Friday, September 28, 2012

Email 53: Scared About HIV


Hi Pozziepinoy, 

Ako yung sa blog mo who is seekng help, diagnosed just yesterday. gulong gulo ako. d ko alam gagawin sobra. im paranoid that ths s d end for me. I have friend in whch i saw how aids progrsd until he died. hndi xa nagpatest until grabe na xa. ako for cnfrmatory pa sabi ng clinic. im shockd kasi kailangan lng magpamedcl for my work and then ito ung result. i nid ur help, how would i manage ths. im just 26 and i dnt want to die by next year or sooner 

Translation:

"I am the one in your blog who was seeking help, diagnosed just yesterday. I am so confused. I don't know what to do. I'm paranoid that this is the end for me. I have a friend in whom I saw how AIDS progressed until he died. He didn't get tested until he his condition was already worse. I am still for confirmatory according to the clinic. I was shocked because my work just required me to have a medical and this was the result. I need your help on how I would manage this. I am only 26 and I don't want to die by next year or sooner."

XXX

POZZIEPINOY'S REPLY

Hi XXX,

Thanks for your email.

I can feel your concerns. I know what you are going through right now because I've been in your place a year ago. It was really scary to not know anything about HIV and that really scares the hell out of all of us. We always think that it is the end for all of us because we have HIV.

I am sorry about your friend who passed away. However, take this as an opportunity for you not to follow his example, of not getting tested that late in the course of his infection. I am happy that even though, your job just required you to take the HIV test, you were able to know your status.

Well, all I can say is that HIV is not a death sentence anymore. There are a lot of persons living with HIV (PLHIV's) who are living a normal and long life now. They are our heroes because they have paved the way for all of us. They made our struggle easier to overcome.

Take a deep breath and take one step at a time. First, wait for the confirmatory. I know that it is a pain and pretty agonizing but the confirmatory will really clear out everything. One advice that I can give you is while you are waiting, start reading about HIV in the Philippines, it's treatment, about ARV's, about opportunistic infections and HIV doctors and treatment hubs. I listed below some of my past blog entries that you can start reading so that you can empower yourself by knowledge about HIV. This will somehow calm down your nerves and quiet down your fears:

 1. Things To Do While Waiting
2. What To Do When You Find Out That You're A Pozzie
3. A New Journey
4. Living With AIDS
5. There is Light!
6. Next Steps

 I know that it is scary for you, but trust me, everything will be fine. If you turn out to be negative, then continue your life and never again expose yourself to the virus. If it turns out to be positive, again, you live your life but start believing what your doctors will tell you to do. They are expects about HIV and they for sure will guide you to recover fast like what they did to me.

 I hope that I was able to help you out. Please feel free to email me again if you have other concerns.

 Stay healthy,
Pozziepinoy

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