HIV And What You Don’t See
Roman M. Hernandez is 51 years old and infected with HIV. Through most of his formative years he was a self-admitted force of destruction. From involvement with drugs and alcohol as early as age eleven he was going down a path of ultimate doom. Drinking, carousing, and a failed attempt at a family all lay in his wake as he headed for rock bottom. In July of 1990 Roman was infected with HIV though sexual intercourse, ironically this was the first time he had had sex with out a condom.
With the emphasis always on the preventing the contraction of HIV Roman, and his girlfriend Carol Manson focused more on surviving HIV. Carol and Roman are both recovering drug addicts, and though meetings they found each other. They’ve been together for a very long time, and like most couples they bicker up a storm as well as many other couple activities. But the similarities to your average couple end there. Every day is filled with precautionary steps to prevent any illness to befall Roman. Even a cold as minor as a sore throat could kill roman. HIV essentially destroys the bodies defense systems and without those defenses Roman can suffer illness from drinking regular tap water. Carol is constantly in danger of infection because of how easily the virus can spread through blood, semen/vaginal fluids, oral sex, sharing tooth brushes and razors, and breast milk. Luckily Roman is not lactating, the others vehicles for the virus are omnipresent. Carol has even had to forgo cheese from her cooking, as those infected with HIV have adverse cholesterol problems.
Condoms, condoms, condoms; like a letter from the Department of Redundancy Department the necessity of condoms must be drilled into everyone’s head. HIV spreads without regard to age, race, sex, religion, or sexual orientation; it’s and equal opportunity killer. Even the act of infecting someone without telling him or her is legally classified as manslaughter. While cancer and AIDS can go into remission they’re only lying dormant, still contagious and still capable of coming back in full force. In fact even if you have HIV you can still kill someone who already has the virus, each person carries a different strain. Many people are A Symptomatic, which means they carry the virus, but they do not show any signs of illness.
Although I do appreciate our speakers coming in at talking to us their stories seem to give rise to one darker questions: Does fear of death give reason for life? It seems to me that situation our speakers find them selves in is one that they are living to not die. Though this concept seems simple enough they both decided to turn their lives around only when they realized that they were going to die. It wasn’t until the consequences for their actions became far too large to ignore. In Roman’s case he nearly destroyed his first family and saw no reason to reform himself, he hurt countless others and never batted an eye. Before he ignored the prospect of death because it was something for someone else, but once he knew that he would be dead soon he suddenly decided to change his life for the better. “You must not fear, but know that one day you are going to die, until then, you are useless.” Tyler Durden, Fight Club.
HIV and AIDS are far more than just a virus; they are a curse. And while it is your body that may be infected it is your fiends and family that are consumed by this virus. Watching a loved one cling desperately to life or agonizingly give over to death is a fate that no one should have to endure. But there are still people out there that don’t use condoms.
Exile
Original_exile@hotmail.com
With the emphasis always on the preventing the contraction of HIV Roman, and his girlfriend Carol Manson focused more on surviving HIV. Carol and Roman are both recovering drug addicts, and though meetings they found each other. They’ve been together for a very long time, and like most couples they bicker up a storm as well as many other couple activities. But the similarities to your average couple end there. Every day is filled with precautionary steps to prevent any illness to befall Roman. Even a cold as minor as a sore throat could kill roman. HIV essentially destroys the bodies defense systems and without those defenses Roman can suffer illness from drinking regular tap water. Carol is constantly in danger of infection because of how easily the virus can spread through blood, semen/vaginal fluids, oral sex, sharing tooth brushes and razors, and breast milk. Luckily Roman is not lactating, the others vehicles for the virus are omnipresent. Carol has even had to forgo cheese from her cooking, as those infected with HIV have adverse cholesterol problems.
Condoms, condoms, condoms; like a letter from the Department of Redundancy Department the necessity of condoms must be drilled into everyone’s head. HIV spreads without regard to age, race, sex, religion, or sexual orientation; it’s and equal opportunity killer. Even the act of infecting someone without telling him or her is legally classified as manslaughter. While cancer and AIDS can go into remission they’re only lying dormant, still contagious and still capable of coming back in full force. In fact even if you have HIV you can still kill someone who already has the virus, each person carries a different strain. Many people are A Symptomatic, which means they carry the virus, but they do not show any signs of illness.
Although I do appreciate our speakers coming in at talking to us their stories seem to give rise to one darker questions: Does fear of death give reason for life? It seems to me that situation our speakers find them selves in is one that they are living to not die. Though this concept seems simple enough they both decided to turn their lives around only when they realized that they were going to die. It wasn’t until the consequences for their actions became far too large to ignore. In Roman’s case he nearly destroyed his first family and saw no reason to reform himself, he hurt countless others and never batted an eye. Before he ignored the prospect of death because it was something for someone else, but once he knew that he would be dead soon he suddenly decided to change his life for the better. “You must not fear, but know that one day you are going to die, until then, you are useless.” Tyler Durden, Fight Club.
HIV and AIDS are far more than just a virus; they are a curse. And while it is your body that may be infected it is your fiends and family that are consumed by this virus. Watching a loved one cling desperately to life or agonizingly give over to death is a fate that no one should have to endure. But there are still people out there that don’t use condoms.
Exile
Original_exile@hotmail.com
posted by exile at
11/23/2004 02:18:00 PM
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