“THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV/AIDS” BY DAVID BRIGGS

“Will I get aids?” I asked. “We can’t say” they said. “Do I have to take aids pills?” I asked. “We think you should” they said. “We don’t know if you can get aids from saliva”. And I was promptly handed a half a dozen packets of pills to take “just in case”. My mother hugged me while two nurses and a doctor looked at me blankly. They had no idea what to say. I had no idea what to ask. And so we all just stared at each other in silence. Eventually a nurse said to me “but you might be one of the lucky ones and not get sick from the pills”. “How sick will I get?” I asked. “We can’t say” she said. “We hope you feel better soon”. And with that they walked out the consulting room leaving me sitting on the bed with my heartbroken mother next to me.

That was my introduction to “AIDS” or rather “HIV/AIDS”. I sat staring at the wall. I had just been attacked in the street and my assailant had bitten me on my arm quite savagely – and from this bite (amongst all the bruising and scratches), a rather large and painful haematoma was already forming. Had I just been given the death sentence? How would I know? Who would I ask? By now, there were a lot more questions running through my mind than there were trains going through the London underground. I had an uncertain prognosis looming over my future and no one could tell me what to expect because “they couldn’t say” or rather “didn’t know what to say”. And so I left the hospital with a bag full of pills and a mind full of anxiety. Of course, luck didn’t smile upon me and within a day or two of taking the medication; I found out that I wasn’t “one of the lucky ones”. I was violently ill, lost weight, was weak, traumatized - and I couldn’t keep anything down. I went see a different doctor who phoned someone at the university and asked if I needed to keep taking the AZT - because it was after all only a bite. I was told the same thing again “we can’t say”, “but we’ll change them to another sort and see if you can manage”. They changed them – I couldn’t manage them. I was taken off the AZT only to be put on something even worse. After a few weeks I was forced to stop taking them altogether – I just couldn’t deal with the post traumatic stress I was fighting, along with the pills that felt as if they were slowly sapping the very life out of me. I had no idea how anti-retrovirals worked or why I had to take them. And neither did anyone else.

Thankfully my story had a happy ending and I was fine. The point I’m trying to make however, is that the crucial information I needed wasn’t available. Although this happened to me a few years ago, and a lot of research has gone into HIV/AIDS since, the majority of society is just as ignorant now as I was then. I have met and spoken to numerous people (some infected) about this disease and they too are uncertain. I asked my domestic lady about how they dealt with HIV/AIDS where she lives. She said that when the people find out they have the virus they go into hiding because they are never told what will happen to them, and they are scared of how the community will react towards them. They are given pills from the hospital and sent away without any further education. I spoke to my sister’s domestic lady – she’s had members of her family die from AIDS related illnesses. She too said that they were never told about how the disease progresses and why it’s so important to keep taking anti-retrovirals and so on. Again - the patient is given pills and sent away. Another person told of someone he knows who went to a traditional healer and was fed worms and beetles for two weeks – in addition to this, he was advised by his “doctor” to not take the anti-retrovirals. Did this alternative medication work? You eat worms and beetles for two weeks and tell me how you feel! (He died of course – probably because of something he ate – or rather from what ate him!) There’s also the belief that this disease is sent from ancestors and so on. Every time I spoke to someone I asked if they understood what HIV/AIDS was. The answer is generally the same - “if you have HIV it means you are going to die”. This of course isn’t the case. A person living with HIV can in fact live a long and healthy life provided the medication is taken as instructed and a healthy diet is followed.

It’s quite astonishing from the statistics that are available on this pandemic that’s ravaging the world (especially Africa), that there are still so many uninformed individuals. Could this be because the disease itself appears to be too complex to comprehend? Or could it be simply that there is a lack of basic easily understood literature?

Dave realized these important facts as well and decided it was imperative that something be done about this distinct “lack of knowledge”. A well informed society would be the key to combating this disease effectively, globally. He did in-depth research on the subject (along with a professor of virology), and took the information, simplified the technical and medical jargon making it easier for everyone to read and understand, while at the same time inspire an interest in this ingenious virus. His next plan was to have the layout done in such a way that not only will the book be educational, but the reader will return to re-read it time and again to absorb the knowledge fully. He achieved this objective by incorporating cartoons and creating two stories with two very different fictitious characters depicted as “hero’s” in a very colourful and elaborate comic book of about 40 pages. He called his creation “THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV/AIDS”. All the basics have been covered in this book and the explanations are incredibly easy to follow and understand. After reading the info regarding ARV’s, (it took me back to the time when I was taking them and had no idea why this was necessary), I finally understood how these pills were actually working in my system and why it was important that I should take them. I also learned why we have “soldier cells” and what “cd-4’s” are, and how and where the HIV hides out in our body, and why antibiotics aren’t affective with this virus. He also discusses the myths and truths about how one is likely to contract this virus i.e.: saliva, mosquitoes etc. This book is perfect for just about everyone, everywhere. Persons living with HIV/AIDS will find it particularly useful especially if they have had limited information given to them. He has turned this book into a learning tool meaning that on the left hand pages there are questions as well as a summary of the cartoons and story being told on the right hand page. It’s ideal for group discussions, students, churches, clinics (especially in rural areas) and so on. I would even go so far as to recommend this book be left on coffee tables in waiting rooms or at home. After reading through his book, I found all the answers to the questions I had always wondered about.

“THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV/AIDS” became available last week - for more info on it or how to purchase it go to www.aids-education.co.za.

This is his first of two publications on HIV/AIDS. The second book “UNDERSTANDING HIV/AIDS” is almost near completion. It is a much more informative book that discusses all the above as well as many more topics. Both books will become indispensable in trying to win "THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV/AIDS"

WHO AM I?

I am HIV
I’m a virus, I’m positive
And I simply do not give a damn
Nor do I hide pain, guilt or shame
And neither my damaging plan

I have no feelings of love or hate
And compassion I have little need for
My sole purpose is to devastate and destroy
The lives of many people

I have no time for sympathy
And I will never become your friend
Yet the high cost of making my acquaintance
Is more than you could ever comprehend

I break up families wherever I can
And I may take your sister or brother
I bring about sadness and sorrow and grief
But I couldn’t care one way or another

Because I’m an opportunist
I thrive on the chances you take
And if you think I can’t happen to you
That’s your unfortunate ignorant mistake

I may be in your lust for passion
And perhaps the needle that you share
Remember always I’m a restless evil
I am everywhere

Rich or poor, young or old
In the end you’re all the same to me
I have no concern for gender or race
I’m blind to all humanity

Who am I?
I am HIV, I’m a virus
And of this you can be sure
I have positively debilitating effects
Beyond all and any cure

So to win the war against my deadly evil
You will have to unite as one
And spread the message and not the disease
Until the battle is won
Copyright Avril Jones…db