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
Hi Ashley. I wonder if the Taiwan statistic has anything to do with teens having sex at younger ages and now this is having a trickle down effect. I am sorry to hear about your grandmother. It is always very scary when a loved one has a major medical issue. You seem to have a great attitude about how you are dealing with this class from wanting to know more, not just the answer to the questions, to being challenged by the work load instead of frustrated. Seventeen credits is a lot. I admire your hard work and drive.
ReplyDeleteIts difficult to lose someone through any certain type of tragedy, but when it is associated with something as sudden as a stroke it can make that so much more difficult. Death is bitter no matter which way it comes, and as humans I find it very interesting that we all share some of the same innate feelings and methods of grieving. I don't know what is better...having someone ripped from you so suddenly or watching a person that you love slowly fade and have their life taken away from them by an incredibly small virus.
ReplyDeleteWow, to say "no news is good news," is a crime in my opinion. If you don't counsel the person they may not know that the new applies only to that test and that unless they change something, the new could change.
ReplyDeleteNice of you to see that process, Ashley. What I want is to improve students so that when they move on, they take those lessons with them and perhaps not find the next part so difficult. Two pages per disease isn't anything. You could have all written four times that amount and still only scratched the surface.
You will see the age in the US also declining. The reason is that people of that age believe HIV has been cured and they don't have to take precautions. It is the classic 'It can't happen to me' mentality. You all know the difference though. And yet, it could still happen to many that have taken this course because they will forget what they learned and as each year passes they too will fall back into the trap of 'it won't happen to me.'