Do you personally know someone that died from AIDS?
- Thread starter xrush_uncut
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nope, i didn't even know that delta-32 research had received any media coverage outside the medical profession. i'll read that article you linked when i have more time to absorb it properly. i dunno how long they've been at it in the US, but as far as i'm aware, the studies begun last year are the first in the UK.Stronzo said:
Dr. D, that's not for AIDS... that cotton swab thing you mention is to get a culture sample for a bacterial STD, such as chlamydia or gonnorhea. HIV can't be cultured in vitro, and can't be seen under a light microscope, so they usually draw blood or do a saliva sample for other types of testing. Part of the confusion here probably stems from the fact that people who engage in risky sexual behavior generally have several STDs simultaneously, so they test for a whole range.Dr. Dilznick said:
Ordinarily, if the testing is by blood sample, that can be used for all the tests, including Western blot. If they do one of the oral samples for the HIV test, a urethral sample must be taken to test for the other diseases.
GoneA said:
I roll my eyes all the time, but they are just waiting for the day I call and tell them the bad news. My mom has said it more than once
D_Gunther Snotpole
Account Disabled
I have lost three people who were quite close friends. They were all in the prime of life ... highly creative people, social catalysts, people who meshed easily with others. Many felt their loss.
Beyond that first circle, I have lost perhaps five or six acquaintances.
Haven't really heard of anyone falling newly ill for some time ... I hope that's a harbinger. But more likely it's just a reflection of the effectiveness, for most people, of the drug cocktail.
Beyond that first circle, I have lost perhaps five or six acquaintances.
Haven't really heard of anyone falling newly ill for some time ... I hope that's a harbinger. But more likely it's just a reflection of the effectiveness, for most people, of the drug cocktail.
avenger217
Experimental Member
My step-father was an IV drug user and contracted the disease and passed in on to my mother--he died in 1992 and my mom died in 1993. I was 20 when she died. They were both straight, but I however am gay-I think by seeing what it did to my family made me more aware and I am always safe. It was very hard on me and my two younger brothers--they were 18 and 19 when my mom passed away-she did prepare us for it, but one can never be fully prepared for the death of a parent. May we find a cure one of these days.
Stronzo said:
There is also a group of African women, a large majority of which are prostitutes, which seem to be immune to it too. If I remember correctly, they have isolated a few genes that they believe may be the cause of immunity, but I haven't heard any more about it for many years. I remember hearing once that the drug companies paid off some group that was doing research on these people, and they stopped doing th resarch, but who knows?
Since I left Birmingham, every now and then I will come in contact or hear from someone still there. It's depressing to find out so-and-so ......"oh...they died of aids."
I guess there are over 30 I knew or knew of that died from the deadly disease.
Makes me believe that "someone up there does love me."
I guess there are over 30 I knew or knew of that died from the deadly disease.
Makes me believe that "someone up there does love me."
A lot of my parent's friends died of AIDS related diseases back in the 1990's. Several were close family friends so I watched their struggle to live and die with dignity.
Because of these experiences, my parents made sex education one of the most important things in the lives of my brothers and me. Essentially, nothing was off limits....maybe a few topics were not appropriate for the dinner table, but they were certainly appropriate in a one-on-one conversation later. When I was in high school, I began getting monthly HIV tests. These continued until the past year [I have 10-years of negative results in my file.] For the past couple of years, I have been in an monogamous relationship so they are no longer needed.
What did I learn from seeing friends die? To me, it is surprising how quickly some of the "healthiest" looking died after diagnosis while others lingered and dealt with one disease/condidtion after another. One who took a very long time to die told me many times that life is not another day or another meal but another challenge. He took up painting and became a well-known minor artist and almost finished a stage play.
Because of these experiences, my parents made sex education one of the most important things in the lives of my brothers and me. Essentially, nothing was off limits....maybe a few topics were not appropriate for the dinner table, but they were certainly appropriate in a one-on-one conversation later. When I was in high school, I began getting monthly HIV tests. These continued until the past year [I have 10-years of negative results in my file.] For the past couple of years, I have been in an monogamous relationship so they are no longer needed.
What did I learn from seeing friends die? To me, it is surprising how quickly some of the "healthiest" looking died after diagnosis while others lingered and dealt with one disease/condidtion after another. One who took a very long time to die told me many times that life is not another day or another meal but another challenge. He took up painting and became a well-known minor artist and almost finished a stage play.
I've know many that have died of AIDs. It is such a horrific way to go. One of the saddest was someone I knew from school. About a week before he died, he stopped in where I was working, and was horribly gaunt but still possesed a tremendous will to live. His life had become nothing but daily IV medical procedures to sustain his life. I was in awe of his courage. I hadn't seen him for awhile and he told me about his most recent hospital stay. From what he told me, i was lucky to see him this last time. Both of us had done some freelance singing for a church, and when he went into the hospital, one of the ministers came to visit a couple times. Out of gratitude, this guy looked at the minister and thanked him for having the courage to visit him. He went on to say that he was so grateful to this minister for coming to see and support him even knowing that he was openly gay. At that point, the minister, who had previously prayed with him before leaving, turned his back on him and walked out. He never returned, and this heroic man who fought so hard for his life went out of this world a few days later.
