Hello Fellow Bloggers,
This marks the last blog for this class. This last blog takes us through the end of the semester into the Thanksgiving holiday. For many of us we are visiting our families and for others we continue to work to take care of everyone else. During the course of this class, we have all learned about HIV/AIDS. We have all been a part of something great and exemplary. We are all going to take from this class what we need and continue to move in a direction of growth.
I learned over this semester that I'm really not great at keeping to a schedule and taking online classes requires alot of discipline and time. I've learned that family is more important than losing your cool in order to meet that 11:55 p.m. deadline. Sometimes priorities must take a proper order and family is more important. In families dealing with HIV/AIDS its amazing how much family really matters. Sometimes Thanksgiving is only a holiday full of lots of food, The Macy's Day Parade and football but for HIV/AIDS patients and their families it might be the last time they can all be together. So enjoying family in a time of ill health will be crucial in their emotional well-being.
Now that we're talking turkey... it's great knowing a little bit about the diet especially when it relates to HIV/AIDS. Did you know that patients with HIV/AIDS need extra vitamins and supplements. This extra supplementation and vitamin intake will help them maintain good weight and keep their immunity up. Although there is no special diet, by adopting a healthy eating lifestyle consisting of extra water and an intake of good lean proteins and fats, will ensure they stay around a little longer. For so many of us who have lost someone special way too soon... The implementation of a healthy lifestyle will give us all a reason to look forward to the holiday season!
Happy Blogging and to all a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Works cited:
Diet of HIV patients. (May 2007). HIV insite website. Retrieved November 26, 2009 from http://www.hivinsite.org/hiv?page=pb-daily-diet#S9X
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Blog #11 Education is just the beginning...
Hello Fellow Bloggers,
This week I'm trying to get things finished early because my ex-mother in law starts chemo this week so I need to be there with her.
I'm going to talk about how much this class has impacted me, not only on educating me on HIV disease but on life lessons as well. My grandfather was a wise, uneducated man and before he passed he sat me down and gave me a life lesson I will never forget. He said this to me in Spanish but I'll give it to you in English. He said, 'mija, you'll always have three things in life that you can't run away from; 1. taxes 2. death 3. and your legacy.' (yeyo)
I've learned that selfishness is not an honorable quality and by surrounding oneself with people who are selfish in nature, growth is a very unattainable goal. Living and prospering in today's society is about leaning on others and relying on help from everyone. I'm sure everyone is in accord when I say no of us could have gotten where we are if it weren't for family and friends who care and put us at the forefront of their thoughts and help in anyway possible to see us prosper. It indeed takes a village to grow into a great human being. We all need to feel wanted and must have a place in our own families in order to become the person we know we are destined to become.
How does that relate to HIV? It is selfishness that is one of the reasons I feel we've become the lax nation we are today. Its about the bottom line, the amount of money made, the size of our wallets and material things. In the movie, 'And The Band Played On, Dr. Don Francis stands up during a meeting in Atlanta, GA and said , 'how many more have to die before it becomes cost efficient for you to do something about it?' (film) The blood bank was selfish and didn't want to spend more money to implement testing for HIV in their blood bank supply and create procedures for testing future donations.
By creating a selfish population from children who only think of themselves to adults that imprint how our world operates. We've taken the golden rule and bent it to suit our own needs. Instead of treating others like we want to be treated we say treat others like we want and then charge them for it later. We stroke our own egos and that surely isn't helping our society and its definitely not helping to end this war with HIV disease. When are we as parents going to take initiative and lose our selfishness and start teaching our kids life lessons they need to survive? We tell them to brush their teeth, be polite, use their manners. Why can't we drop the front and teach them to protect themselves. I mean come on. We want them to be healthy and live a long productive life, right?
If we really think about it, we all have been selfish at some point in our lives. None of us can truly say that we are untouched by selfishness. In this class, we have answered questions like; if education isn't working what other methods can we use to educate on HIV disease, is it ethical to continue testing on monkeys in search of an HIV vaccine, would you give your sibling an infected organ if that was their only chance of living? and so on and so forth. They all are based on human selfishness. How we react in certain situations determines our level of selfishness.
Take this weeks question for example. If education isn't working as proven by an increase in HIV infection statistics, what other methods can we use to educate on HIV disease? This is a complex question in which, thinking outside the box is a must. I think everything starts at home. Whether you live in a two parent home, go to church regularly, your age, your orientation we all have something in common. We are all humans, we are all selfish and the only way to solve this problem is by educating our children and moving forward from there.
Did you know that according to Global AIDS Alliance, "Worldwide, over 15 million children under the age of 18 have lost one or both parents to AIDS—a number that is expected to reach 20 million by 2010." (globalaidsalliance.org) This is absolutely disheartening. I don't want to be selfish in sharing information that could be vital to my son's survival and have him become a statistic. The article really sheds a light on the tremendous impact HIV has on our children. Their lack of emotional support is what struck me hardest. I couldn't imagine not having my son to hug and kiss on. We really need to get off our high horses and support all of our children.
works cited:
Pablo Mora de Limon. Personal Conversation. Circa 1990.
Spottiswoode, Roger (Director). (September 11, 1993) And the Band Played On [TV Movie]. Sarah Pillsbury, Midge Sanford (Producers). Arnold Schulman (Writer) HBO
Protect the Children. (2009). Global AIDS Alliance website. Retrieved November 18, 2009 from http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/issues/protect_the_children/
This week I'm trying to get things finished early because my ex-mother in law starts chemo this week so I need to be there with her.
I'm going to talk about how much this class has impacted me, not only on educating me on HIV disease but on life lessons as well. My grandfather was a wise, uneducated man and before he passed he sat me down and gave me a life lesson I will never forget. He said this to me in Spanish but I'll give it to you in English. He said, 'mija, you'll always have three things in life that you can't run away from; 1. taxes 2. death 3. and your legacy.' (yeyo)
I've learned that selfishness is not an honorable quality and by surrounding oneself with people who are selfish in nature, growth is a very unattainable goal. Living and prospering in today's society is about leaning on others and relying on help from everyone. I'm sure everyone is in accord when I say no of us could have gotten where we are if it weren't for family and friends who care and put us at the forefront of their thoughts and help in anyway possible to see us prosper. It indeed takes a village to grow into a great human being. We all need to feel wanted and must have a place in our own families in order to become the person we know we are destined to become.
How does that relate to HIV? It is selfishness that is one of the reasons I feel we've become the lax nation we are today. Its about the bottom line, the amount of money made, the size of our wallets and material things. In the movie, 'And The Band Played On, Dr. Don Francis stands up during a meeting in Atlanta, GA and said , 'how many more have to die before it becomes cost efficient for you to do something about it?' (film) The blood bank was selfish and didn't want to spend more money to implement testing for HIV in their blood bank supply and create procedures for testing future donations.
By creating a selfish population from children who only think of themselves to adults that imprint how our world operates. We've taken the golden rule and bent it to suit our own needs. Instead of treating others like we want to be treated we say treat others like we want and then charge them for it later. We stroke our own egos and that surely isn't helping our society and its definitely not helping to end this war with HIV disease. When are we as parents going to take initiative and lose our selfishness and start teaching our kids life lessons they need to survive? We tell them to brush their teeth, be polite, use their manners. Why can't we drop the front and teach them to protect themselves. I mean come on. We want them to be healthy and live a long productive life, right?
If we really think about it, we all have been selfish at some point in our lives. None of us can truly say that we are untouched by selfishness. In this class, we have answered questions like; if education isn't working what other methods can we use to educate on HIV disease, is it ethical to continue testing on monkeys in search of an HIV vaccine, would you give your sibling an infected organ if that was their only chance of living? and so on and so forth. They all are based on human selfishness. How we react in certain situations determines our level of selfishness.
Take this weeks question for example. If education isn't working as proven by an increase in HIV infection statistics, what other methods can we use to educate on HIV disease? This is a complex question in which, thinking outside the box is a must. I think everything starts at home. Whether you live in a two parent home, go to church regularly, your age, your orientation we all have something in common. We are all humans, we are all selfish and the only way to solve this problem is by educating our children and moving forward from there.
Did you know that according to Global AIDS Alliance, "Worldwide, over 15 million children under the age of 18 have lost one or both parents to AIDS—a number that is expected to reach 20 million by 2010." (globalaidsalliance.org) This is absolutely disheartening. I don't want to be selfish in sharing information that could be vital to my son's survival and have him become a statistic. The article really sheds a light on the tremendous impact HIV has on our children. Their lack of emotional support is what struck me hardest. I couldn't imagine not having my son to hug and kiss on. We really need to get off our high horses and support all of our children.
works cited:
Pablo Mora de Limon. Personal Conversation. Circa 1990.
Spottiswoode, Roger (Director). (September 11, 1993) And the Band Played On [TV Movie]. Sarah Pillsbury, Midge Sanford (Producers). Arnold Schulman (Writer) HBO
Protect the Children. (2009). Global AIDS Alliance website. Retrieved November 18, 2009 from http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/issues/protect_the_children/
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Blog #10 Freedom for all
Hello Fellow Bloggers,
I hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend and survived 'Ida' the tropical storm and their day off today for Veteran's Day. Everyone in my neck of the woods is still hanging in there. I've had this blog opened all week and have so much going on in my head that I can't focus on finishing it at all this week, so I'm giving it my best shot. Nini is still battling breast cancer and she starts chemo by the end of the month hopefully. Thank you to everyone for the many wishes sent her way.
This weeks blog is about the M&M simulation. M & M's are no longer a fun, tasty snack. If I were positive I wouldn't be healthy at all right now. Maintaining such a strict schedule is not as easy as I thought. I have put every excuse in the book to take them later. I take other medications that interfere with everything so its a tedious affair.
All in all if I didn't have my blackberry keeping me on schedule somewhat... I don't think I would be anywhere close to keeping on schedule. I feel like a corporate executive with my alarms and schedules.
