I was just thinking as I often do, about the fact that based on statistics every 9.5 minutes someone is infected with HIV! That means that since I began this blog on July 30, 2010 just 2 months ago approximately 10,500 people have become infected during this short period of time!
What is the problem?! It is not that people are not aware of HIV & AIDS. As crazy as it sounds I believe people just don't believe it can or will ever happen to them. For example, I know a young man who had an uncle who died as a result of having complications from advanced AIDS. Prior to his death the uncle lived in the home with the young man, his mother and a his sisters. I would think that after having been exposed to the uncle's health issues, that the rest of the family would have been more on guard about their own health. But that is not the case with this family at all! The young man and his now ex-girlfriend has had two unintended pregnancies and his sisters have done the same. I would seriously doubt that either of them knew their partners status before obviously engaging in their unprotected sexual encounters. It's insane.
I'm a very visual person. Imagine for a moment that there is a burning building and you decide to run through that building wearing a pair of gasoline doused pants. This is symbolic to a person going through life practicing high-risk behaviors that put them at risk for contracting HIV, such as unprotected sex or sharing needles for example. Now how many times do you think a person needs to run through that burning building before they make the decision to stop the behavior that's putting their life at risk? Do they keep running until they burst into flames? It's logical in my mind for a person to once they have become aware of the dangers, stop and remove themselves from the dangers, but quite the opposite is happening.
I took a brief survey in one of my classes last week and the question that I asked was, "What would it take to motivate you to take a test for HIV?" Several responded that they would be motivated if they believed they had been exposed! It made me want to scream when I read their responses! There needs to be a paradigm shift in our way of thinking or too many of us will continue to die unnecessarily. Because once you've been exposed to the virus there is no rewind button for your life. You're going to have to play the cards that you so willingly accepted.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Today Was A Good Day!
Today I had to do a speech in my Communications class. It was titled, " Any Old Bag Will Do". And in assembling my speech, I had to put three items inside of a bag that were of significant meaning to me.
My first item was a camafloug cap which represented my past and my time in the Army. The second item was a transformer toy that represents where I am in my life today because I am in the process of reinventing myself. The third item was one of my cocoEskimo awareness t-shirts to signify what it is that I want to do with my life and that's to become a voice in my community that speaks on the issues surrounding the HIV&AIDS epidemic. And I would ultimately like to be a part of whatever it's going to take to eliminate this desease. My bag is blinged out with empowering words about the qualities of women and that's because I believe strongly that the empowerment of women everywhere, regardless of race or social class will allow more opportunities for us to make the needed changes the world over!
I was very proud of my speech today, because I was able to use that opportunity in the classroom setting to deliver an important message about the epidemic to everyone in attendence! Last week I did the same thing in my Writing class..I used the opportunity to tell people about this silent death that's a lot closer to each one of us than we may realize.
I'm going to do my best to make it do...what it do!!!
My first item was a camafloug cap which represented my past and my time in the Army. The second item was a transformer toy that represents where I am in my life today because I am in the process of reinventing myself. The third item was one of my cocoEskimo awareness t-shirts to signify what it is that I want to do with my life and that's to become a voice in my community that speaks on the issues surrounding the HIV&AIDS epidemic. And I would ultimately like to be a part of whatever it's going to take to eliminate this desease. My bag is blinged out with empowering words about the qualities of women and that's because I believe strongly that the empowerment of women everywhere, regardless of race or social class will allow more opportunities for us to make the needed changes the world over!
I was very proud of my speech today, because I was able to use that opportunity in the classroom setting to deliver an important message about the epidemic to everyone in attendence! Last week I did the same thing in my Writing class..I used the opportunity to tell people about this silent death that's a lot closer to each one of us than we may realize.
I'm going to do my best to make it do...what it do!!!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
PUMP THE BRAKES my brothas and sistas!!!
I had a thought (yes, another one) just the other day and I've shared it with my dear Sista Wanda already. But what does the term 'universal precautions' mean to you?
