By the Way

I feel like I have researched so much about children with HIV/AIDS that I thought it was about time to move up an age group. Having just barely left the teens myself, I thought that this area could have a little more relevance to me and I found some pretty shocking statistics. According to the HIV Info Source, more than one half of all teenage males infected with HIV were infected through having sex with men. Sex among teenagers whether is be heterosexually or otherwise not only causes HIV but other STDs that can also be very dangerous. Approximately one quarter of all the sexually transmitted diseases reported in the United States occured among teenagers. These statistics really started to scare me and I think that my generation really needs to wise up. http://www.hivinfosource.org/hivis/hivbasics/children/index.html#teens_get

almost over

Wow. I cannot believe that this class is almost over. It has gone by so fast. At times, I truly hated this class and I was so mad about some of the assignments that took me hours and hours to complete. But when I went to the men's panel last week, it all just fell into place. When they were telling their stories about the different medications and other situations they had been through, it was like a light bulb clicked on in my head and I was like "wait, I know what they are taking about. I know was a protease inhibitor is, I know what AZT is, I know these statistics". I have actually retained so much information that I truly didn't think I would have. I figured this class would just be an easy A filled with busy work but I was definitely wrong. I am really going to take a lot away from this class that I really didn't expect to.

Putting a Face to a Disease

So today I went to the Infected Men's Panel. Since I had never really spoken to someone with HIV or AIDS in person, it was a whole new experience. After being in this class for several months, I have seen, heard, and read about people's tragic struggle with this disease. But being able to actually see a person in the flesh that is dealing with this everyday was sort of surreal. Every person on the panel had a different story to tell. No matter how they were living their lives today, it definitely once again made me realize how lucky I am to be healthy.
A lot of the topic that came up during the discussion dealt with medication. I could relate in a very, very small way because I had to complete an M&M simulation of "pretend" drugs. I am completely aware that eating candy is in no way close to the real thing of taking serious medications. But I can somewhat understand the hardship of having to take certain medications at certain times of the day. It seemed like I couldn't even function day to day because I was so worried about missing a pill. That was just one of the terrible things that come along with having the disease and I am so grateful that those individuals came in to speak to us today. I only hope that I can meet more people as brave as them in the future.

Also, the more and more that I learn about children with HIV/AIDS, the more I learn that a lot of them are not getting the help that they need. There is HIV treatment for children that can help slow the disease and prolong their lives. Unfortunately, a statistic recently showed that around 62% children with HIV/AIDS are not receiving this treatment. How can we expect a change and hope for the future if that number is so high. There has to be a better way to help these children, and I hope that this will change in the future. http://www.avert.org/children.htm

Wow

So once again I was taking to my mom about HIV and how this class is making me always think about it. This week she told me about one of her friends that had died from AIDS. The strangest thing was that I knew this person too all growing up but my parents had never explained to me how he had passed away. He was around 40 and married with a little boy. But he also had a secret life. He was a bisexual man and also had a boyfriend on the side. He had contracted HIV from his secret boyfriend, which eventually turned to AIDS and took his life. He was very close with my parents and I remember them being very sad about it for a long time. I was only around 10 when he died so I wonder if that's why my parents never told me. It makes me wonder, what is a good age to tell children about HIV/AIDS and what it can do?

Also, there are so many different organizations that can help children with AIDS. I have been trying to post new organizations over the past few weeks but it is still amazing to me that there are so many people out there that want to help. This week I wanted to share the link for the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation. The foundation basically provides money for all different sorts of causes that can help these children. Some things that they provide money for include basic necessities, health therapies, social and recreational needs, and family recreational activities. http://www.caaf4kids.org/

Wondering...

So this week I went to Disney!!! Disney is my favorite place in the whole world and I was so excited that I decided to go. One of the things I love most about it is the possibility of people watching. While waiting in ridiculously long lines it is always fun to observe people and their families and just kind of wonder about them. I always try to guess where they're from and little things like that. But I obviously know that this class has changed me because now instead of wondering basic things about them, I wonder who out of all of these people has HIV. If you think about it, it is really, really statistically possible that there were people there that were HIV positive on the same day that I was. It just really made me wonder and just be a lot more aware of what was going on around me. It also made me a little scared because now I am so paranoid about contracting HIV myself that I imagined this whole scenario where I simply bumped into someone and for some reason we exchanged blood and now I had HIV. I know that it was a ridiculous thought of mine but it still really scares me. I think the most important thing that Ihave gotten out of this class so far is to just be thankful for my life so far. I need to be thankful that I am healthy and am now equipped with lots of knowledge on how to keep myself that way.