I did talk to my sister and she said that the medications have advanced so much in the last ten years that there is no way to be even close to accurate of the ones he was taking back in the day. She said there were alot though 'the cocktail', everything was still very experimental and everything made him sick. I'm back to researching the meds on my own.
Did you know that the interactions between these medications are very difficult to overcome and not all of the anti-convulsant medications are even given to HIV patients due to the reaction of the virus with the composition of the pills themselves. I have a seizure disorder and have to take Dilantin. I have taken Tegretol, Klonopin, Cerebyx, Neurontin, Phenobarbital, Topamax, Depakote, and Zonegran. That doesn't leave many anti-seizures medications for me to take due to rashes and dizziness and other complications I had on the other meds. I'm not even HIV positive so that makes it even more challenging for those who are as these medications have heavy affects on the liver and must be monitored closely. That leaves Valium, Lamictal, Trileptal, Mysoline, and Gabitril. (Nursing Drug Handbook 34C) All of these medications have side effects and some can't even be taken for long periods of time or with an HIV/AIDS diagnosis. At the end of the day when your adding the side effects of a seizure disorder it doesn't help that they all don't work for you.
Works Cited:
Hodgson, RN, OCN, B. & Kizior, BS, RPh, R.(2000). Nursing Drug Handbook 2009. Missouri: Saunders Elsevier.
I hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend and survived 'Ida' the tropical storm and their day off today for Veteran's Day. Everyone in my neck of the woods is still hanging in there. I've had this blog opened all week and have so much going on in my head that I can't focus on finishing it at all this week, so I'm giving it my best shot. Nini is still battling breast cancer and she starts chemo by the end of the month hopefully. Thank you to everyone for the many wishes sent her way.
This weeks blog is about the M&M simulation. M & M's are no longer a fun, tasty snack. If I were positive I wouldn't be healthy at all right now. Maintaining such a strict schedule is not as easy as I thought. I have put every excuse in the book to take them later. I take other medications that interfere with everything so its a tedious affair.
All in all if I didn't have my blackberry keeping me on schedule somewhat... I don't think I would be anywhere close to keeping on schedule. I feel like a corporate executive with my alarms and schedules.
I did talk to my sister and she said that the medications have advanced so much in the last ten years that there is no way to be even close to accurate of the ones he was taking back in the day. She said there were alot though 'the cocktail', everything was still very experimental and everything made him sick. I'm back to researching the meds on my own.
Did you know that the interactions between these medications are very difficult to overcome and not all of the anti-convulsant medications are even given to HIV patients due to the reaction of the virus with the composition of the pills themselves. I have a seizure disorder and have to take Dilantin. I have taken Tegretol, Klonopin, Cerebyx, Neurontin, Phenobarbital, Topamax, Depakote, and Zonegran. That doesn't leave many anti-seizures medications for me to take due to rashes and dizziness and other complications I had on the other meds. I'm not even HIV positive so that makes it even more challenging for those who are as these medications have heavy affects on the liver and must be monitored closely. That leaves Valium, Lamictal, Trileptal, Mysoline, and Gabitril. (Nursing Drug Handbook 34C) All of these medications have side effects and some can't even be taken for long periods of time or with an HIV/AIDS diagnosis. At the end of the day when your adding the side effects of a seizure disorder it doesn't help that they all don't work for you.
Works Cited:
Hodgson, RN, OCN, B. & Kizior, BS, RPh, R.(2000). Nursing Drug Handbook 2009. Missouri: Saunders Elsevier.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Blog # 9- New appreciation for M & M's and airplanes
Hello Fellow bloggers,
There have been a few interesting developments over this last week. Everyone is doing really well. Thank you to everyone who has been stopping in to read my blog. This week has been good and I'm finally feeling like I have a handle on life and its daily challenges; school is at the half way point so only a little bit to go for this first semester at UCF to be over, my family has gotten into a groove and its really nice, work is good. So overall, life is good. I hope all of you are doing well.
Its been another week and midterms are almost over. Gosh I never realized how much I've learned until this week. I can say I'm somewhat educated on HIV/AIDS disease in ways that I never knew before. Even though my brother had AIDS, I wasn't around very much because my family lived in another country at the time. When we returned other opportunistic illnesses had overcome his body and within a few years of us living in the states again he lost his battle. I'm going to call my sister today for some help on the next assignment regarding daily-living with HIV/AIDS including all its medications and schedules. It is the M & M's substitute for the cocktail of HIV/AIDS medications taken daily by positive patients. I hope my asking her about the side effects of HIV/AIDS medications will not upset her, but I am confident that she will see me wanting to expand my knowledge and be safer out there in our sexual world. That will help with the assignment, I hope.
This weeks QOTW was quite the fire starter. You never really know what kind of passion one sparks when posing an ethical question such that includes animals, children, religion, politics, and research. Topics that really shouldn't be talked about in mixed company and definitely seeing the responses proves that theory to be very true. Reading some of the responses about yes continuing research and some no stop hurting the poor animals. Here is how I look at it... Animals and humans have life... life is breath and a heartbeat, a brain with brainwaves, some debate on emotions and feelings, but nevertheless its a life. Now if we think about animal research specifically chimps and the prospect of finding a viable cure to HIV/AIDS or any other disease, I am a firm believer that research should continue. People have been studied and experimented on since 6th Century B.C. with an experiment of meat and vegetables on Jewish prisoners(ahrp.org). There are alot of experiments on prisoners, Jews, children, Japanese, Chinese as well as other races and some of these experiments are absolutely horrific and were performed by very influential doctors at the time but have impacted our society in such ways that diseases have been eradicated and certain luxury's have been improved.
Through all of these horrors and human casualties we have learned something,tests were performed and I can almost guarantee anyone who has a family member who has won their battle on cancer via radiation therapy does not realize this fact. In 1931, "Dr. Cornelius Rhoads, a pathologist, conducted a cancer experiment in Puerto Rico under the auspices of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Investigations. Dr. Rhoads has been accused of purposely infecting his Puerto Rican subjects with cancer cells. Thirteen of the subjects died. A Puerto Rican physician uncovered the experiment an investigation covered-up the facts. Despite Rhoads' hand written statements that the Puerto Rican population should be eradicated, Rhoads went on to establish U.S. Army Biological Warfare facilities in Maryland, Utah, and Panama, and was later named to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Rhoads was also responsible for the radiation experiments on prisoners, hospital patients, and soldiers. The American Association for Cancer Research honored him by naming its exemplary scientist award the Cornelius Rhoads Award." (ahrp.org)
The point is that humans perform tests and experiments on any particular living thing. We are hypocritical beasts. We criticize all the research but don't take the opportunity to thank those who gave us hope and knowledge after their sacrifice to produce the results that eventually save lives. Did you know that in as early as 1984, guidelines were established to regulate confidentiality, procedures for the purpose of researching AIDS and the protection of patients' human rights living with the disease? Even during the early years of the pandemic, we were humane enough to adopt certain protections to prevent cruelty for the sole purpose of research. We have vaccines that now cure diseases like polio and other little things we take for granted such as the effects of high altitudes tested on Jewish prisoners of the Dachua Concentration Camp in 1942(ahrp.org)and all of this thanks to experimentation on animals and humans. Think about that next time you board a plane and complain that your seat won't recline and the soft cushy pillow just doesn't make you comfortable. Wow, thinking about this really ticks me off so on that note I'm calling it a night.
Laterz fellow bloggers, until next week or the next soap box.
Works Cited:
AIDS research and humans. (December 26, 1984). AIDS research. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website. Retrieved November 5, 2009 from http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/hsdc84dec.htm
World War II and human research. (October 28, 2009). Human Experiments: A Chronology of Human Research. ahrp website. Retrieved November 5, 2009 from http://www.ahrp.org/history/chronology.php
There have been a few interesting developments over this last week. Everyone is doing really well. Thank you to everyone who has been stopping in to read my blog. This week has been good and I'm finally feeling like I have a handle on life and its daily challenges; school is at the half way point so only a little bit to go for this first semester at UCF to be over, my family has gotten into a groove and its really nice, work is good. So overall, life is good. I hope all of you are doing well.
Its been another week and midterms are almost over. Gosh I never realized how much I've learned until this week. I can say I'm somewhat educated on HIV/AIDS disease in ways that I never knew before. Even though my brother had AIDS, I wasn't around very much because my family lived in another country at the time. When we returned other opportunistic illnesses had overcome his body and within a few years of us living in the states again he lost his battle. I'm going to call my sister today for some help on the next assignment regarding daily-living with HIV/AIDS including all its medications and schedules. It is the M & M's substitute for the cocktail of HIV/AIDS medications taken daily by positive patients. I hope my asking her about the side effects of HIV/AIDS medications will not upset her, but I am confident that she will see me wanting to expand my knowledge and be safer out there in our sexual world. That will help with the assignment, I hope.
This weeks QOTW was quite the fire starter. You never really know what kind of passion one sparks when posing an ethical question such that includes animals, children, religion, politics, and research. Topics that really shouldn't be talked about in mixed company and definitely seeing the responses proves that theory to be very true. Reading some of the responses about yes continuing research and some no stop hurting the poor animals. Here is how I look at it... Animals and humans have life... life is breath and a heartbeat, a brain with brainwaves, some debate on emotions and feelings, but nevertheless its a life. Now if we think about animal research specifically chimps and the prospect of finding a viable cure to HIV/AIDS or any other disease, I am a firm believer that research should continue. People have been studied and experimented on since 6th Century B.C. with an experiment of meat and vegetables on Jewish prisoners(ahrp.org). There are alot of experiments on prisoners, Jews, children, Japanese, Chinese as well as other races and some of these experiments are absolutely horrific and were performed by very influential doctors at the time but have impacted our society in such ways that diseases have been eradicated and certain luxury's have been improved.
