A GRANDMOTHER who claims she contracted the Aids virus HIV through an infected blood transfusion during a traumatic pregnancy has published her autobiography as part of a long campaign for justice.
Tricia Titheridge almost died 28 years ago during the birth of her second child. She spent the next 20 years battling against a series of life-threatening illnesses before she was diagnosed as being HIV positive.
Now 57, she has written Cheating the Reaper to highlight the plight of those blood transfusion Aids victims of the 1980s who survive, and their battle for what she describes as “adequate” compensation.
Mrs Titheridge, from Blairgowrie in Perthshire, received £80,000 compensation for herself and her family “in view of her imminent death” after she was diagnosed in 2003 as probably having contracted HIV as a result of an infected blood transfusion. The hospital has never admitted liability and her records have disappeared.
She was one of 450 NHS patients who banded together under the Eileen Trust to fight for justice. Today, she is one of fewer than 20 survivors.
Mrs Titheridge, speaking before the official launch of her book in her home town next month, said: “I feel like they have just stolen my whole life. I had a career and it was all taken away from me.
“When the doctors finally told me I had HIV, I had every emotion under the sun – I was devastated, angry and there was sense almost of bereavement.
“I was a member of a trust of 450 and there are only 19 of us left now and we are still looking for justice. All the others have died.”
She added: “I just hope that by telling my story, I can give some hope to others who find themselves in a similar position.”
Mrs Titheridge received nine units of blood at a London hospital in 1984 after having an emergency Caesarean during the delivery of her second daughter, Rebecca.
She received the blood transfusions only three days before the UK government introduced a system for testing blood products for HIV infection.
In the early 1990s, Mrs Titheridge began suffering mouth ulcers and other symptoms.
She said: “I was worried, so I asked the consultant if there was a chance I was infected with HIV and he said, ‘Don’t be ridiculous – there is no chance’.”
Mrs Titheridge, who was born in Glasgow, was finally diagnosed as having the Aids virus after the family moved to Perthshire from the south of England and she collapsed at the family home in Blairgowrie, on Boxing Day, 2002.
Mr Titheridge explained he had kept the devastating diagnosis from his wife for 18 months until she made a full recovery.
He said: “It was feared Tricia was suffering from a severe case of encephalitis and she had been given six to 12 months to live. I am still angry and bitter about what has happened to her. I have always wanted to get an apology from somebody, which is never going to come, I don’t think.
“If they apologise then they would be admitting there was something wrong and they are not doing to do that.”
The couple’s MP, Pete Wishart, who has been campaigning on Mrs Titheridge’s behalf for ten years, said: “Tricia is an absolute inspiration. She has been a fantastic example of those who have been prepared to fight to ensure that justice is secured for those who were so badly affected. She is a walking marvel of survival in the face of such medical adversity.”
He added: “The compensation paid to people like Tricia has been pitiful. Britain is the only country in Europe that has not dealt with this problem properly.
“Although we have got some sort of understanding from successive governments that there is an issue, we have never actually secured adequate compensation for those who have suffered.”