Also, I learned about a great organization that I wanted to post on here that deals with children with AIDS. It is called the Children with AIDS Project and they work very hard to try and provide foster care and parent services for children who suffer from HIV/AIDs. The link to the website is http://www.aidskids.org/. Check it out!

New Friends

So a few weeks ago when I went to get my test results back from Miracle of Love, I made a new friend. I showed up to the clinic at around 1:03 pm only to find that the office doesn't do test results from 1-2 pm. Fantastic right. So as I'm sitting there waiting for what seemed like forever because they kept playing really depressing AIDS videos over and over, I noticed there was a kid around my age sitting right next to me. He was shaking and he looked like he was about to cry. I was going to just mind my own business when he said hi to me. We started talking and he was waiting on his boyfriend to get his test results back. He told me that he had been there for hours and that he was so incredibly worried. He feared that if his boyfriend came back HIV positive, than that would mean that he was positive too. I tried to just sit there and listen to him vent and I found out that he was actually a really cool person. We both went to the same school and were around the same age. We seemed to have a lot in common and it just seemed weird to meet in such a random place. It really made me put myself in someone else's thoughts for awhile. I was pretty positive that I was HIV negative before I got my results, but this kid's whole life could have been changed for him in the matter of hours. Luckily, him and his boyfriend were both negative! But it still made me wonder what if? Just seeing him throw the idea around in his mind and remembering the expression on his face was enough to really scare me. It made me want to be even more careful with the decisions that I am making and just be a lot more aware of my surroundings including the people in them.

Also, did you know that with children with HIV/AIDS their symptoms usually occur very early on. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, about 20 percent of children develop serious disease in the first year of life. Also, most of these children also die by the age of four. This statistic both shocked and saddened me. I just can't understand how an innocent life can be over before they even reach kindergarten. =(

Close to home

So yesterday I took a little day trip home to see my parents. I haven't seen them in a while so of course they wanted to know how school was going. I told them about how this class has been a little challenging because it is a lot of work but I am very glad that I am taking it. She didn't even know that there was an "HIV" class that you could take. So we started taking and she had an interesting story to tell me. It was about one of my neighbors who had lived by me my entire life. My mom told me that during the 80's, my neighbor, lets call her Pat, and her husband Bob, had been living happily together. Bob needed to have some surgery for something minor but other than that was relatively healthy. When he went in for his surgery he was given a blood transfusion. During this time, blood wasn't checked as rigorously as it is today and Bob was given HIV positive blood. He eventually got AIDS and died. Pat was of course devastated and she had to raise two twin boys all by herself. There was a big lawsuit between Pat and the hospital and Pat was given a big settlement to make sure that she wouldn't have to worry about money for the rest of her life. But I know that money doesn't replace losing someone that you love.

When my mom told me this story I was so shocked! I had heard about things like this happening but I had no idea that it has happened to someone that I had known my whole life. It was such a terrible story and it really made me appreciate how lucky I am.

On a different note, I am still finding some surprising and rather sad facts about children with HIV. I was looking on the AVERT website and I saw that in many poor countries, both children and their parents have HIV. This puts a lot of pressure on the children and in many cases, the children end up taking care of their parents. Even if the child doesn't have HIV but his/her parents do, that child basically becomes the bread winner for their entire family and has to work to support them. Many of these children eventually become orphans.

http://www.avert.org/children.htm#

Getting Tested

So a few weeks ago I had to get tested for HIV and so this week I decided to write about it. I went to a place called Miracle of Love that is located in downtown Orlando. My first attempt to get tested ended badly. My GPS tried to sabotage me and ended up taking me in the complete wrong direction. I ended up driving around Orlando for almost two hours and by the time I finally found the right place, they were closed. Just my luck! So my first experience with getting tested had already start badly. The next day I went back (this time I knew exactly where to go), and was very apprehensive about it. I wasn't worried about the results that I would get, but just being in the office waiting for my turn to get tested I felt kind of dirty. I am not trying to be offensive to anyone, but for some reason when I was in there, I felt like the employees there were judging me. I thought that they thought I was some sort of bad person who did bad things so that I needed to be tested. This was COMPLETELY false. As soon as I met the person who administered my test, I felt so comfortable. She was so nonjudgemental that it make me relax immediately. The test was so easy! No blood drawn or anything! I just had to swab the insides of my mouth. I am definitely glad that I took the test.