Through all of these horrors and human casualties we have learned something,tests were performed and I can almost guarantee anyone who has a family member who has won their battle on cancer via radiation therapy does not realize this fact. In 1931, "Dr. Cornelius Rhoads, a pathologist, conducted a cancer experiment in Puerto Rico under the auspices of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Investigations. Dr. Rhoads has been accused of purposely infecting his Puerto Rican subjects with cancer cells. Thirteen of the subjects died. A Puerto Rican physician uncovered the experiment an investigation covered-up the facts. Despite Rhoads' hand written statements that the Puerto Rican population should be eradicated, Rhoads went on to establish U.S. Army Biological Warfare facilities in Maryland, Utah, and Panama, and was later named to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Rhoads was also responsible for the radiation experiments on prisoners, hospital patients, and soldiers. The American Association for Cancer Research honored him by naming its exemplary scientist award the Cornelius Rhoads Award." (ahrp.org)
The point is that humans perform tests and experiments on any particular living thing. We are hypocritical beasts. We criticize all the research but don't take the opportunity to thank those who gave us hope and knowledge after their sacrifice to produce the results that eventually save lives. Did you know that in as early as 1984, guidelines were established to regulate confidentiality, procedures for the purpose of researching AIDS and the protection of patients' human rights living with the disease? Even during the early years of the pandemic, we were humane enough to adopt certain protections to prevent cruelty for the sole purpose of research. We have vaccines that now cure diseases like polio and other little things we take for granted such as the effects of high altitudes tested on Jewish prisoners of the Dachua Concentration Camp in 1942(ahrp.org)and all of this thanks to experimentation on animals and humans. Think about that next time you board a plane and complain that your seat won't recline and the soft cushy pillow just doesn't make you comfortable. Wow, thinking about this really ticks me off so on that note I'm calling it a night.
Laterz fellow bloggers, until next week or the next soap box.
Works Cited:
AIDS research and humans. (December 26, 1984). AIDS research. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website. Retrieved November 5, 2009 from http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/hsdc84dec.htm
World War II and human research. (October 28, 2009). Human Experiments: A Chronology of Human Research. ahrp website. Retrieved November 5, 2009 from http://www.ahrp.org/history/chronology.php
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Blog # 8 - Removing a mound of a problem
Hello fellow bloggers,
The week is almost over thank goodness. For those of you who are following my blog thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement and best wishes to my family. Everyone is doing very well! My brother as you guys know has been cancer free since his last biopsy. Its exciting news! My ex-mother in law (Nini) had her surgery a week later after her diagnosis. The waiting room was filled with so many people; friends, family and a bunch of ex's. However, everyone was there for her. We laughed and kept everyone's spirits up. I didn't get to see her before she went under the knife, but I was assured she was in good spirits and in good hands. She had so many people there for her, it was amazing.
The surgery went well. Nini had a rough night but today she's so much better. The bad mound is gone along with some other hills but all in all I think her outcome is great. She'll probably have to do a few rounds of chemotherapy but all is well. When we talk cancer it is such a scary word. Depending on the stage of cancer will determine the outcome and prognosis of the patient. How does cancer affect HIV/AIDS patients?
We know from this class and all the research each of us have done that HIV progresses into AIDS when CD4 levels drop below 200 and opportunistic infections attack the body. We also have learned that Kaposi's Sarcoma is a type of cancer that presents itself as lesions and bluish spots on the arms, legs, torso and face. This is a malignant type of cancer. This type of cancer is treated with chemotherapy and radiation. There are other types of cancer that HIV patients are susceptible too as well such as lung cancer. Did you know that 60% to 70% of HIV patients smoke? (www.health.state.ny.us) I didn't think that the smoking rate was so high. One has to consider how tough it is to receive a positive diagnosis and at that time who can really blame them. I've known several HIV/AIDS patients and all of them smoked but I never really did any research on the connection. Of course we all know that smoking isn't good for healthy people so why would it be good for people with compromised immune systems. Encouraging better living habits including improving one's diet, stopping all of the things that would cause the patient harm and overall wanting to live. Without a desire to live there is really nothing anyone can say or do to help HIV/AIDS patients improve their diagnosis.
Ultimately, removing a mound of a problem benefits the patient and the prognosis is better for that person whether he or she is HIV positive or negative. Removing the cancer ridden organ or part of the body is the easy part. The challenging part is establishing the initial desire to live. I think in today's day and age, the face of HIV/AIDS is a hopeful one and no longer a death sentence.
I'll keep you all posted on life around the Phillips household. Again, thank you all for your concern and kind words.
Until laterz boggers
Works cited:
Cancer and HIV/AIDS. Health.state.ny.us website. Retrieved October 29, 2009 from http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/aids/docs/doh-9532.pdf
The week is almost over thank goodness. For those of you who are following my blog thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement and best wishes to my family. Everyone is doing very well! My brother as you guys know has been cancer free since his last biopsy. Its exciting news! My ex-mother in law (Nini) had her surgery a week later after her diagnosis. The waiting room was filled with so many people; friends, family and a bunch of ex's. However, everyone was there for her. We laughed and kept everyone's spirits up. I didn't get to see her before she went under the knife, but I was assured she was in good spirits and in good hands. She had so many people there for her, it was amazing.
The surgery went well. Nini had a rough night but today she's so much better. The bad mound is gone along with some other hills but all in all I think her outcome is great. She'll probably have to do a few rounds of chemotherapy but all is well. When we talk cancer it is such a scary word. Depending on the stage of cancer will determine the outcome and prognosis of the patient. How does cancer affect HIV/AIDS patients?
We know from this class and all the research each of us have done that HIV progresses into AIDS when CD4 levels drop below 200 and opportunistic infections attack the body. We also have learned that Kaposi's Sarcoma is a type of cancer that presents itself as lesions and bluish spots on the arms, legs, torso and face. This is a malignant type of cancer. This type of cancer is treated with chemotherapy and radiation. There are other types of cancer that HIV patients are susceptible too as well such as lung cancer. Did you know that 60% to 70% of HIV patients smoke? (www.health.state.ny.us) I didn't think that the smoking rate was so high. One has to consider how tough it is to receive a positive diagnosis and at that time who can really blame them. I've known several HIV/AIDS patients and all of them smoked but I never really did any research on the connection. Of course we all know that smoking isn't good for healthy people so why would it be good for people with compromised immune systems. Encouraging better living habits including improving one's diet, stopping all of the things that would cause the patient harm and overall wanting to live. Without a desire to live there is really nothing anyone can say or do to help HIV/AIDS patients improve their diagnosis.
Ultimately, removing a mound of a problem benefits the patient and the prognosis is better for that person whether he or she is HIV positive or negative. Removing the cancer ridden organ or part of the body is the easy part. The challenging part is establishing the initial desire to live. I think in today's day and age, the face of HIV/AIDS is a hopeful one and no longer a death sentence.
I'll keep you all posted on life around the Phillips household. Again, thank you all for your concern and kind words.
Until laterz boggers
Works cited:
Cancer and HIV/AIDS. Health.state.ny.us website. Retrieved October 29, 2009 from http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/aids/docs/doh-9532.pdf
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Blog # 7 The Cancer Among Us
Hello Fellow Bloggers,
I thought last week was emotionally trying, I should have waited to make that statement this week. On a good note, my brother's biopsy came back negative. He spent a week in Houston going through testing and biopsies. His doctor's cleared him on Monday. On a not so good note, my ex-mother-in law on was diagnosed with breast cancer on Monday. So we'll be going through some chemotherapy after all and alot of surgery over the next few weeks.
That takes me to the hypothetical scenario of this weeks question. This weeks question really tore me. the question was, would I give my HIV infected kidney to my sibling if they only had three days to live waiting for a kidney transplant. I don't know what I would do, nor would I know how to feel about giving up my HIV positive kidney to a sibling who is in her/his last days waiting for that life saving kidney. Can we say alot of therapy to get over guilt for giving someone I love an infected organ or losing that someone because I didn't want to try to convince her or him to take the kidney. I went through a similar situation with my father. He had 11% kidney function in both kidneys. My brother and I were a match for him but he refused our kidney's. All he could say was I've lived a great life and you kids are going to need yours. You see kidney disease runs in our family so that's the only reason he said it. I was not prepared to see him leave this world but in a way I understood. He just wanted us to live a happy and full life just as he had.
Now I have a different scenario for you. My brother and I didn't have an HIV infected kidney, we just wanted our dad. We were both healthy at the time of my father's need for a kidney. So that brings me to the next scenario. Considering this is Breast Cancer awareness month and I have someone in my family who was diagnosed with breast cancer, I would like to put this on the table. I have heard my friends talk about donating a breast if someone they loved were diagnosed with breast cancer. I personally have never heard of someone doing this, nor have I heard of someone who is an HIV positive patient donating a breast. Again, assuming this scenario were completely hypothetical it would be a very noble cause, but seriously, what kind of life would these women live. So they already have to deal with cancer, and now they have to deal with the possibility of their bodies not accepting the organ; not to mention if their bodies do accept the organ, what kind of life would they be awarded. This question is about quality not quantity. We start counting our days when we are born and reach that magical number hopefully many years from the beginning of the count.
Okay so now that that thought is in your mind lets throw a wrench in it. We have an HIV negative breast cancer patient and an HIV positive, otherwise healthy-possible donor. Assuming something happens with the HIV positive patient during the surgery and he or she went down hill from there and ultimately died from trying to save someone else. Assuming also that this person was a woman who was a lesbian who wanted to help her straight brother with his need for a kidney. Who's going to feel guiltier? The straight brother or the remaining family members and friends of the lesbian donor. Are we going to hold her up on a pedestal considering that she died for a great cause, trying to save her brother or is it going to be a situation where its brushed under the rug because she was gay and HIV positive. Its a perceptual thought and one in which, I'm not found of thinking about. I can predict what would happen and not realizing the reality of my prediction can assume that its a very biased decision. I hope I'm wrong but the 1980's bears that stamp and if history truly repeats itself, women have no chance in this world of taking our place within it. We will never be respected in our endeavors and love for others and our abilities to grow life with discretion of how the life we're growing will prosper.
