastest out of the results?" Tommy didn't want to linger there. He wanted to go home and see his wife.

"I'll explain one by one. The first antibody test, this is done to detect HIV antibodies in the blood. HIV antibodies are proteins produced by the immune system in response to HIV infection, usually 1–3 months after infection. Generally, this test is used for early screening, Tom. Well, if from your story earlier you've been separated from Sandy for almost two years, right? And you don't have any symptoms that suggest you're infected with HIV."

"It's difficult to determine whether someone is infected with HIV or not. People who have HIV will feel healthy at first. This is because the incubation period of HIV or the entry period of the virus until symptoms appear is 5-10 years. It could even be more than 10 years if our immune system is very good." explained Dr. Sinta.

"What's? That long doc?" Tommy seemed very surprised to hear the explanation from doctor Sinta.

"Yes, because of the incubation period in one viral life cycle that takes place in our body ad 7 stages. The first stage of binding or attachment. The initial phase of the HIV life cycle begins with the incubation period or the time when the virus has not been active multiply and damage cells in the immune system."

"The second Merger. After attaching to the receptor on the surface of the host cell, the virus will then fuse itself."

"Three reverse transcriptions in which this phase of the length of HIV infection involving the change from HIV RNA to HIV DNA will end when HIV enters the nucleus of CD4 cells."

"Exactly long dok explanation, why also described one-on-one gini? Like a college kid, I was made by this doctor. Just go straight to the point dok–." Inner Tommy who had begun to be careless to hear the explanation of doctor Sinta.

"The Fourth–."

"Sorry Doc, get to the point." Tommy immediately trimmed Sinta's explanation and made Sinta's doctor slightly offended.

"Well, from the incubation period of transmission there are 7 stages and I don't think I need to explain it to that detail." Sinta's face started to turn irritated.

"I'm sorry I offended the doctor. But I'm a layman dok– I also do not understand what the doctor explained earlier with various medical languages that the doctor said so if you can explain it to me with a language that I can understand." Tommy knew that Sinta's doctor was offended by him who immediately asked for an explanation at the core.

"Alright I will explain a little with the examination that you will do Tom, here you should do the PCR Test only. The PCR test is the most accurate HIV test. This test can even detect HIV infection even though the immune system has not produced antibodies to the virus. But unfortunately, this test is rarely used because it requires a considerable cost and a lot of time and effort."

"You don't worry about docking costs."

"Uupss–, I'm sorry I forgot that you're a pretty rich man." Doctor Sinta smiled deliberately tempting Tommy to relieve the tension between them.

"I came all the way here to see doctor–." Tommy begins to be unhappy with the attitude of doctor Sinta.

"Okay, I just want to melt the atmosphere. So you don't get too tense Tuan–." Apparently the doctor was also upset by Tommy's attitude.

"I'll call his Laboratory officer to take your blood sample Mr." Sinta who was upset with Tommy also began to talk formally to him.

Then Sinta pressed the extension phone button to the laboratory room and asked his officers to come to his room.

"Thank you doc, and if I may know how long the results will last?"

"After the blood draw is complete you should go home. Tomorrow you can come back here again." said Sinta flat and not as friendly at the beginning they came.

"What's wrong with this woman? Why does he look so upset?"

Not long before the Laboratory officers come and take a sample of Tommy's blood and then excuse out to Sinta after completion.

"Then we'll excuse us to go home too."

"Yes please."

Actually for the PCR examination it does not take long, only 6-10 minutes the results have come out.

But it looks like Sinta wants Tommy to consult her again. Because from the beginning to see Tommy somehow Sinta has been attracted to him, especially coupled with his attitude that is very protective of his wife makes his heart shake.

From Tommy's story alone he was very sure that the man was healthy because Tommy did not have the symptoms experienced by Sandy. But because he knows better how the incubation period of the virus is in the human body so it does not rule out the possibility that the man also contracted a disease that has no cure.

"Fer, isn't there a better hospital than this Hospital?" ask Tommy when they're in the car.

"What's up, sir?" Fernando can feel something that makes the Master was less comfortable with the service of the doctor Sinta earlier.

"I just want to make a comparison. It's not wrong to do a second opinion, is it Fer?"

"Okay Tuan–, I will find out Mr and it seems there is" said Fernando who immediately looked for what the Master asked.

"We go straight there Fer, I don't want my time wasted here."

"Good Tuan–."

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Author needs Coffee because UP is too late 😪