Meanwhile at the hospital whilst the guys
chatted with Art, and some of the other patients, dj sought out the doctor in
charge, who told him that the nurse had already updated him and how grateful
they were.
dj asked about Art and the doctor said he
knew what he was asking and he didn’t know.
He was a battler, where others gave up.
He was also there much earlier than most.
“And since Dao and Jaew shot the report, he
has been more determined than ever. I
had to force him to use a wheelchair last night. He doesn’t need it. It’s just that the last thing we needed was
him being overcome with emotion and falling over, the lesser of two evils. It was his decision not to tell you until
last night; it was something to look forward to. I can’t say how long. If he hadn’t been in such a bad state when
one of the nurses found him, we’d never have taken him in. Now he is helping us out a lot with the
others. He is the local hero after last
night.”
dj thought.
“If we plan to do a show in 2 weeks, would that be something for them
all to look forward to.” The doctor
nodded.
dj said he’d call with a date the next day
and asked what else they needed.
“You name it, we need it, as we say in the
programme. For a start old magazines,
snacks, music. Boredom is a major
problem. We have 20 patients. It’s as many as we can afford, and even then
it’s difficult.”
He took dj for a walk and showed him their
fundraising target. “If we achieve that,
we can convert these two rooms into 10 cubicles each and give them some privacy
and their own TV. It will also help control
infections. Beyond that, we’d like to
expand but that needs big money as we’d need to have enough in the bank to
cover running costs for at least a year.”
They got back to the ward to see a smiling
Art, sitting next to his bed whilst the others chatted with the other
patients. Art got up and walked
over. dj asked if he’d upset the others
already.
“No, I told them to go and introduce
themselves. I’m happy, and I have much more
time. None of us have anywhere else to
go. Most of them won’t be here much
longer.”
He explained that he was HIV+, and that the
doctor said he couldn’t tell when it would develop to AIDS. The hospital had agreed to take him after one
of the nurses found him sleeping rough in a doorway. He helped out with the others. Sometimes he felt guilty for taking a place
that someone else needed, but he had nowhere else to stay.
dj told him that they would bring the show
in about two weeks and he’d call him with the date the next day.
“I don’t have a phone. I had to sell everything I could for food
before I had a place at the hospital.”
“I know.
Here is a phone and we have already put everyone’s number in and there
is 500 Baht of credit. “We’ll put 100 Baht
a week on for you. Now we’ve found you,
you aren’t getting rid of us! Once a
diamond, always a diamond so here are some shorts and a shirt.” He handed him the clothes and said Rit was
sure 23 was his number. Art smiled and
hugged him.
“Oh and it’s my birthday next week. The doc says you can come and visit for 24
hours. We won’t be working, just a party
at the houses.”
Art looked at the doc who said he couldn’t
foresee any problems. He’d give them the
medication and find someone to give him his injections.
When the others returned, Art told them,
and thanked them. Run said he wouldn’t
be there for dj’s birthday, but he was down second Tuesday of every month and
would come and visit.
They
said their goodbyes, and headed off in silence.