Now let's go back to the 1980's when AIDS was so undiscovered that a name didn't even exist. We have what was known then as the homosexual cancer... yep you guessed it...
Did you know that it wasn't until the first woman was discovered to have this 'cancer' that everyone was afraid of and no one knew how it was contracted nor did they know from where the cure was to come, that they considered it a disease that could possibly affect everyone other than just the gay community. Here are just a few statistics according to the CDC that might shock others just as it did me. Just for the record... Women have to join one another and try to fight this disease because... guess what? We are a huge gear in this life-wheel of disease and life.
"-HIV/AIDS was diagnosed for an estimated 9,708 women.
-High-risk heterosexual contact was the source of 80% of these newly diagnosed infections.
-Women accounted for 26% of the estimated 37,163 diagnoses for adults and adolescents.
-Of the 126,964 women living with HIV/AIDS, 64% were black, 19% were white, 15% were Hispanic, 1% were Asian or Pacific Islander, and less than 1% were American Indian or Alaska Native .
-The estimated number of HIV/AIDS in female adults or adolescents decreased from 11,941 in 2001 to 9,708 in 2005.
-According to a recent CDC study of more than 19,500 patients with HIV in 10 US cities, women were slightly less likely than men to receive prescriptions for the most effective treatments for HIV infection (cdc.gov)
These statistics are rather scary. We as women should stop and rethink the situation when sleeping with someone and possibly getting pregnant or a disease. I'm not sure about everyone else but for me to bring someone into this world knowing that I'm positive and their quality of life will be compromised and possibly knowing that the child won't live to drive is a burden I don't want to carry. Nor do I want to feel guilty for giving someone life when I knew that just as in the kidney situation, my loved one would spend the rest of their life fighting for something that was never theirs to fight.
laterz bloggers
works cited
HIV/AIDS and women. cdc.gov.website. Retrieved October 21, 2009 from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/women/resources/factsheets/women.htm
I thought last week was emotionally trying, I should have waited to make that statement this week. On a good note, my brother's biopsy came back negative. He spent a week in Houston going through testing and biopsies. His doctor's cleared him on Monday. On a not so good note, my ex-mother-in law on was diagnosed with breast cancer on Monday. So we'll be going through some chemotherapy after all and alot of surgery over the next few weeks.
That takes me to the hypothetical scenario of this weeks question. This weeks question really tore me. the question was, would I give my HIV infected kidney to my sibling if they only had three days to live waiting for a kidney transplant. I don't know what I would do, nor would I know how to feel about giving up my HIV positive kidney to a sibling who is in her/his last days waiting for that life saving kidney. Can we say alot of therapy to get over guilt for giving someone I love an infected organ or losing that someone because I didn't want to try to convince her or him to take the kidney. I went through a similar situation with my father. He had 11% kidney function in both kidneys. My brother and I were a match for him but he refused our kidney's. All he could say was I've lived a great life and you kids are going to need yours. You see kidney disease runs in our family so that's the only reason he said it. I was not prepared to see him leave this world but in a way I understood. He just wanted us to live a happy and full life just as he had.
Now I have a different scenario for you. My brother and I didn't have an HIV infected kidney, we just wanted our dad. We were both healthy at the time of my father's need for a kidney. So that brings me to the next scenario. Considering this is Breast Cancer awareness month and I have someone in my family who was diagnosed with breast cancer, I would like to put this on the table. I have heard my friends talk about donating a breast if someone they loved were diagnosed with breast cancer. I personally have never heard of someone doing this, nor have I heard of someone who is an HIV positive patient donating a breast. Again, assuming this scenario were completely hypothetical it would be a very noble cause, but seriously, what kind of life would these women live. So they already have to deal with cancer, and now they have to deal with the possibility of their bodies not accepting the organ; not to mention if their bodies do accept the organ, what kind of life would they be awarded. This question is about quality not quantity. We start counting our days when we are born and reach that magical number hopefully many years from the beginning of the count.
Okay so now that that thought is in your mind lets throw a wrench in it. We have an HIV negative breast cancer patient and an HIV positive, otherwise healthy-possible donor. Assuming something happens with the HIV positive patient during the surgery and he or she went down hill from there and ultimately died from trying to save someone else. Assuming also that this person was a woman who was a lesbian who wanted to help her straight brother with his need for a kidney. Who's going to feel guiltier? The straight brother or the remaining family members and friends of the lesbian donor. Are we going to hold her up on a pedestal considering that she died for a great cause, trying to save her brother or is it going to be a situation where its brushed under the rug because she was gay and HIV positive. Its a perceptual thought and one in which, I'm not found of thinking about. I can predict what would happen and not realizing the reality of my prediction can assume that its a very biased decision. I hope I'm wrong but the 1980's bears that stamp and if history truly repeats itself, women have no chance in this world of taking our place within it. We will never be respected in our endeavors and love for others and our abilities to grow life with discretion of how the life we're growing will prosper.
Now let's go back to the 1980's when AIDS was so undiscovered that a name didn't even exist. We have what was known then as the homosexual cancer... yep you guessed it...
Did you know that it wasn't until the first woman was discovered to have this 'cancer' that everyone was afraid of and no one knew how it was contracted nor did they know from where the cure was to come, that they considered it a disease that could possibly affect everyone other than just the gay community. Here are just a few statistics according to the CDC that might shock others just as it did me. Just for the record... Women have to join one another and try to fight this disease because... guess what? We are a huge gear in this life-wheel of disease and life.
"-HIV/AIDS was diagnosed for an estimated 9,708 women.
-High-risk heterosexual contact was the source of 80% of these newly diagnosed infections.
-Women accounted for 26% of the estimated 37,163 diagnoses for adults and adolescents.
-Of the 126,964 women living with HIV/AIDS, 64% were black, 19% were white, 15% were Hispanic, 1% were Asian or Pacific Islander, and less than 1% were American Indian or Alaska Native .
-The estimated number of HIV/AIDS in female adults or adolescents decreased from 11,941 in 2001 to 9,708 in 2005.
-According to a recent CDC study of more than 19,500 patients with HIV in 10 US cities, women were slightly less likely than men to receive prescriptions for the most effective treatments for HIV infection (cdc.gov)
These statistics are rather scary. We as women should stop and rethink the situation when sleeping with someone and possibly getting pregnant or a disease. I'm not sure about everyone else but for me to bring someone into this world knowing that I'm positive and their quality of life will be compromised and possibly knowing that the child won't live to drive is a burden I don't want to carry. Nor do I want to feel guilty for giving someone life when I knew that just as in the kidney situation, my loved one would spend the rest of their life fighting for something that was never theirs to fight.
laterz bloggers
works cited
HIV/AIDS and women. cdc.gov.website. Retrieved October 21, 2009 from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/women/resources/factsheets/women.htm
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Blog # 6- Mexico mi querida
Hi fellow Bloggers,
This week has been full of ups and downs and I'm not really sure where to begin this blog. Hopefully I'll keep your attention this week. Part of this weeks assignment was to pick a country and research figures on their confidentiality policy regarding AIDS. I picked Mexico, I was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, and I haven't been back since my grandfather passed away about eleven years ago. I was really surprised when I found this link on you tube on a Mexican website. Even though its in English, its pretty self explanatory. http://www.aids-sida.org/menu.html In Spanish the title is Goma de Mascar, which means chewing gum...
In doing the research for this assignment, I realized that Mexico is not on board socially, economically, politically and the stigma against the HIV/AIDS population is stronger than ever. We thought things were bad in the early 80's regarding the treatment of the U.S. HIV/AIDS patients we should look at our neighbors to the South. Mexico is a country with some of the lowest HIV infection prevalence rates in the World, but its not because of great HIV education or a low Drug rate; sadly its the stigma and discrimination towards the HIV positive population. Unfortunately, human rights aren't observed in Mexico as they are in the U.S. The Mexican Constitution has added amendments since their admissions into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) concerning Human Rights and the treatment of the population.
"in 1990 the Mexican Federal Government created the National Human Rights Commission (Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos or CNDH). This new institution, with local branches in each of the 32 Mexican states, symbolized the Mexican government's willingness to address human rights issues. Several complications, however, have plagued the efforts of the CNDH to enforce the existing legal mechanisms for protecting human rights. The most important stumbling block has been the inability or unwillingness of the national authorities in Mexico to enforce existing laws and legislation." (wcl.american.edu)
The reason for these low rates can be attributed to the fact that Mexican people just don't want to find out their status for fear of ridicule, discrimination, and fear of losing what little they have. Mexican households are predominantly Catholic and even though the culture is very family oriented, when it comes down to an HIV/AIDS diagnosis, people are very scared. In the U.S. it has been close to thirty years and retroviral drugs are more readily available. The fear factor isn't as much a concern anymore because of the education imposed on our society. The way we treat people who are HIV positive is much different here than in Mexico. We know that this disease isn't contracted by casual contact, and that is a blood borne disease, which is contracted through intravenous drug use and sexual contact with an infected person. However, in Mexico, they don't even know what HIV is and they are still stuck in the 80's when it comes to the education level. Their knowledge is very minimal therefore, because the stigma is so strong, alot of Mexicans fear if they get tested and positively diagnosed they will die for sure. Treatment is not readily available and people's fear dominate their attitudes toward the disease.
In August 2008, in Mexico City, Mexico the XVII World's AIDS conference opened. It is the largest AIDS conference which is held every two years usually in different locations. Last year's location of the conference was a great way to bring light and knowledge to the people of Mexico and the world. This was a wonderful event that introduced new policies in the fight for human rights and confidentiality of status. "Using health data of individuals for public health goals must be balanced against individuals’ rights to privacy and confidentiality, and should be based on human rights principles." (unaids.org)
Did you know that in Mexico women are at the highest risk for HIV because of their husbands and boyfriends leaving for the states for a better life for their families. They leave and often times bring HIV back into their Mexican homes. They never let their families know until its too late when they are symptomatic. So you see HIV/AIDS affects everyone, even the unknowing.
until laterz bloggers
Works cited:
Confidentiality and AIDS in Mexico. unaids.org. website Retrieved October 12, 2009 from http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/HIVData/Confidentiality/default.asp
Confidentiality and AIDS in Mexico. wcl.american.org.website Retrieved October 12, 2009 from http://www.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/v3i3/hivmex33.htm
This week has been full of ups and downs and I'm not really sure where to begin this blog. Hopefully I'll keep your attention this week. Part of this weeks assignment was to pick a country and research figures on their confidentiality policy regarding AIDS. I picked Mexico, I was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, and I haven't been back since my grandfather passed away about eleven years ago. I was really surprised when I found this link on you tube on a Mexican website. Even though its in English, its pretty self explanatory. http://www.aids-sida.org/menu.html In Spanish the title is Goma de Mascar, which means chewing gum...
