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A brave little boy who
was born with HIV
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Troy Lovegrove was
a brave boy. Born HIV-
positive, he lived life to
the fullest till his death in June
this year, three weeks before his
eighth birthday.
A Kid Called Troy (ABC,
Wednesday 8.30) focuses on
Troy and his father, Vince, who
share a special bond, particular-
ly since the 1987 death from
AIDS of Troy's mother, Suzi.
Suzi Lovegrove was the sub-
ject of a previous award-win-
ning documentary, Suzi's Story,
and Troy was introduced to the
viewers through this.
A Kid Called Troy, directed
by Terry Carlyon, is a tragic, yet
at times positive, account of the
boy's struggle with the disease.
Through Vince's persistence,
Troy was able to live the life of a
"regular" kid, attending a public
school and taking gym classes.
In his short life, Troy amazed
doctors with his will to live and
to bounce back after bouts of
sickness. The bravery comes
through in a hospital scene
where Troy is forced to spend
three hours with a drip in his
arm and another agonising time
getting skin lesions removed. In
one scene, he mentions that he
misses his mother. Vince tells
him he may see Suzi again soon
but Troy says that will be a long
time away, "when I die".
Other scenes were filmed in
Arnhem Land, to which Vince
Troy and half-sister Holly trav-
elled on an educative visit.
The spectre of a pale, sickly,
white boy (Troy weighed just
17.5 kilos shortly before his
death) swimming with robust,
glowing Aboriginal children is
one which will stay with the
viewer for a long time.
The film shows how AIDS
affects families and does not
discriminate.
— NICOLE LEEDHAM
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