Not Just...

 

I see articles about how HIV is addressed dissimilarly due to differing patient  demographics.  These factors include race & ethnicity, sex, rurality & social vulnerability.  It's accurate to say these distinctions can & do impact HIV treatment, but there's something being left out.  These traits affect groups no matter what the issue. 

Any of these factors or combination of them can push a person further from the standard of care given the mainstream population.  I'm gay, rural, poor & on disability.  My access to everything is very limited compared to a middle class person living in a metro area.  Still, that affects everything, not just my HIV treatment.

Too many articles are written as if these were isolated assaults those HIV+.  Disparity in treatment has always been a reality.  It shouldn't be, but it is.  In many incidents, the more conventional, metro & affluent a person is, the better they will be treated.

Stigma & disparity are a given in any situation where there's a power imbalance.  From what I can tell, it's not a fight that can be won.  You can focus on it & waste a lot of effort, but it's unlikely any lasting change will come about.  Sorry, but society sucks.

Cya...

Maybe Storms...

 

The sky's looking a little weird & there are storms in the forecast.  I'll post something for now.  It's not like there were any good articles out today.  They keep posting pieces about how well the HIV numbers are in the US, but then have to bring it down by stating there's still racial inequity in the fight.  What do they want?  Are people supposed to track down HIV+ POC & test/dose them?   If people of other races & ethnicities refuse to get on board with the fight against HIV, what is everyone else supposed to do?  I'd like so serious answers to that question.

Cya...

Happy Holiday...

 

It's here & almost over.  This time of the year never lives up to the hype we've built for it.  Each year there seems to be less of the holiday season.  I only heard Christmas music in the stores a few times & mainly the last time I went shopping.  For better or worse, this season has changed in many ways & it's never going to be what many of us remember again.  I want to say that's sad, but maybe for some people it isn't. 

There only 6 days left in the year.  I normally try to have hopes for the new year, but I just don't see anything making that even remotely possible this time.  I just hope it doesn't get any worse.  2022 was just a rough year on this house.  We need a serious respite. 

That's all for now, may your day be bright & joyous. 

Cya..

Living With...

 

I often see articles discussing what it's like to live with HIV.  I generally don't pay much attention to them.  There are so many variables that affect a person's quality of life while living with HIV.  My time with HIV has been very different than other peoples.  Some articles talk about how easy & normal it is to live while HIV+.  Others make life seem utterly hopeless due to outside factors like stigma & difficulty acquiring resources.  Both are true for some people.  I've never seen an articles that talk about how living with HIV is different almost every day.  Some days are good while others are horrible.  

I'm a white male with a notable Native American background in rural Oklahoma.  I have very limited resources.  I was diagnosed very late & reacted badly to some of the early HIV meds.  I had very limited support & my HIV specialist was over 2 hours away.  

My point being is that someone with decent support in an urban area who was diagnosed early in recent times, would have a very different experience than I did.   We'd hardly be comparable at all.   Living with HIV is different for everyone, just like life.

Cya...

Unknowable...

Some people have a problem with the idea there are things out there they can't know.  I will never know what it's like to be a woman or anything associated intrinsically with it.  I'll never be Black, survive Auschwitz, have only 1 high school or a  myriad of other things.  These are things I can only imagine.

I know things others don't about life.  Lessons for which I paid dearly.  Knowledge that came with consequences & scars.  Unless you've faced the same, you can't understand.  I hope you never do.    Children of alcoholics/addicts never really get past it.  They never recover from having parents choose everything over them. They never forget be abandoned.  They won't get over or past it.  If you've had a decent life, you won't get it. 

The point is, we judge people for having unknowable aspects of their lives.  Most people never asked for this.  They endured harsh & sometimes horrible things for that knowledge.  Stop judging them for something you can never understand.   Quit trying to force them into your idea of what a person should be or what life is.

We're all just dancing as fast as we can.

Cya...

Not All The Same...

An issue for people living with chronic illness, is that no 2 are the same.  I can  have a day where I feel relatively good, then another where I don't.  I can have stretches where life is hard & I don't feel up to doing anything.  I really never know until it's happening exactly how I'll feel at any given moment.

People living with chronic, often "invisible" illnesses other than HIV, are most likely having just as varied days.  Varied for themselves.  Different from others with the same illness.

I can't stand it when people say having HIV won't have that big of an impact on your life.   That's a lie.  Even if your health doesn't bottom out.  Even if you don't face stigma.  Even if you evade every other aspect HIV, there will be those you don't.  The financial part alone is massive.   Just because HIV hasn't affected your life "significantly" yet, just wait.  HIV is forever & it can wait.  You have no idea how things will pan out later.

My life with HIV is not like someone's who was diagnosed & treated earlier than me.  It's not like someone who started with better doctors, more aware of the virus than I did.  It's not the same as someone who started on modern meds instead of some of the dinosaurs I had in the beginning.   My life isn't theirs.  They may have better resources, react differently to meds, have more support, the list goes on.

No 2 people living with any chronic illness will live the same life.  Each will be filled with different choices, options, reactions, downfalls...  I hope all those living well with HIV can continue to do so, but that wasn't my reality.   I wish the best for them, but that doesn't mean they weren't affected, it just means they haven't accepted that part or understood it yet.  They will & that will be a hard day for them.

Take care.

Cya...

What's What...

Everywhere in the news today are reports concerning Bill Gates & Donald Trump.   During an interview on MSNBC's, All In With Chris Hayes, Gates revealed at an earlier meeting Trump had to ask him the difference between HIV & HPV.    Trump had to ask twice.  

Not only did the president not know the difference between these 2 illnesses, he promptly forgot when it was explained to him.  Either the man just didn't care about the issues or he has a serious memory problem.  Considering him & his age, it be either or both.   No matter, any scenario with a sitting president not knowing the basics about these 2 widely public viruses is cause for concern.

Cya...

Different Perspective...

I'm not going to talk much about this article.  This article deals with being 20ish, black, female & hetero & HIV+.    I"m only 1 of those things, so this is different viewpoint.  This article isn't in depth, but still a good read.  It's interesting to see even though we're different, our experiences are similar.

Cya...