In doing the research for this assignment, I realized that Mexico is not on board socially, economically, politically and the stigma against the HIV/AIDS population is stronger than ever. We thought things were bad in the early 80's regarding the treatment of the U.S. HIV/AIDS patients we should look at our neighbors to the South. Mexico is a country with some of the lowest HIV infection prevalence rates in the World, but its not because of great HIV education or a low Drug rate; sadly its the stigma and discrimination towards the HIV positive population. Unfortunately, human rights aren't observed in Mexico as they are in the U.S. The Mexican Constitution has added amendments since their admissions into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) concerning Human Rights and the treatment of the population.
"in 1990 the Mexican Federal Government created the National Human Rights Commission (Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos or CNDH). This new institution, with local branches in each of the 32 Mexican states, symbolized the Mexican government's willingness to address human rights issues. Several complications, however, have plagued the efforts of the CNDH to enforce the existing legal mechanisms for protecting human rights. The most important stumbling block has been the inability or unwillingness of the national authorities in Mexico to enforce existing laws and legislation." (wcl.american.edu)
The reason for these low rates can be attributed to the fact that Mexican people just don't want to find out their status for fear of ridicule, discrimination, and fear of losing what little they have. Mexican households are predominantly Catholic and even though the culture is very family oriented, when it comes down to an HIV/AIDS diagnosis, people are very scared. In the U.S. it has been close to thirty years and retroviral drugs are more readily available. The fear factor isn't as much a concern anymore because of the education imposed on our society. The way we treat people who are HIV positive is much different here than in Mexico. We know that this disease isn't contracted by casual contact, and that is a blood borne disease, which is contracted through intravenous drug use and sexual contact with an infected person. However, in Mexico, they don't even know what HIV is and they are still stuck in the 80's when it comes to the education level. Their knowledge is very minimal therefore, because the stigma is so strong, alot of Mexicans fear if they get tested and positively diagnosed they will die for sure. Treatment is not readily available and people's fear dominate their attitudes toward the disease.
In August 2008, in Mexico City, Mexico the XVII World's AIDS conference opened. It is the largest AIDS conference which is held every two years usually in different locations. Last year's location of the conference was a great way to bring light and knowledge to the people of Mexico and the world. This was a wonderful event that introduced new policies in the fight for human rights and confidentiality of status. "Using health data of individuals for public health goals must be balanced against individuals’ rights to privacy and confidentiality, and should be based on human rights principles." (unaids.org)
Did you know that in Mexico women are at the highest risk for HIV because of their husbands and boyfriends leaving for the states for a better life for their families. They leave and often times bring HIV back into their Mexican homes. They never let their families know until its too late when they are symptomatic. So you see HIV/AIDS affects everyone, even the unknowing.
until laterz bloggers
Works cited:
Confidentiality and AIDS in Mexico. unaids.org. website Retrieved October 12, 2009 from http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/HIVData/Confidentiality/default.asp
Confidentiality and AIDS in Mexico. wcl.american.org.website Retrieved October 12, 2009 from http://www.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/v3i3/hivmex33.htm
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Blog #5 nurse asked if...
Hi fellow bloggers,
This week I'm going to talk about my visit to the health department. The nurse drew my blood three weeks ago. She was gloved and I was dressed in my board shorts, t-shirt and sandals. When we started talking I told her what I did and where I worked and all of a sudden her demeanor and approach was different. We both work in the medical field and are exposed to bodily fluids on a daily basis. When I came back she quickly called me back to her little room, as I was in scrubs this time. She gave me my results then started talking about miscellaneous things I needed to do and before I left she asked me the question if I had been in a battered environment since the last time I saw her. I quickly gave her my answer but it burned a question in my mind. How many of these women who have HIV or AIDS are battered in the U.S. and how does that affect their treatment? Are they predisposed, or are they less likely to contract HIV?
Did you know that in the U.S. that battered women are more likely to contract HIV because the victims get beaten and later raped when refusing sex with their partners who most likely have multiple sexual encounters and quite possibly never use protection. (PeaceWomen.org)
Catherine Avorseh, Koforidua the author of the article quotes, the executive director of the Ark Foundation, Ms. Angela Dwamena Boakye, from a training workshop on gender violence and HIV/AIDS at Koforidua. "Ms. Boakye acknowledged that although a lot of work is being done in HIV/AIDS awareness creation, there has not been much concentration on gender violence and HIV/AIDS. There is the need to train ourselves to be able to educate and support people who come to us, hence the need for this workshop".
According to the Family Violence Prevention Fund website, battered women are more 3 times as likely of contracting HIV than someone who doesn't live in an abusive environment. " Researchers found that 5.5 percent of women in the study – all 20 years old or older – reported abuse by their partners in 2004 and 2005. The rate of HIV infection for women was 0.17 percent, and it was three times higher among women who reported partner violence than women who did not. Of those who contracted HIV, nearly 12 percent said it was a result of intimate partner violence." (endabuse.org)
This presents a larger picture to an already ominous disease. Now we have battered women rates at escalating rate. So where do we go from here?
until next week bloggers,
laterz
Works cited
Battered women and AIDS. (August 28, 2003). Battered Women at Greater Risk of Contracting HIV/AIDS. Peace and Women website. Retrieved October 7, 2009 from http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Ghana/newsarchive03/battered.html
Statistics on battered women and HIV. (June 19, 2009). Battered women at higher risk of HIV infection. end abuse website. Retrieved October 7, 2009 from http://endabuse.org/content/news/detail/1293/
This week I'm going to talk about my visit to the health department. The nurse drew my blood three weeks ago. She was gloved and I was dressed in my board shorts, t-shirt and sandals. When we started talking I told her what I did and where I worked and all of a sudden her demeanor and approach was different. We both work in the medical field and are exposed to bodily fluids on a daily basis. When I came back she quickly called me back to her little room, as I was in scrubs this time. She gave me my results then started talking about miscellaneous things I needed to do and before I left she asked me the question if I had been in a battered environment since the last time I saw her. I quickly gave her my answer but it burned a question in my mind. How many of these women who have HIV or AIDS are battered in the U.S. and how does that affect their treatment? Are they predisposed, or are they less likely to contract HIV?
Did you know that in the U.S. that battered women are more likely to contract HIV because the victims get beaten and later raped when refusing sex with their partners who most likely have multiple sexual encounters and quite possibly never use protection. (PeaceWomen.org)
Catherine Avorseh, Koforidua the author of the article quotes, the executive director of the Ark Foundation, Ms. Angela Dwamena Boakye, from a training workshop on gender violence and HIV/AIDS at Koforidua. "Ms. Boakye acknowledged that although a lot of work is being done in HIV/AIDS awareness creation, there has not been much concentration on gender violence and HIV/AIDS. There is the need to train ourselves to be able to educate and support people who come to us, hence the need for this workshop".
According to the Family Violence Prevention Fund website, battered women are more 3 times as likely of contracting HIV than someone who doesn't live in an abusive environment. " Researchers found that 5.5 percent of women in the study – all 20 years old or older – reported abuse by their partners in 2004 and 2005. The rate of HIV infection for women was 0.17 percent, and it was three times higher among women who reported partner violence than women who did not. Of those who contracted HIV, nearly 12 percent said it was a result of intimate partner violence." (endabuse.org)
This presents a larger picture to an already ominous disease. Now we have battered women rates at escalating rate. So where do we go from here?
until next week bloggers,
laterz
Works cited
Battered women and AIDS. (August 28, 2003). Battered Women at Greater Risk of Contracting HIV/AIDS. Peace and Women website. Retrieved October 7, 2009 from http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Ghana/newsarchive03/battered.html
Statistics on battered women and HIV. (June 19, 2009). Battered women at higher risk of HIV infection. end abuse website. Retrieved October 7, 2009 from http://endabuse.org/content/news/detail/1293/
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Blog #4 Where is HIPPAA?
Hello fellow bloggers,
In this week's blog, I want to talk about the possibility of losing confidentiality of HIV status in any environment not only in the university setting. I'll give you a little tid bit from my own personal experience with this issue. In the early 80's when HIV was considered the 'gay cancer', my half-brother was in jail. (I am only sharing this with you because he's deceased and it sheds a little light to the broader affects breaking confidentiality might have.) My half-brother was no stranger to getting in trouble, he was very flamboyantly gay, and was a drug user. During one of his short stints in jail, the local news was airing a story about the prison population who had contracted HIV the 'gay cancer' and lo and behold my half-brothers name pops in ticker form along the bottom of the screen. Now it just so happened that both my parents and I were up watching the news. As soon as they read the screen my dad's face turned white and my mom dropped her crochet on her lap. I sat there all confused as I watched my dad cry as he read his son's name scroll across the T.V. That is how we found out my brother had contracted HIV. My half-brother passed away only eleven years ago, but he fought a good fight. He cleaned up his act after that incident and found himself a very nice man, who also was positive and they lived together for many years until his life-partner passed a few years before him.