Women, image for just a moment walking into the examination room for your annual check up. You're up in those dang stirrups and the doctor comes over to begin your pap, but he is not wearing any latex gloves! What goes through your mind? Think about it.
Men, what goes through your mind at the thought of your doctor not wearing any gloves while probing your body?
Me, I'm like hold up..wait a minute! And I'm not even playing here. Because a couple of years ago I had a so called medical professional put on a pair of gloves in preparation for my exam. And because the equipment was not cooperating, she lead me to another room. Well, she never took off those gloves! And so when we got into the new exam room, she thought that she was good to go. So I said to her, umm, don't you think you should change your gloves? And her response to me (in her defence) was that she had just put them on. So I explained to her that yes, she had put the gloves on in my presence initially, but she had also worn those gloves when she opened the door for us to leave the first room and then she used those same gloves again to open the door to our current location. This is my body and you will not wear those gloves to do anything to me. You need a clean pair.
Now by now, she had a real crazy look on her face but she knew that I was serious. As a matter of fact I thought about reporting her lack of common sense to the hospital, but didn't. Anyway, what I'm trying to get at here is that since latex gloves and masks and other protective wear is there to protect the patient from the doctor and to protect the doctor from the patient. I'm wondering how difficult it will be to incorporate universal precautions into the bedroom. Given the current HIV epidemic, I'm of the opinion that it should become common sense for people to put on some latex before exchanging bodily fluids with each other.
It just makes sense to me and I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts on this.
Women, image for just a moment walking into the examination room for your annual check up. You're up in those dang stirrups and the doctor comes over to begin your pap, but he is not wearing any latex gloves! What goes through your mind? Think about it.
Men, what goes through your mind at the thought of your doctor not wearing any gloves while probing your body?
Me, I'm like hold up..wait a minute! And I'm not even playing here. Because a couple of years ago I had a so called medical professional put on a pair of gloves in preparation for my exam. And because the equipment was not cooperating, she lead me to another room. Well, she never took off those gloves! And so when we got into the new exam room, she thought that she was good to go. So I said to her, umm, don't you think you should change your gloves? And her response to me (in her defence) was that she had just put them on. So I explained to her that yes, she had put the gloves on in my presence initially, but she had also worn those gloves when she opened the door for us to leave the first room and then she used those same gloves again to open the door to our current location. This is my body and you will not wear those gloves to do anything to me. You need a clean pair.
Now by now, she had a real crazy look on her face but she knew that I was serious. As a matter of fact I thought about reporting her lack of common sense to the hospital, but didn't. Anyway, what I'm trying to get at here is that since latex gloves and masks and other protective wear is there to protect the patient from the doctor and to protect the doctor from the patient. I'm wondering how difficult it will be to incorporate universal precautions into the bedroom. Given the current HIV epidemic, I'm of the opinion that it should become common sense for people to put on some latex before exchanging bodily fluids with each other.
It just makes sense to me and I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts on this.
In AMERICA We Really Ought to be Ashamed
When you take a look at history and at how societal issues were addressed back then, it has the ability to stir up many different emotions..at least it does in me. Especially when it's done with cruely and unfairness to those who were in no way able to protect themselves or their families from the forces that ruled. Take the Holocaust for example where human beings were killed because of who they were, their genetic or cultural origins, or health conditions.
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out. Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)
So here we are and we're not living under these circumstances THANK GOD! We currently have a choice and more importnantly we have a voice that is protected in the 1st and 14th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. But we CHOOSE to be SILENT on the issues surrounding HIV & AIDS in our community!!! It just makes my head want to explode, because although we don't have our babies being stacked into gas chambers we are leaving them vulnerable to being infected when we don't handle our buisness as parents and keep it real with them. Is it going to take seeing and smelling the decomposing bodies of those we love before we come together and take a stand?
Right now, yes, there are medications available to a lot of people to treat this illness. But have you ever paused to consider what will happen if one day the supply of medicine ever runs out? We are literally putting our lives on the line because what? we trust that the government has got our backs? Remember Katrina? The examples are endless. Who remembers the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment? It's quoted as being “the longest nontherapeutic experiment on human beings in medical history.” Where 399 African-American men were sick with this sexually transmitted desease on into its late stages and their doctors had no intention of telling them or treating them?
