Almost time to graduate!

I can't believe the semester is almost over! One more month of classes and I will have my degree!! I have been making some big decisions throughout this semester that will affect my life forever. I have decided to move to Tallahassee and live with my sister while I get my MBA from FSU. I am really excited to be able to live with her! My sister is my very best friend and I can't wait to start this next chapter in my life.

I watched Philadelphia with my mom two nights ago. We both really enjoyed the movie. It was very moving and intense. I enjoyed this film because the story felt so real to me - it was like I was in the courtroom while the trial was happening. Both Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington's performances were amazing. In the final scenes when Tom Hanks is dying, his portrayal is so realistic and thought provoking. Both my mother and I were moved to tears. It was so disgusting to watch the discrimination against Tom Hank's character. I felt that his sexual preference was one of the main reasons he was on trial.

I will never understand our country's fear of what we don't understand. Just because a person is different does not mean that they are wrong or beneath the majority. You would think that we might have learned from our past mistakes with racial prejudices. We have simply moved our prejudices to a different group of people. Are we really so insecure and ignorant that we must always have a target group for hatred? All human beings are equal no matter what the circumstances and I wonder if our country will ever collectively realize this. Philadelphia is a beautiful movie that touches on so many important issues and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys meaningful film.

The Question of the Week for this week made me feel really lucky to have my family. I have not always been the best daughter. In fact, I have put them through absolute hell. But they have always been there for me and put my needs over their needs at the drop of a hat. I know that they would be there for me and work through their own emotions in order to help me with anything I need. However, I really do not know if I could tell the majority of my friends.

When I really think about it, I do not think a lot of people my age would be very supportive. They would probably never make an effort to hang out with me again and tell anybody that knows me. Its sad to think about how artificial some of my friendships are, but the stigma of HIV is very powerful. Whenever I tell some of my friends that I have to do HIV homework, they get this disgusted look on their face like ew why would you take an HIV class. I cannot imagine how they would react if they thought I had HIV.

***Did You Know?***
Here are some statistics that I think you should know about HIV and pregnancy. According to the March of Dimes, about 120,000 to 160,000 women are infected with HIV in America. About 6,000 to 7,000 women with HIV will give birth every year. Approximately 15,000 children have been infected with HIV since the beginning of the epidemic, with about 3,000 deaths. 90% of child deaths from HIV are a result of HIV transmission during pregnancy or birth. Perinatal transmission is the term used when HIV is transmitted from mother to baby during pregnancy, labor, delivery or breastfeeding. Perinatal transmission is the most common form of HIV infection in children.

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/hivaids.html

M&M Simulation

All I can say is wow. I have never had an assignment as intense and realistic as the M&M Simulation. Truly, this class is different from any other class I have ever taken. The assignments are eye-opening and force you to look at things from the perspective of someone with a positive diagnosis. I feel that at the end of this course I will be more knowledgeable about the subject matter (HIV/AIDS) than I have ever been in any other course. This information is in my brain and will stay with me as I begin to work in the medical field. While this class may be work intensive and not an "easy A", the professors are true teachers and have enhanced my education.

I chose to do exercise A for my M&M Simulation. In exercise A, my HIV medication regimen involves taking 2 - 100 mg AZT capsules bid, 2 - 150 mg 3TC pills bid, 3 - 250 mg Nelfinavir capsules bid, 1 double strength TMP/SMX tab od and 1 multivitamin od. I bring a small plastic bag with my M&M pill regimen to work every day. I cannot even begin to tell you how difficult it is to combine my pill regimen with my work schedule and eating habits. I felt hopeless at first but I feel that I have created some sort of natural rhythm as the simulation progresses. My eating habits are not how I would like them to be but that is a small sacrifice compared to what people who really have HIV must go through.

Everyone in my office already knows about my HIV class, as I am always checking discussion posts or spending any extra time on homework. When my co-worker actually saw me swallowing a peanut M&M whole, her first words were "HIV class?" I explained to her the simulation and she seemed intrigued with the whole idea. Most of my co-workers have never been in such a unique class as this one. They will explain to me how they never had such in-depth assignments designed to simulate how someone with HIV would actually feel. Actually living something provides more education than just memorizing a sheet of paper and taking a test. I almost feel like my co-workers are jealous that they did not get to experience such an innovative class, but they are definitely not jealous of the workload.