Now I'll fast forward to the present and the future if confidentiality becomes a thing of yesterdays. The impact this had on my family and what it would do to so many other families is inconceivable and irreparably damaging. These are memories I don't wish upon anyone. I can only imagine what my half-brother was thinking because I'm sure he didn't find out until he was in the jail population and the emotional damage it caused all of his sexual partners or encounters. If this disease didn't kill him I'm sure one of them wanted to. We're lucky enough now to have laws that protect our civil rights and thank God we do have these to give us the sense of security that no one can disclose what we hold sacred. Our health being one of them. Our health status is of no one's concern other than those we choose to share it with and the doctors who treat us. If medical confidentiality is compromised in our day to day lives, whether in schools or otherwise, what do you think the impact would be on our society? Choosing to share ones own secrets as long as we don't hinder the health of others should be respected and not challenged.
However, intentionally spreading HIV while knowing ones status is morally and ethically wrong. I learned that criminal charges can assessed and the guilty party would die behind bars all the while spreading the disease to other inmates. This happened to a Uganda man who worked in Canada in 2003.
Did you know that on August 30, 2003, a man by the name of Johnson Aziga was arrested for intentionally passing on the HIV virus to unsuspecting women. He was charged with first degree murder on two counts, ten charges of sexually aggravated assault, and one count of attempted aggravated sexual assault. (amren.com) Other women came forward later but this story brings up two issues. One being the obvious divulging one status voluntarily or face the consequence and women in society who are persuaded into thinking that their health is secondary to a man's pleasure. When will women in this world wake up and smell the coffee? We have to take our health into our own hands and having a man or woman persuade us into sex without proper precautions can get us a ticket on the disease train. The story brings up race as a possible reason for spreading Aziga's HIV, but really? Its sad that people still see race as the reason for so many societal issues and it doesn't look like there is a respite in the near future either.
Its a bit ironic how my half-brother found out his HIV status behind bars without confidentiality, but lived a good life anyway and this guy's positive status awarded him an 8' by 10' cell for spreading the disease because he kept it confidential. I'm really shaking my head at this point.
Until next week fellow bloggers
laterz
works cited:
News stories involving HIV positive people. (April 6, 2009). American Renaissance.com website. Retrieved on September 29, 2009 from http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2009/04/hiv-positive_ma.php
Summary of the HIPPAA Privacy Rule. (May 2003). Privacy summary. United States Department of Health website. Retrieved September 29, 2009 from
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/summary/index.html
In this week's blog, I want to talk about the possibility of losing confidentiality of HIV status in any environment not only in the university setting. I'll give you a little tid bit from my own personal experience with this issue. In the early 80's when HIV was considered the 'gay cancer', my half-brother was in jail. (I am only sharing this with you because he's deceased and it sheds a little light to the broader affects breaking confidentiality might have.) My half-brother was no stranger to getting in trouble, he was very flamboyantly gay, and was a drug user. During one of his short stints in jail, the local news was airing a story about the prison population who had contracted HIV the 'gay cancer' and lo and behold my half-brothers name pops in ticker form along the bottom of the screen. Now it just so happened that both my parents and I were up watching the news. As soon as they read the screen my dad's face turned white and my mom dropped her crochet on her lap. I sat there all confused as I watched my dad cry as he read his son's name scroll across the T.V. That is how we found out my brother had contracted HIV. My half-brother passed away only eleven years ago, but he fought a good fight. He cleaned up his act after that incident and found himself a very nice man, who also was positive and they lived together for many years until his life-partner passed a few years before him.
Now I'll fast forward to the present and the future if confidentiality becomes a thing of yesterdays. The impact this had on my family and what it would do to so many other families is inconceivable and irreparably damaging. These are memories I don't wish upon anyone. I can only imagine what my half-brother was thinking because I'm sure he didn't find out until he was in the jail population and the emotional damage it caused all of his sexual partners or encounters. If this disease didn't kill him I'm sure one of them wanted to. We're lucky enough now to have laws that protect our civil rights and thank God we do have these to give us the sense of security that no one can disclose what we hold sacred. Our health being one of them. Our health status is of no one's concern other than those we choose to share it with and the doctors who treat us. If medical confidentiality is compromised in our day to day lives, whether in schools or otherwise, what do you think the impact would be on our society? Choosing to share ones own secrets as long as we don't hinder the health of others should be respected and not challenged.
However, intentionally spreading HIV while knowing ones status is morally and ethically wrong. I learned that criminal charges can assessed and the guilty party would die behind bars all the while spreading the disease to other inmates. This happened to a Uganda man who worked in Canada in 2003.
Did you know that on August 30, 2003, a man by the name of Johnson Aziga was arrested for intentionally passing on the HIV virus to unsuspecting women. He was charged with first degree murder on two counts, ten charges of sexually aggravated assault, and one count of attempted aggravated sexual assault. (amren.com) Other women came forward later but this story brings up two issues. One being the obvious divulging one status voluntarily or face the consequence and women in society who are persuaded into thinking that their health is secondary to a man's pleasure. When will women in this world wake up and smell the coffee? We have to take our health into our own hands and having a man or woman persuade us into sex without proper precautions can get us a ticket on the disease train. The story brings up race as a possible reason for spreading Aziga's HIV, but really? Its sad that people still see race as the reason for so many societal issues and it doesn't look like there is a respite in the near future either.
Its a bit ironic how my half-brother found out his HIV status behind bars without confidentiality, but lived a good life anyway and this guy's positive status awarded him an 8' by 10' cell for spreading the disease because he kept it confidential. I'm really shaking my head at this point.
Until next week fellow bloggers
laterz
works cited:
News stories involving HIV positive people. (April 6, 2009). American Renaissance.com website. Retrieved on September 29, 2009 from http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2009/04/hiv-positive_ma.php
Summary of the HIPPAA Privacy Rule. (May 2003). Privacy summary. United States Department of Health website. Retrieved September 29, 2009 from
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/summary/index.html
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
week 3- blunder
Hello fellow bloggers,
First I want to say thank you for all of you who are following my weekly issues. I appreciate all of your positive comments and take them all into consideration. I do have to make a clarification though. During my last blog, I wanted to interview a mother of an affected child to see what her reaction is... but frankly, I should know what her reaction is. I am a mother, just as many of you are... and it is no different. Yes you tend to your children in different ways while they are sick, but ultimately we love our little ones more than ourselves and would gladly put ourselves before them on any given day, sick or not!
On a personal level, my brother was recently out of remission from recurrent chronoblastoma. He's had a reoccurence in his right scapula and lung. His first diagnosis was in 2008, where it showed up on his scapula, three anterior and posterior ribs, and clavicle. In doing some research for the Immune system module, I read about an integrase inhibitor used for HIV tumor shrinkage and found where the same inhibitor is being used from non-HIV positive patients with great results. I couldn't wait to call my brother with this news. I shared this information with Jr. (as my family calls him) my brother and he shocked me when he said, "Claudia, I know its an antiretroviral drug that is used for HIV positive patients and its called, zentivir, I take an injection once every three weeks, its working amazingly well, but I can't get drunk if I wanted to!" (Harley Phillips) I was floored that my baby brother knew about what I'd been studying but is learning from a different perspective and the two just happened to mix. Its amazing what a little research can do for your education and your closeness to your family members. Just a little tid bit I thought was interesting and definitely exciting for me.
Well I have made a complete fool of myself this week. However, I think this blunder was one I don't regret. I was following in the chat room with Jim and Colin for 2 weeks now and you'll never guess... I wasn't on their roster. Badda bing! I'm shaking my head but I did learn something very interesting because they allowed me to stay just to read as the stories were told. I learned one important and interesting aspect. Did you know that... one can have the virus without transmitting it to their sexual partners, in fact, for many years. Less than one percent of the population has an immunity to such diseases, this one in particular being HIV/AIDS. In doing some research on the subject I found an article talking about this phenomenon. In the article, it states that 10% of Europeans are immune to HIV. Professor Christopher Duncan and Dr. Susan Scott from the University's School of Biological Sciences published research in the Journal of Medical Genetics, which attributes CCR5-A32 as the genetic mutation that allows Europeans to display an immunity to HIV. Some biologists think its link is small pox because of its viral connection. The CCR5-A32 blocks the virus from entering the cells of the immune system. Now if only they could figure out how to embrace this and possibly impact the rest of the HIV/AIDS community and develop a cure. (innovations-report.com)
Now with this said, we can deduce that there is possibly a cure we just haven't found it. But for some little ones who are coming into this world with HIV positive mothers there is hope. Did you know that the majority of cases from mother to child occur during labor and delivery. However, depending on the viral load, CD4 levels and anti-retroviral drug resistancies testing, the HIV pregnant patient can choose whether to delay medicating until the 2nd trimester, if they do not have symptoms. (aidsinfo.nih.gov)The delivery should be a C-section (not vaginal) but there is a high possibility that the baby will be asymptomatic and ultimately HIV negative if taken the proper precautions. Several treatments can and should be used conjuctively to reduce the transmission of HIV that include: 1.) a Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART.) If possible HAART should include AZT (Retrovir or Zidovudine) 2.) During labor and delivery the mother should receive an intravenous AZT. 3.) The baby should take liquid AZT every 6 hours for 6 weeks after birth. (aidsinfo.nih.gov)
A baby can be infected in utero, by breastfeeding and during labor and delivery, thus making the entire pregnancy very stressful and often times heartbreaking for the mother who can't enjoy giving nourishing life to her newborn for fear of causing them so much harm. (aidsinfo.nih.gov) One can only sit back and wonder, if creating an environment in which the disease is blocked from entering the immune system, such as with CCR5- A32 and there is the capability of bombarding the HIV positive host (mother) while she's growing an HIV negative (possibly negative) baby and there is no transmission between the mother and child; what is the crucial link that will create a cure for this disease?
until next time, fellow bloggers...
laterz
Works cited:
Biologists Discover Why 10% of Europeans Are Safe From HIV infection. (October 3, 2005).
Bubonic Plague and HIV. Innovations-report website. Retrievied September 22, 2009 from
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/lifesciences/report-41566.html
Telephone Interview- Harley C. Phillips. Telephone Interview. 18 September 2009.
Treatment Regimens for HIV positive Pregnant woment. (May 2009). AIDS infowebsite.