Also, I have been continuing my research on HIV and children. This week I learned that HIV can be transferred to children through breastfeeding. This occurs in approximatley 10-14% of mothers who have chronic HIV. I also found that in many developing countries, around one third of all HIV transmissions are caused by breastfeeding. I found all of this information from the National Institute of Allergy and Infection Diseases. http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/hivchildren.htm

Also, I looked into HIV confidentiality laws in another country. The country I chose to research was Ireland. I found that in 1969, Northern Ireland put in place a Census Act that is used to protect all of its citizens and to ensure confidentiality. Information is only used for statistical uses only. They take confidentiality very seriously and it is a criminal defense to breach their confidentialty agreement. http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/CENSUS/data-confidentiality-security.htm

Shock

So this week I watched a movie/documentary titled Silverlake Life: The View From Here. It follows the lives of two gay men that have been together for over twenty years and both of them have AIDS. The film basically follows them on their everyday life and shows how each day their health is deteriorating. I have been reading about what HIV/AIDS does to your body but to actually see it happening to a person is a completely different feeling. I was horrified and saddened at the same time but couldn't stop watching. Towards the end of the film, the camera basically shows one of the characters on their deathbed. Each day he looks worse and worse and the life seems to be leaving him each second. I knew that he was going to pass away but I didn't think that it would be as terrible as it was. The camera shows him almost up to this last breath and shows his dead, lifeless body for over a minute just laying there with his eyes open. I was so disturbed that I couldn't even look at the screen anymore and I even started tearing up because it was so emotional. After his death, they show his emaciated body that is basically nothing but a skeleton. When the film was over, I couldn't move. I just sat in my chair and stared at the screen. I was so upset by this and couldn't believe that this is actually how people die from AIDS. I had no idea how horrendous it really was. Even now, I can't stop picturing his dead body and I feel sick everytime I do. I just can't shake that image from my head and I really don't know to do about it.

On a lighter note, I read about what a great job UNICEF is doing to help children with HIV/AIDS. They started a campaign called Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS.

Still Learning

So another week has gone by in this class and I still feel like I am learning something new all the time. Last week our assignment was to choose a novel to read and write a reflection paper answering some key questions about the text. I like to read so I figured this would be a fun assignment. The book I chose was called At Risk by Alice Hoffman. It followed the lives of an average American family, the Farrells. The Farrells consist of the parents Polly and Ivan, and their two children Charlie and Amanda. Everything seems normal in their lives when one day Amanda is diagnosed with AIDS. Several years earlier she received a blood transfusion that contained HIV positive blood. The book follows their lives and how each of them react to Amandas diagnosis.
As sad as this book was, it was also very eye opening. Throughout the entire book, Amanda's demise was evident. She continued getting sicker and sicker, while her family kept falling more and more apart. This really made me think about my family and how they would react if this situation happened to one of us. Could we all just stand by while one of our own was dying? It really made me realize how precious life is and hopefully something like this will never happen to me or anyone I know. The reality and sad part of this, is that that is not the case. Situations like this happen everyday, all around the world.

I also found some more statistics on HIV and children. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the city with the highest rate of pediatric AIDS is New York City. Followed by this are Miami, FL and Washington, DC.
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/hivchildren.htm

New Thoughts

This week our new Question of the Week question really got to me. Yes, they usually always make me think and evaluate a situation, but this week I got to evaluate someone other than myself. Our task was to interview three people that we knew about HIV and their thoughts on it. I asked my three roommates, mostly because we live together so I saw them first. I was actually very surprised at the responses that I got. Two of my roommates had very similar responses that almost mirrored mine exactly. I asked them if they believed that HIV was a problem in today's society and they both agreed that it was. I also asked them how they would feel if they discovered that they were HIV positive. Like me, they would be shocked and most likely devastated, but more importantly they would try to be as strong as possible and work through it. The responses of my two roommates weren't what struck me, but it was the actions of my third roommate that really made me wonder. I asked her the same questions as the other two, but instead of getting the response that I expected, she basically shrugged off the entire topic and told me that she didn't think that HIV was a problem at all. She felt that just because she didn't have HIV, she didn't need to worry about it. I was just very taken aback by how nonchalant she was about the entire thing. I almost wondered if I was being too hard on her because ever since I started taking this class I have been a little consumed with HIV and what it does to people. So instead of being a little less than nice to her, I just expressed my feelings about it in a nice way and I really encouraged her to take this class if she can. I know that it really helped me, and its not even half way over yet! More importantly, this topic made me wonder how many people in the world have this "don't care" attitude similar to my roommate's. Just something to think about.
Finally, I have been continuing my research on children with HIV/AIDS and I just wanted to share a few more very facts that I learned from the AIDS.org website (http://www.aids.org/factSheets/612-Children-and-HIV.html). I learned that two common ways that children become HIV positive are when they are born, their mothers pass the virus down to them and also through blood transfusions that are not screened. I was also very happy to read that there are some treatments for babies that are unborn. If a mother knows that she is HIV positive and gets proper medical care, there are medications called antiretroviral medications that can help. Anything that can help children is always a plus!
Talk to you next week!