Is AIDS another plot to exterminate African-Americans? I really do not know. But what I do know is that I am not taking any chances that are within my control and I'm not going to not tell my children what they need to know in order to protect their bodies from HIV and also how to protect themselves.
That's all for right now. And I must say thank you for reading what I have to say, because sometimes I don't know when to stop and I'm by no means a great writer. But I am a work in progress. So thanks for listening and take care.
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out. Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)
So here we are and we're not living under these circumstances THANK GOD! We currently have a choice and more importnantly we have a voice that is protected in the 1st and 14th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. But we CHOOSE to be SILENT on the issues surrounding HIV & AIDS in our community!!! It just makes my head want to explode, because although we don't have our babies being stacked into gas chambers we are leaving them vulnerable to being infected when we don't handle our buisness as parents and keep it real with them. Is it going to take seeing and smelling the decomposing bodies of those we love before we come together and take a stand?
Right now, yes, there are medications available to a lot of people to treat this illness. But have you ever paused to consider what will happen if one day the supply of medicine ever runs out? We are literally putting our lives on the line because what? we trust that the government has got our backs? Remember Katrina? The examples are endless. Who remembers the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment? It's quoted as being “the longest nontherapeutic experiment on human beings in medical history.” Where 399 African-American men were sick with this sexually transmitted desease on into its late stages and their doctors had no intention of telling them or treating them?
Is AIDS another plot to exterminate African-Americans? I really do not know. But what I do know is that I am not taking any chances that are within my control and I'm not going to not tell my children what they need to know in order to protect their bodies from HIV and also how to protect themselves.
That's all for right now. And I must say thank you for reading what I have to say, because sometimes I don't know when to stop and I'm by no means a great writer. But I am a work in progress. So thanks for listening and take care.
My Burdens
There is an old school spiritual song that my grandmother used to sing all the time as she cooked and cleaned and went about taking care of her family, and it spoke of laying ones burdens down. I just Googled it and the name of that song is "When I Lay My Burden Down". And here are the lyrics to that song:
Glory glory, hallelujah,
Since I lay (laid) my burden down.
Glory glory, hallelujah,
Since I lay (laid) my burden down.
All my sickness will be over,
When I lay my burden down.
All my sickness will be over,
When I lay my burden down.
All my troubles will be over,
When I lay my burden down.
All my troubles will be over,
When I lay my burden down.
Lord, I'm feeling so much better,
Since I lay (laid) my burden down.
Lord, I'm feeling so much better,
Since I lay (laid) my burden down.
(The internet is an amazing tool somethimes.) This song best describes how I'm feeling lately when it comes to the fight against HIV & AIDS in my community. I feel better and better each time I share information with somebody because I believe that if what I have to say can't help them, then maybe it will help someone else that they cross paths with somewhere along the way.
Somewhere in my mind I'm believing that I'm going to find a way to connect with masses of people who are willing to not only listen to reason, but apply some behaviors to their own lives that are critical to our survival as a people.
Glory glory, hallelujah,
Since I lay (laid) my burden down.
Glory glory, hallelujah,
Since I lay (laid) my burden down.
All my sickness will be over,
When I lay my burden down.
All my sickness will be over,
When I lay my burden down.
All my troubles will be over,
When I lay my burden down.
All my troubles will be over,
When I lay my burden down.
Lord, I'm feeling so much better,
Since I lay (laid) my burden down.
Lord, I'm feeling so much better,
Since I lay (laid) my burden down.
(The internet is an amazing tool somethimes.) This song best describes how I'm feeling lately when it comes to the fight against HIV & AIDS in my community. I feel better and better each time I share information with somebody because I believe that if what I have to say can't help them, then maybe it will help someone else that they cross paths with somewhere along the way.
Somewhere in my mind I'm believing that I'm going to find a way to connect with masses of people who are willing to not only listen to reason, but apply some behaviors to their own lives that are critical to our survival as a people.
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