Hello, Chamber.
For the past 6 months, I've been volunteering with a local HIV/AIDS charity, giving presentations about what HIV/AIDS is, how it's spread, risk factors and prevention. While not formally part of my tasks, I also interacted with HIV/AIDS patient support staff, giving me some experience with what living with HIV is like.
I started volunteering because I lost someone very close to me in 2007 to AIDS, my father. I watched his health deteriorate for ~2 years before he died. His death came about 3 hours before the results of HIV test came back positive. He died without knowing for sure what he had. This leads me to my most important point, one that if you read nothing else in this thread you should remember: HIV is not a death sentence, at least not in the west. If you suspect you might have been exposed to HIV, get tested. An HIV-positive individual undergoing ART (anti-retroviral therapy) has a normal-to-near-normal life expectancy. Put another way, being poor has a greater impact on life expectancy than HIV does, in resource-rich countries.
So, if you've ever had any questions about HIV/AIDS, ask away! There's no topic I consider too personal or won't try and answer. Be forewarned though, I won't shy away from the sexual side of STIs. If your question requires I mention the risks of anal sex, I'm going to be blunt.
Contre.
For the past 6 months, I've been volunteering with a local HIV/AIDS charity, giving presentations about what HIV/AIDS is, how it's spread, risk factors and prevention. While not formally part of my tasks, I also interacted with HIV/AIDS patient support staff, giving me some experience with what living with HIV is like.
I started volunteering because I lost someone very close to me in 2007 to AIDS, my father. I watched his health deteriorate for ~2 years before he died. His death came about 3 hours before the results of HIV test came back positive. He died without knowing for sure what he had. This leads me to my most important point, one that if you read nothing else in this thread you should remember: HIV is not a death sentence, at least not in the west. If you suspect you might have been exposed to HIV, get tested. An HIV-positive individual undergoing ART (anti-retroviral therapy) has a normal-to-near-normal life expectancy. Put another way, being poor has a greater impact on life expectancy than HIV does, in resource-rich countries.
So, if you've ever had any questions about HIV/AIDS, ask away! There's no topic I consider too personal or won't try and answer. Be forewarned though, I won't shy away from the sexual side of STIs. If your question requires I mention the risks of anal sex, I'm going to be blunt.
Contre.