Retrieved September 22, 2009 from
http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/contentfiles/DrugRegimensPregnantWomen_FS_en.pdf
First I want to say thank you for all of you who are following my weekly issues. I appreciate all of your positive comments and take them all into consideration. I do have to make a clarification though. During my last blog, I wanted to interview a mother of an affected child to see what her reaction is... but frankly, I should know what her reaction is. I am a mother, just as many of you are... and it is no different. Yes you tend to your children in different ways while they are sick, but ultimately we love our little ones more than ourselves and would gladly put ourselves before them on any given day, sick or not!
On a personal level, my brother was recently out of remission from recurrent chronoblastoma. He's had a reoccurence in his right scapula and lung. His first diagnosis was in 2008, where it showed up on his scapula, three anterior and posterior ribs, and clavicle. In doing some research for the Immune system module, I read about an integrase inhibitor used for HIV tumor shrinkage and found where the same inhibitor is being used from non-HIV positive patients with great results. I couldn't wait to call my brother with this news. I shared this information with Jr. (as my family calls him) my brother and he shocked me when he said, "Claudia, I know its an antiretroviral drug that is used for HIV positive patients and its called, zentivir, I take an injection once every three weeks, its working amazingly well, but I can't get drunk if I wanted to!" (Harley Phillips) I was floored that my baby brother knew about what I'd been studying but is learning from a different perspective and the two just happened to mix. Its amazing what a little research can do for your education and your closeness to your family members. Just a little tid bit I thought was interesting and definitely exciting for me.
Well I have made a complete fool of myself this week. However, I think this blunder was one I don't regret. I was following in the chat room with Jim and Colin for 2 weeks now and you'll never guess... I wasn't on their roster. Badda bing! I'm shaking my head but I did learn something very interesting because they allowed me to stay just to read as the stories were told. I learned one important and interesting aspect. Did you know that... one can have the virus without transmitting it to their sexual partners, in fact, for many years. Less than one percent of the population has an immunity to such diseases, this one in particular being HIV/AIDS. In doing some research on the subject I found an article talking about this phenomenon. In the article, it states that 10% of Europeans are immune to HIV. Professor Christopher Duncan and Dr. Susan Scott from the University's School of Biological Sciences published research in the Journal of Medical Genetics, which attributes CCR5-A32 as the genetic mutation that allows Europeans to display an immunity to HIV. Some biologists think its link is small pox because of its viral connection. The CCR5-A32 blocks the virus from entering the cells of the immune system. Now if only they could figure out how to embrace this and possibly impact the rest of the HIV/AIDS community and develop a cure. (innovations-report.com)
Now with this said, we can deduce that there is possibly a cure we just haven't found it. But for some little ones who are coming into this world with HIV positive mothers there is hope. Did you know that the majority of cases from mother to child occur during labor and delivery. However, depending on the viral load, CD4 levels and anti-retroviral drug resistancies testing, the HIV pregnant patient can choose whether to delay medicating until the 2nd trimester, if they do not have symptoms. (aidsinfo.nih.gov)The delivery should be a C-section (not vaginal) but there is a high possibility that the baby will be asymptomatic and ultimately HIV negative if taken the proper precautions. Several treatments can and should be used conjuctively to reduce the transmission of HIV that include: 1.) a Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART.) If possible HAART should include AZT (Retrovir or Zidovudine) 2.) During labor and delivery the mother should receive an intravenous AZT. 3.) The baby should take liquid AZT every 6 hours for 6 weeks after birth. (aidsinfo.nih.gov)
A baby can be infected in utero, by breastfeeding and during labor and delivery, thus making the entire pregnancy very stressful and often times heartbreaking for the mother who can't enjoy giving nourishing life to her newborn for fear of causing them so much harm. (aidsinfo.nih.gov) One can only sit back and wonder, if creating an environment in which the disease is blocked from entering the immune system, such as with CCR5- A32 and there is the capability of bombarding the HIV positive host (mother) while she's growing an HIV negative (possibly negative) baby and there is no transmission between the mother and child; what is the crucial link that will create a cure for this disease?
until next time, fellow bloggers...
laterz
Works cited:
Biologists Discover Why 10% of Europeans Are Safe From HIV infection. (October 3, 2005).
Bubonic Plague and HIV. Innovations-report website. Retrievied September 22, 2009 from
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/lifesciences/report-41566.html
Telephone Interview- Harley C. Phillips. Telephone Interview. 18 September 2009.
Treatment Regimens for HIV positive Pregnant woment. (May 2009). AIDS infowebsite.
Retrieved September 22, 2009 from
http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/contentfiles/DrugRegimensPregnantWomen_FS_en.pdf
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
week 2 ( Its about the boy)
Hi Fellow Bloggers,
I labeled this one "Its about the boy" because I'm sure you guys have read that I'm a single mom of a pretty amazing eight year old boy. I've been doing some research about tolerance and stigmas and all those not so happy thoughts. I realized yesterday that tolerance is just a word and not many of us accept or "tolerate" others' differences of opinion, orientation, physicalities, disfunctions whatever it might be we aren't a very forgiving society.
My son experienced prejudice from my neighbors son today when he boarded the school bus this morning. My neighbor had an issue by the way I conducted myself in my driveway when I kissed my girlfriend good bye from visiting with us that afternoon. We kissed and I didn't think twice about a hug and a good bye kiss and what it would mean to my neighbors. However, I should have because my neighbor called then text my cell with rants about exposing her children to my orientation and blah blah blah. Yes that's what i said because a) I don't feel that my orientation should be viewed as anything other than what it is... love between two females big whoop! b) this is my property and I shouldn't be discriminated against for my "behavior" c) if I had kissed a BOYfriend instead of a GIRLfriend, the neighbor would have looked the other way and not a second look given. Now this is my soap box for the day. It made me furious that my son had to endure such discrimination from his busmate and neighbor all because of his mothers thoughts about my orientation. Our boys were allowed to play last year but now they aren't.
Now I welcome everyone's opinion on how to react to this discrimination but it ties to our kids. The ones who contract HIV/AIDS with no fault of their own and how people treat them. I've decided to focus on women and children's health in my future blogs because both affect me directly. I am a furious mom of a healthy eight year old. How does a mom (HIV positive or negative) of an eight year old (HIV positive or negative) feel when her child is bullied or discriminated against?
I found an organization when I was doing my research for this blog that really helps with resources for women and children. Prevention, care, Pyschosocial issues, other general resources. http://www.womenchildrenhiv.org/ Now this site is for informational purposes.
I also found a wonderful site called children with AIDS charity...http://www.cwac.org/index.htm
this site is specific to children's needs. It was set up in 1992 to help those who are the silent voices drowned by the loud sounds of HIV/AIDS. Charity events range from bracelet sells to fine dining dinner events. The charity is based out of London but I'm sure it can be expanded to any part of the world with a few emails.
I am a mom and my son means the world to me. In my next blog I'm going to try and find the answer to my question, " What does that mom feel like?" I'm furious and I don't have to deal with a sick child, I can't even attempt to wear those shoes.
Laterz
Works cited
HIV/AIDS women and children. (2009) Requested on September 16, 2009. http://www.womenchildrenhiv.org/
Women and Children HIV/AIDS charities. (2009) Requested on September 16, 2009. http://www.cwac.org/index.htm
I labeled this one "Its about the boy" because I'm sure you guys have read that I'm a single mom of a pretty amazing eight year old boy. I've been doing some research about tolerance and stigmas and all those not so happy thoughts. I realized yesterday that tolerance is just a word and not many of us accept or "tolerate" others' differences of opinion, orientation, physicalities, disfunctions whatever it might be we aren't a very forgiving society.
My son experienced prejudice from my neighbors son today when he boarded the school bus this morning. My neighbor had an issue by the way I conducted myself in my driveway when I kissed my girlfriend good bye from visiting with us that afternoon. We kissed and I didn't think twice about a hug and a good bye kiss and what it would mean to my neighbors. However, I should have because my neighbor called then text my cell with rants about exposing her children to my orientation and blah blah blah. Yes that's what i said because a) I don't feel that my orientation should be viewed as anything other than what it is... love between two females big whoop! b) this is my property and I shouldn't be discriminated against for my "behavior" c) if I had kissed a BOYfriend instead of a GIRLfriend, the neighbor would have looked the other way and not a second look given. Now this is my soap box for the day. It made me furious that my son had to endure such discrimination from his busmate and neighbor all because of his mothers thoughts about my orientation. Our boys were allowed to play last year but now they aren't.
Now I welcome everyone's opinion on how to react to this discrimination but it ties to our kids. The ones who contract HIV/AIDS with no fault of their own and how people treat them. I've decided to focus on women and children's health in my future blogs because both affect me directly. I am a furious mom of a healthy eight year old. How does a mom (HIV positive or negative) of an eight year old (HIV positive or negative) feel when her child is bullied or discriminated against?
I found an organization when I was doing my research for this blog that really helps with resources for women and children. Prevention, care, Pyschosocial issues, other general resources. http://www.womenchildrenhiv.org/ Now this site is for informational purposes.
I also found a wonderful site called children with AIDS charity...http://www.cwac.org/index.htm
this site is specific to children's needs. It was set up in 1992 to help those who are the silent voices drowned by the loud sounds of HIV/AIDS. Charity events range from bracelet sells to fine dining dinner events. The charity is based out of London but I'm sure it can be expanded to any part of the world with a few emails.
I am a mom and my son means the world to me. In my next blog I'm going to try and find the answer to my question, " What does that mom feel like?" I'm furious and I don't have to deal with a sick child, I can't even attempt to wear those shoes.
Laterz
Works cited
HIV/AIDS women and children. (2009) Requested on September 16, 2009. http://www.womenchildrenhiv.org/
Women and Children HIV/AIDS charities. (2009) Requested on September 16, 2009. http://www.cwac.org/index.htm
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Did you know?