On a different subject, I was checking my Yahoo mail account and took notice of one of the highlighted articles on the homepage. The highlighted blurb said that HIV/AIDS has become the number one killer of women worldwide, ages 15 - 49. To those of you that think HIV/AIDS is a thing of the past, this statistic proves that it is obviously not. For something that is killing masses of young women across the world, you would think there would be a better education program concerning HIV and safe sex in the United States. It makes me really upset when I think about the lack of safe sex education that I received in high school. Don't you think the embarrassment of a sex conversation is worth bringing that statistic down? We cannot turn back the hands of time, but HIV/AIDS in the future can be prevented. Why are we not doing everything in our power to achieve the goal of prevention? The conservative, religious outlook seems to be running our nation in more ways than one. Is the unrealistic message of abstinence and purity more important than preventing a worldwide killer?

Here is an informative article concerning HIV as the number one killer of young women worldwide:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7360227/HIVAids-is-leading-killer-of-women-of-reproductive-age-worldwide.html




***Did You Know***
One important factor that can increase the risk of transmission from mother to baby is the "duration of ruptured membranes". This phrase is used to describe the time passed from when the water breaks to the actual delivery. It is important that a doctor tries to keep this time period at less than 4 hours. If time goes over 4 hours, the baby is exposed to HIV for a longer amount of time and is more susceptible to the virus. Induced labor, or "induced rupturing of the water bag", is also a risk factor to the transmission of the virus to the baby. It is important that doctors avoid inducing labor with an HIV positive mother.

http://www.projectinform.org/info/pregnancy/02.shtml

Back To School!

Well spring break has ended and it is back to the real world! I received my testing results from Planned Parenthood and thankfully I tested negative for HIV. I must admit, I was a little anxious in waiting for the results. I have been very cautious in my life and I did not think that I could have HIV, but it is still difficult to wait for such results.

Over the break, I conducted a garage sale to raise money for the HUGMe organization. My grandma told me that she would make up the difference to reach $100 for bonus points for this class. I did not have a huge selection of items for the garage sale but I made a sign explaining that all the proceeds were going to the HUGMe organization. Several of my neighbors were very generous and offered to pay more than the value of the item being sold. In the end, I made $88 and my grandma gave me $12 to reach my $100 goal. I am writing the paper now and will be sending the check to Teach by the end of the week. It felt really good to know that I was raising money for a good cause. If there is one thing that I have learned from this class it is that there is a great need for HIV/AIDS education.

I feel that I learned a lot about HIV/AIDS from Assignment #4. "Common Threads" was a very touching film. It was interesting to hear the individual stories and see their representation in the quilt itself. I found the story of the young child with hemophilia to be especially touching. He seemed to be such a brave little boy, stronger than most guys I know now. He believed that he had the same rights as every other child and should be able to go outside and play when he chooses. It is beyond me that someone would want to take that right away from him. "Silverlake Life" was a little much for me. It was really hard to watch some of the scenes in that documentary, especially the death scene. When they showed his emaciated body, I almost felt that I had to cover my eyes. What an awful way to die.


These movies really open your eyes to the plight of someone diagnosed with HIV. Especially someone diagnosed with HIV in the late 80's. It is appalling how our government initially handled the prevention and treatment of HIV. I also watched the documentary series "Age of AIDS" and found this to be the most informative. It was interesting to see how different countries have approached the campaign for prevention and treatment of HIV. I think out of all the assignments in this class so far, Assignment #4 was the most informative.

***Did You Know?***

There are certain HIV medications that women should not use when they are pregnant. Such medications include Sustiva, Zerit, Agenerase in the oral form and hydroxyurea. The only HIV medication that is strongly recommended is ZDV, also known as zidovudine or AZT. The use of ZDV by an HIV-positive mother proves to be 70% effective in preventing the transmission of HIV to the child. ZDV treatment takes place in three parts and must be started between the 14th and 34th week of pregnancy. Once the child is born, the baby must take ZDV as a liquid every six hours for the first six weeks of life.