IIRC that was something to do with being sickle-cell anemia carriers (we're talking like 3rd or 4th generation here) - it prevented almost all HIV strains from gaining a sufficient white cell "foothold" in their bodies, but i can't see how it could realistically be any use as the basis of treatments or vaccines.ushah said:
Actually, I'm very sorry to hear your friend witnessed such uncultivated, extremist behavior. I do a little more than shudder when I think about the closed-minded and intransigent attitudes people so readily adopt.chicagosam said:
I gather from your posts that your friend was a consistent churchgoer and, not only kept the pews warm, but was an active participant. It’s sad to think that the afflicted man, in his last days, was basically stripped of everything in regards to his health and, alas, deprived of a ministerial visit … a visit I’m sure he very much looked forward to.
Although, I willing to say perhaps it’s better the minister exposed his hypocritical ways and didn’t pray for the man. That is, I’d much prefer to keep pearls away from swine.
GoneA said:ugh, unless i've been unwittingly living beneath a rock, i've always understood that protected sex works for people of all kinds'a sexual orientations.
Unfortunately not everyone is up to speed. When my partner came out to his sister, without missing a beat she asked "do you have AIDS"? Ignorance.
geitjeshoeder
Cherished Member
I did some charity work as a chairman for a youthcenter in my old folks town. I ran a small operation with 4 employees and a small army of volunteers (about 500 of 'm). We did al kinds of things, afterschool classes, poetry, film, theatre, dance, party's... and afcourse we where a sort of bar/dancing. Dave one of the part-time staff on payroll worked as a music planner, bartender and helped us out with various tasks from maintence work to decorating he did it all. He was openly gay, had a boyfriend for a year or 3 and was outcasted by his parents. He felt that the youthcenter was his home, when he was away from his boyfriend (who workes as a steward for KLM). I often helped him with his taxes, his computer-problems and government paperwork. In april 2001 he told me he was getting ill a lot and he had problems concentrating, so he went to the doctor. The doctor told him they needed to do some tests on his bloodwork, and told him also that he could be suffering from HIV or Aids. Dave and his boyfriend were both tested. Dave was found to be suffering from aids at the moment, whilst his boyfriend was found to be HIV-positive. Both where put on heavy medication, Dave's boyfriend does not to seem to be that much affected yet, but i fear that it will be just a matter of time. Dave had a lot of problems and was very depressed, altough his parents where now more acceptive of him, in some strange manner. Dave took it all quietly and kept on doing in what he was best, helping us out. Dave died in november 2004. He still is sadly missed by all of us. His name has been put up on a plaque on december 1st 2004.
JustAsking
Sexy Member
chicagosam said:
I am shocked but not surprised when I hear things like this. Evidently, these conservative Christians never read the sequel to the Old Testament.
If I were gay, I would organize a movement of gays to attend conservative churches in massive numbers every Sunday. We would all join in on all the outreach ministries that care for the hungry, poor, and suffering. We would meet all hostility and rejection with the same response that Christ had and we would remind people that Christ, too, was persecuted and killed by a zealous religious group. In short, this group would conduct themselves like real Angels in America and show people what Christ really looks like. (A hint for all conservative Christians who are having trouble following this: what Christ looks like is love. Look it up sometime. There is a book about it.).
I am convinced that if Jesus were to return on a Friday night, he would make a beeline for either a gay bar or an AA meeting. And religious people would have the same complaint they made in Jesus' time, where they complained that he was hanging around with prostitutes, murderers tax collectors, and drunkards. (My point is not that being gay is criminal, but that in this society gays are suffering and marginalized. Anywhere that is happening, that is where you will find Jesus.)
Please excuse my naked religiosity, but my heart breaks for anyone suffering with aids, knows someone who died of aids, or is persecuted by Christians.
I've noticed that a lot of people over the last 5+ years have really benefitted from combination therapy and the new drugs available. Several people I'm close to have had their viral load reduced to undetectable levels. While they still have to take medicine and be extra careful of their health in general, their quality of life is basically good - almost as if they had never been infected. When those same people first found out they were HIV+, they considered it a death sentence, as many do. It's a pretty beautiful thing to see them reacquire the thoughts and dreams of a long and prosperous life.
D_Claude Hopper
Experimental Member
I don't know of anyone who's actually died from AIDS. I do however remember when a young man I knew took his life, rather than live out whater time he had left. He found out when he was 14 that he was HIV positive. There are only about 5 people who know the truth of it. I'm one, only because a girl whom I had dated for a while took him to a dance a few days before he committed suicide; she knew and had to tell someone.
What made it so hard to cope with was that I was a mentor in many respects to the young man when he was growing up. I hadn't really been involved in his life for a couple years when it happenned. I was a freshman in college.
Obviously, for the sanctity of the deceased and those who know this, I'm leaving hundreds of details out.
What made it so hard to cope with was that I was a mentor in many respects to the young man when he was growing up. I hadn't really been involved in his life for a couple years when it happenned. I was a freshman in college.
Obviously, for the sanctity of the deceased and those who know this, I'm leaving hundreds of details out.
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