The more you know.

Let me start off by saying, there is so much about HIV that I don't know. Last week I learned about all of the statistics involving HIV/AIDS. It absolutely blew my mind the effect that it is having on the world. Of course I hear celebrities and television shows endorsing how bad the fight again AIDS is and how everyone should help. But even me hearing other people talk about what an epidemic it is, I still had no idea how vast it was (even in my own country). One statistic from the Florida Department of Health that really stood out to me was that there are currently 116, 250 people living with AIDS in Florida. That's not just HIV, these people have full blown AIDS. It struck me so much because I have lived in Florida my entire life and have visited a lot of different cities. It made me wonder if I had ever met any of these people or just passed them by on the street. That was only one of the many, many statistics that stood out in my head. I encourage everyone to do a little research on it just to get a grasp on how serious it is.

Secondly, I wanted to learn a little more about HIV in children. This topic seems so heartbreaking to me because it is awful to have to see anyone suffer, especially children. Since I have only done a small amount of research on it, I just wanted to share some startling statistics that I found. I did a simple google search and found pages and pages of information on children with HIV. One particular website that I found to be extremely helpful was Avert. According to that website, at the end of 2007, 2 million children were living with HIV. A significant part of that 2 million will eventually die because of lack of treatment. This just made me incredibly sad and I look forward to doing more research to see what avenues are being taken to help these children.

Lastly, I wanted to share an organization called the Aids Health Project that helps HIV positive people cope with their situations. It is located in San Francisco, California and is a great place for HIV positive people to reach out to others and get help. The Aids Health Project offers many different support groups for many different people. Some of their groups cater to those living with HIV and also to those that are HIV-negative but are at risk. It is basically just a place to talk and meet other people but does not provide any other necessities such as food and shelter. Still, I know that if I was HIV positive I would really want a place where I could just reach out to someone and let them hear my story. I think it is a great organization. If anyone is interested in checking it out here is the link: http://www.ucsf-ahp.org/index.html

Talk to you next week!

First Experiences

My name is Sara and I know nothing about HIV (or at least I didn't two weeks ago). I am currently a junior in college and to be honest, I needed an elective to fill my schedule. I went into this course truly not caring about the disease because I thought it had no relevance in my life whatsoever (how wrong was I). It has only been a few weeks and already I have more of an understanding and appreciation for this disease and what is does to individuals.

For our first two assignments we had simulate what it would feel like if we had two of the symptoms that come with HIV. The first was thrush. In this simulation, I had to stuff cotton balls in my mouth and try to do the simple task of eating a cracker and swallowing water. I was surprised to find that I couldn't complete the task successfully. I could barely even chew let alone swallow the cracker and after the experiment was over I was left with a the feeling of defeat and a bad aftertaste! This was designed to help simulate how it feels to have thrush on a day to day basis. Some people suffering from it report that they feel like they have cotton in their mouths and even develop painful sores on the insides of their mouths.

The second simulation was supposed to depict PCP, Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia. During this experiment, I had to let one of my friends basically smother me with a pillow to simulate the effect of shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. These are two effects that are common among those suffering from PCP. After mere seconds, I felt myself struggling for air and wanting that simulation to be over immediately.

As much as I hated both experiences, it really opened my eyes to a lot of things. Before last week, I had never even heard of thrush or PCP, let alone how they can affect a person so much. Just learning about two of the many many side effects that go along with HIV I felt saddened for those who have to deal with them on a day to day basis. Participating in those two assignments really made me want to learn more about them and reach out to others that unlike me can't just spit out the cotton balls or take the pillow off my face. I am definitely looking forward to what the rest of the class brings, not only the countless information but also the people that I hopefully can learn from.