Reference: http://www.pregnancy-info.net/stds_hiv_and_pregnancy.html

Almost Spring Break!

Hello fellow bloggers! This week, Teach has given us a specific topic to blog about: celebrities that have passed away with HIV. I chose two celebrities - Robert Reed and Tom Fogerty. Robert Reed was an actor, receiving his undergraduate degree in drama at Northwestern University and continuing to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. Robert began his acting career on Broadway but soon ended up in Hollywood guest starring on several different TV shows in the late '50s. His big break came as playing an attorney on "Father Knows Best" in 1959. Following this break, Robert was cast in the emmy-winning "The Defenders" and replaced Robert Redford on Broadway in Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park".


Robert signed a contract with Paramount which resulted in his appearance in three pilot TV shows, one of which was "The Brady Bunch". As you well know, "The Brady Bunch" was picked up by national television and Robert Reed is well remembered as playing the father. According to Robert, this was not his favorite role. He was a method actor and enjoyed more serious roles and Broadway acting. While acting in "The Brady Bunch", Robert also played Lieutenant Adam Tobias in the show "Mannix" and continued to act on Broadway. In the span of his career, Robert was nominated for three emmys - twice for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Drama or Comedy and once for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Closer to the end of his life, Robert taught a Shakespearean acting course at UCLA.


Robert Reed tried to keep his homosexuality a secret. It was a well known secret on "The Brady Bunch" set. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1992 and was HIV positive. He remained close with his former co-star, Florence Henderson (Mrs. Brady), until the very end and asked her to break the news to the Brady "kids" about his condition. Each of the Brady children called Rob and all were in attendance at his funeral. Robert died from colon cancer and complications from AIDS on May 12, 1992 at the age of 59.


Tom Fogerty was in a successful rock band known as the Creedence Clearwater Revival, or CCR. Tom played the rhythm guitar and sang backup vocals but always seemed to be in the shadow of his little brother, John Fogerty who played lead guitar, sang lead vocals and wrote most of the songs. In the beginning, the four man band was signed to the obscure Orchestra label as Tommy Fogerty and the Blue Velvets. At this time, Tom sang lead vocals and wrote most of the songs. Throughout the mid-60's, the band was signed with Fantasy Records and changed their name to The Golliwogs. In The Golliwogs, Tom was much more visible and shared lead vocals and songwriting with his brother. By the time the band changed their name to Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1968, Tom's brother was in complete control of the band.

In 1971, Tom left the band due to his rising frustrations with his brother and his lack of contribution to the band's music. CCR would only release one more album after Tom's departure. Tom tried his hand at a solo career throughout the '70s and '80s but was not very successful. Unfortunately, the brothers never quite recovered their relationship. Tom died in 1990 from complications due to AIDS. His family believed he had acquired the disease through a blood transfusion during surgery on his back. If you are unfamiliar with CCR, I recommend you take a listen to "Bad Moon Rising", "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" and "Proud Mary", to name a few.

References:
http://www.bradyworld.com/sketch/reed.htm
http://www.worldsstrangest.com/mental-floss/6-secrets-from-the-brady-vault/
http://www.answers.com/topic/tom-fogerty



***Did You Know***
Did you know that two states have passed legislature to test every newborn child for HIV? Those two states are New York and Connecticut, and Illinois is considering a similar law. The idea of testing all newborn babies raises an ethical question. While doctors always recommend that a pregnant mother get tested for HIV, it is her right to say no to the HIV test. If a newborn baby is tested as HIV positive, health professionals are essentially diagnosing the mother as well. Also, most HIV tests detect the antibodies to HIV and not the virus itself. All newborn babies with HIV positive mothers will have antibodies consistent with HIV but may not have the virus. Adequate testing of newborns will either require a more complex test that can detect the virus itself or testing will have to wait untiil the baby is 15 to 18 months when all maternal antibodies are gone.

http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/insite?page=ask-06-04-24