Hello fellow bloggers,
As my "did you know" column. I'm choosing to touch on topics relating to homosexuality and HIV/AIDS. I want to talk about the different ways to protect oneself especially if you are a lesbian. I have googled HIV/AIDS and homosexuality. In the majority of the sites, I've found alot of information about men and homosexuality and not much on women and homosexuality. So for all of you guys out there, I'm going to focus on women mostly. A) because I am one and B) because I'm not finding a whole lot out there. So, we're off to do some research. If anyone finds anything that would be of interest then feel free to add it.
I'm going to post one thing at a time. so here goes...
The most often question I'm asked is as a lesbian how do you protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases and HIV?
I don't sleep with men. I haven't in several years. I think the more simple the better. Do we agree?
I think getting tested at the least before every new partner would be wise. I was told in the Health Dept by an RN that the window of infection is three months. Which to me meant that I have to know my status three months prior to sleeping with someone new. So even if I have an HIV test scheduled for today, I would have to remember that what I did last night probably won't show up for another three months. Now, I'm not saying I'm a saint either. Just saying that makes me laugh because sainthood and homosexuality are polar opposites from what I'm reading.
We all know that condoms are not 100% from sexually transmitted diseases and for comfort; neither are other types of barriers, the "dental dam" or finger condoms, latex gloves. Try snapping one of those on for a romantic session of foreplay. Guys don't like condoms and ladies don't like the glove or dental dams. It doesn't feel the same, or natural, or whatever excuse we might have but it might be the next best thing for practicing safer sex!
I found a great site that will give younger ladies a great source of information. Now it is for young lesbians... now matter the age because at 26 I was a young lesbian too. So have fun with this one ladies...http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/lesbianhealth.html
There are times where passion is intense and you find someone who makes your hairs stand on end and asking them their medical history isn't the first thing you think about. At which point, honesty has to be the best policy. The unspoken truth can be the reality of too many unwanted invitations to either an STD or the HIV/AIDS Club.
Hope this adds some insight into lesbian safe sex.
Laterz bloggers
Lesbian and Dental Dams. (2009). Retrieved September 16, 2009 from Lesbian Health website. http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/lesbianhealth.html
As my "did you know" column. I'm choosing to touch on topics relating to homosexuality and HIV/AIDS. I want to talk about the different ways to protect oneself especially if you are a lesbian. I have googled HIV/AIDS and homosexuality. In the majority of the sites, I've found alot of information about men and homosexuality and not much on women and homosexuality. So for all of you guys out there, I'm going to focus on women mostly. A) because I am one and B) because I'm not finding a whole lot out there. So, we're off to do some research. If anyone finds anything that would be of interest then feel free to add it.
I'm going to post one thing at a time. so here goes...
The most often question I'm asked is as a lesbian how do you protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases and HIV?
I don't sleep with men. I haven't in several years. I think the more simple the better. Do we agree?
I think getting tested at the least before every new partner would be wise. I was told in the Health Dept by an RN that the window of infection is three months. Which to me meant that I have to know my status three months prior to sleeping with someone new. So even if I have an HIV test scheduled for today, I would have to remember that what I did last night probably won't show up for another three months. Now, I'm not saying I'm a saint either. Just saying that makes me laugh because sainthood and homosexuality are polar opposites from what I'm reading.
We all know that condoms are not 100% from sexually transmitted diseases and for comfort; neither are other types of barriers, the "dental dam" or finger condoms, latex gloves. Try snapping one of those on for a romantic session of foreplay. Guys don't like condoms and ladies don't like the glove or dental dams. It doesn't feel the same, or natural, or whatever excuse we might have but it might be the next best thing for practicing safer sex!
I found a great site that will give younger ladies a great source of information. Now it is for young lesbians... now matter the age because at 26 I was a young lesbian too. So have fun with this one ladies...http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/lesbianhealth.html
There are times where passion is intense and you find someone who makes your hairs stand on end and asking them their medical history isn't the first thing you think about. At which point, honesty has to be the best policy. The unspoken truth can be the reality of too many unwanted invitations to either an STD or the HIV/AIDS Club.
Hope this adds some insight into lesbian safe sex.
Laterz bloggers
Lesbian and Dental Dams. (2009). Retrieved September 16, 2009 from Lesbian Health website. http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/lesbianhealth.html
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Blog # 1---Introduction and learning experience
Hello fellow bloggers,
My name is Claudia. I am a single mom attempting this "going back to school" thing. So far its very challenging! I try to divide my time but realize there isn't anymore time to divide. My son Ashton is eight years old. His older brother passed shortly after birth from prematurity. Austin would have been ten this year. My father passed away a month before so 1999 wasn't a great year for me. In 1996, I had brain surgery to remove an AVM. Later that same year, one of my older half brothers passed away from an infection when he had a car accident. Most people would have lived from it, however, he had AIDS and his immune system was already severly compromised. I have four sisters and a brother left of all seven of my siblings. My other brother died of septicism a few years ago. My mother still lives in GA in the house where my dad once lived.
Enough of introductions, I don't want to create a cloud of gloom or pity on my story because I'm sure there are some out there alot more challenging than mine.
I am new to blogging, never really considered it to be an outlet of emotions and thoughts but it reality unless my professors hadn't made this an assignment, I probably wouldn't be writing at this very moment. I tend to keep things bottled up and every once in a blue moon I have to have a cry day in my shower or on the beach near my home. You see I love the water and even though I live about 30 minutes from it, the gulf speaks to me in ways no one can.
I am learning, so much in this class. Not only technical stuff but about the disease that ultimately played a huge role in taking my brothers life. As kids we weren't very close. The three older ones were from a previous marriage of my dad's. When he met and married my mom I was already in the picture. I called him dad because he was the only father I ever knew. Dad was 25 years my mom's senior so the next four children came after me. I like to call us the second set of Phillips'. Steve, the baby boy of his first kids was very flamboyant. He was the "homosexual one" as everyone referrred to him, they one who strayed. That is until I came out around 26. I always knew I was a lesbian, since I was eight, but after he passed it took years for me to accept my orientation. I grew up in the 80's when AIDS wasn't researched enough and it was called the "gay cancer". That in itself scared me into keeping my secret hidden for years.
Recently, I read a book (of course an assignment) called What looks like crazy on an ordinary day by Pearle Cleage. Now I'm not a reader by any stretch of the imagination. I enjoy anything that grabs me by the turn of the first page. This one did just that. I wanted to personally introduce myself to Ava Johnson, the main character and give her a huge hug for portraying a real persons view of life with AIDS. She is so angry at people and their careless decisions and how I remember when my brother was so ill hospice came in and took over care and within a few weeks he lost his battle. I've seen movies since then like Philadelphia with Tom Hanks and realized that AIDS affects everyone! Straight, gay, black, white, male, female and it also has no age discrepency. This club accepts everyone!
My how far we've come in almost 30 years. There is a huge stigma to this disease but hopefully from this class I can learn to protect myself and teach others around me that its not a disease that confines one to their own devices. Everyone still needs touch, love and something to live for!
Talk to you guys soon. Its a pleasure meeting you. I hope I get to meet you in person someday.
I hate saying good bye because it seems so final. I say laterz
so until next time, laterz!
CEP
My name is Claudia. I am a single mom attempting this "going back to school" thing. So far its very challenging! I try to divide my time but realize there isn't anymore time to divide. My son Ashton is eight years old. His older brother passed shortly after birth from prematurity. Austin would have been ten this year. My father passed away a month before so 1999 wasn't a great year for me. In 1996, I had brain surgery to remove an AVM. Later that same year, one of my older half brothers passed away from an infection when he had a car accident. Most people would have lived from it, however, he had AIDS and his immune system was already severly compromised. I have four sisters and a brother left of all seven of my siblings. My other brother died of septicism a few years ago. My mother still lives in GA in the house where my dad once lived.
Enough of introductions, I don't want to create a cloud of gloom or pity on my story because I'm sure there are some out there alot more challenging than mine.
I am new to blogging, never really considered it to be an outlet of emotions and thoughts but it reality unless my professors hadn't made this an assignment, I probably wouldn't be writing at this very moment. I tend to keep things bottled up and every once in a blue moon I have to have a cry day in my shower or on the beach near my home. You see I love the water and even though I live about 30 minutes from it, the gulf speaks to me in ways no one can.
I am learning, so much in this class. Not only technical stuff but about the disease that ultimately played a huge role in taking my brothers life. As kids we weren't very close. The three older ones were from a previous marriage of my dad's. When he met and married my mom I was already in the picture. I called him dad because he was the only father I ever knew. Dad was 25 years my mom's senior so the next four children came after me. I like to call us the second set of Phillips'. Steve, the baby boy of his first kids was very flamboyant. He was the "homosexual one" as everyone referrred to him, they one who strayed. That is until I came out around 26. I always knew I was a lesbian, since I was eight, but after he passed it took years for me to accept my orientation. I grew up in the 80's when AIDS wasn't researched enough and it was called the "gay cancer". That in itself scared me into keeping my secret hidden for years.
Recently, I read a book (of course an assignment) called What looks like crazy on an ordinary day by Pearle Cleage. Now I'm not a reader by any stretch of the imagination. I enjoy anything that grabs me by the turn of the first page. This one did just that. I wanted to personally introduce myself to Ava Johnson, the main character and give her a huge hug for portraying a real persons view of life with AIDS. She is so angry at people and their careless decisions and how I remember when my brother was so ill hospice came in and took over care and within a few weeks he lost his battle. I've seen movies since then like Philadelphia with Tom Hanks and realized that AIDS affects everyone! Straight, gay, black, white, male, female and it also has no age discrepency. This club accepts everyone!
My how far we've come in almost 30 years. There is a huge stigma to this disease but hopefully from this class I can learn to protect myself and teach others around me that its not a disease that confines one to their own devices. Everyone still needs touch, love and something to live for!
Talk to you guys soon. Its a pleasure meeting you. I hope I get to meet you in person someday.
I hate saying good bye because it seems so final. I say laterz
so until next time, laterz!
CEP
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