Don't stop till you reach the top

Another week has passed in our HIV class. I have been reading the remainder of my book Surviving the Fall. Towards the end of the book, the author starts to connect his personal life with his professional life, which was interesting to watch unravel. The book was a good guideline for someone who has to deal with a loss. Since I recently lived through my own experience of my grandmother having a stroke, I was better able to relate to the author. The same feelings I have had to go through, the author illustrates them in a way I could never describe myself. Nonetheless, it was a great book for me to read at this point in my life.

I also kept on writing module 4 signs and symptoms. I never received a call from the health clinic this past Thursday. They said if I didn’t get a call in a week that “no news is good news.” I still plan on going back in to receive some post test counseling. I think it will be an interesting process, since I had to personally request to come in and be counseled. The health department in Texas has had their funding cut, and since this cut, they have done away with revealing test results in person, and with the counseling.

The next assignment I will be putting work into will be the 8 page paper due this Friday. I have started with the herpes simplex virus as my first disease to research. It was actually a task to find out HOW herpes was caused. The standard answer was something like, sexual contact. But I wanted to know the actual microscopic cause of herpes simplex. After a bit of research I found a very detailed journal regarding the infection of herpes.

The page length is extensive, but I think this is more to make or break the students. Many students freak out about the length and amount of work this class entails. I did that the first time I took it, but now I see it at a test. It’s not entirely hard; it’s more testing us as university students. I’m taking 17 credit hours this semester, and I feel like this class is the most demanding of my course load. The assignments seem to build up to this big paper, but once this is over, it will smooth sailing from here on out. This is just making us stronger students.

Now it is time for our fun fact of the week. Did you know?

The Taiwan AIDS Foundation said that according to Department of Health's Centers for Disease Control statistics, the average age of HIV positive people in the country is getting younger. The foundation's secretary-general, Chiung-chao, stated that the number of HIV-positive students rose to 156 in 2008, up from 110 in 2007. "The figures mark an alarming 42 percent year-on-year surge," he said.**

** http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155486.php

HIV testing nightmare in Texas…

This week in class, I have been spending a majority of my time reading my book Surviving the Fall by Dr. Peter A. Selwyn. Last Thursday I went to the local health clinic and had my HIV test completed. I learned a variety about the state of Texas, and their rules and regulations regarding the HIV test. My experience was everything but enjoyable. When the nurse brought me back to the room, she sat me down and was preparing to take my blood by wrapping the elastic band around my upper arm. I asked her “what HIV tests are you offering me?” She didn’t know what I was talking about, and said the only way was to draw my blood.

Let me take a few steps back.

There were three people in this room, and they were going to ask me all these personal questions WHILE taking my blood. I said I felt uncomfortable answering these questions in front of multiple people and thought it was supposed to be confidential and private. The woman tossed the test tube down on the counter. She turned to me with her hand on her hip, and said to me with an attitude “This is how we are going to do it.” I was blown away with her approach and asked for the manager of the facility. I don’t want to give too much away, because I plan on writing a majority of this in my paper.

As soon as I got into the car to leave the facility, I called Teach and left her a message. I was playing out the conversation I would have had with Teach, starting with, “You’re not going to BELIEVE what just happened!”

Now for our fun fact of the week pertaining to HIV and students.

Did you know?

-African-Americans were disproportionately affected by HIV infection, accounting for 55% of all HIV infections reported among young persons ages 13-24. (SADD 2007)*

That is more than half! This may be an important fact to someone who dates within this race.

*http://www.sadd.org/stats.htm#hiv

My AIDS organization......

Since Florida is my home state of record, I decided to pick an organization in Texas. I chose the AIDS Services of Austin organization. This organization helps provide “services that enhance the health and well-being of individuals and the community in the face of an evolving epidemic” (Dailey, 2004).

They offer testing with pre and post counseling, and a free service called the PATH program which is a private one on one session with a risk reduction counselor for any questions you may have. ASA has a dentist that can work with HIV+ people in need of primary dental and oral care. Another service is the Capital Area AIDS Legal Project (CAALP) which provides free legal assistance to low-income persons with HIV” (Dailey, 2004). For case managed individuals, ASA offers the helping hands food bank which provides food, nutritional supplements and personal care items (Dailey 2004).

Dailey, Robert. (2004). What We Do. In AIDS Services of Austin . Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://www.asaustin.org/site/PageServer?pagename=what_what_we_do.

Growing into the next week...

I have been searching to get myself tested for HIV, as per class assignment. I have been searching in my area, and there is the local health clinic here in Bell County. This office offers HIV testing for $10. If you wanted a full STD screening it was an additional $50!

I was shocked to hear such information! I feel that price is a bit high to be testing people for diseases. If we want people to be healthy and promote safe sex, then people need to know what they have. So if the average person is searching to be tested before engaging in sexual acts, they may have to save some money before hand. Not only is the price unpleasant, but the fact that the Bell County Health Department ONLY offers STD screening on Thursdays at 1:00 PM. I have been reading around and seeing advertisements about getting tested with your partner together, before the two of you have sex. The health department backs you into a specific time slot, which decreases the chances of people getting tested before engaging in sex. What if the couple works during this time, like many normal people do since its mid day on a week day? Perhaps if the testing was more available and offered at a lower price, more people would take advantage of it.

Now it's time for a fun fact of the week on my research topic- HIV and students!

This is my topic of interest that I will research each week and update you on tid bits I find out about the subject.

Did you know?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College Health Association estimate that 1 in 500 college students are infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).**

I think back to my auditorium class of biology at UCF that can hold 350 people. I bet every student in that room thinks it can't happen to them. Well it can, and it will if you're not careful and take the time to protect yourself.

**Read more: http://www.stateuniversity.com/blog/permalink/College-Students-and-HIV-AIDS.html#ixzz0RE5vA7Ob

You learn something new everyday...

After reviewing the first module labeled statistics, I came across an interesting fact that struck me on slide 93 of the CD-ROM. "HIV infection is the leading cause of death in persons 25-44 years of age." *

http://www.disastercenter.com/cdc/111riske.html

At the above website, it shows that the leading cause of death is accidents and adverse effects. Then as the second leading cause of death is HIV infection.

This is only one website, however. It still lists it as number 2. If you are to google "leading cause of death 25-44" many websites pop up with AIDS or HIV in the description.

To me that is just mind boggling. The number one cause is from this disease. I ask myself "why don't I hear more about this?" Why aren't people making this a bigger deal in the US? There are a lot of commercials promoting safety for drinking and driving and wearing your seat belt because of numerous car accidents, but HIV has few and far between "safe band wagon" opportunities. I think I should see it on billboards, and radio ads, and magazines!

I just think the leading cause of death is not known among this age group, and it should be. I thought of a way to reach many people with education. How about education at jobs? Think about it. The age range of 25-44 is usually a working adult. How about making it required for the employer to educate it's employee's on the leading killer of their age range?

*Douglass, Sharon. (2009, Sept 05). HIV: A Human Concern, HSA3654. University of Central Florida.