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