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Post by Kiki on Mar 18, 2012 19:14:29 GMT -10
What was the the HIV epidemic like in the 70's-80's?
Can you share any stories without breaking confidentiality (of course)?
What was it like living through the myths?
What are some myths that still exist today?
How far have we come? (ohh I have a good video from Kaiser for this question)
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Post by Andrew on Mar 21, 2012 11:57:06 GMT -10
Dunno about then but I can say for the 90s ... when sex-ed was the newest thing in middle and highschools, I had to take it as a requirement every year from the 7th grade. In the 12th grade I remember my teacher saying that AIDS was the result of gay male sex, from the primordial soup that was a mixture of friction and feces, blood and semen. An actually taught myth. Honoka'a - go figure!
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Post by Kiki on Mar 21, 2012 12:43:40 GMT -10
I sure hope Honoka'a fixed that problem! My friend was saying how her kids teacher from an elementary school in town, is super ignorant about HIV and was teaching the kids her version. After my friend schooled that teacher in HIV 101, THE TEACHER REFUSED TO BELIEVE what Brandi was saying! Mind you, Brandi has sonething like 14 years of experience in the HIV field.
People will believe what they want to believe i guess.
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Post by shadowwalker1600 on Mar 21, 2012 21:19:20 GMT -10
Actually there was no name for AIDS or HIV until around 1980. HIV in the 80's were handled different depending on where you lived. But for most part it was the worse diagnosis anyone could recieve. When I graduated from High School in 1982, HIV was rarely spoken of other than very dark and scary thing that only perverts, fags & sinners got for being the way they are. When I was in the military in the early 80's, that was an eye-opener for me. If a soldier was diagnosed with HIV, he was immediately put into bio-isolation, all your personal affects were collected, clothing & bedding were bagged, inventoried and incinerated. Soldier was subject to multiple blood, urine tests as well as numerous Xrays. The government had no idea what to do about it. As far as most of the population was concerned in the 80's to early/mid 90's, if you got HIV, you deserved it. Rarely did anyone reach out publicly to help out these new "plague" carriers. Opinion for alot the conservatives was to euthanize all HIV patients or isloate from rest of society until the patient died. It wasn't until a boy named Ryan White was profiled on the national news for being forced out of school and eventually the town he lived in. His story is an amazing one, I recommend everyone to read about his story.
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Post by Kiki on Mar 22, 2012 12:23:21 GMT -10
WOW..THANK YOU for sharing this, Shadowwalker. Humanity has come a long way. This is SUCH valuable information for The Yellow Boat cast and I. Benjamin, the boy in our story contracts HIV via Factor 8..so its even more heartbreaking to know how the "plague" affected such a young boy and his family. Could you explain a little more about this "bio-isolation"? Benjamin goes through this isolation by his teachers, community and so-called friends. This isolation is the biggest part of his depression. In my experience, the depression is the grim reaper of the situation. As we often see, it isn't the HIV or AIDS that kill the person, it's everything else and that includes depression..that will to survive is gone. Then there are people who take their diagnoses with such strength and perseverance and greater will to survive.
I did watch the Ryan White story on Netflix and it was a great film. I suggest it!
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Post by shadowwalker1600 on Mar 22, 2012 19:20:36 GMT -10
;D No problem Kiki!
First off I would like to introduce myself to anyone who doesn't know who I am. My name is Paul. I was diagnosed with AIDS (not HIV) Oct 2001. I have had numerous ups & downs dealing with being Poz physically, mentally & emotionally.
Just prior to my diagnosis I worked as a Emergency/Trauma Nurse on the mainland. So, to let everyone know... even those with all the information can make stupid decisions & do really dumb things. I will tell people I speak to, that prior to my diagnosis, I knew the consequences of stupidly having unprotected sex. So don't think because you think you know what you will do in a questionable situation, logic doesn't always show itself. If anyone would like to ask questions about HIV, AIDS, my experiences or would like my personal advice about sex & AIDS/STD's... please feel free to message me.
SO! The definition of "Bio-isolation" - That is when an individual or very small group are quarantined in a room or confined area with little contact with others (especially non-infected persons). Patients are bathed/cleaned & sanitized as much as possible put into a special room. Rooms are normally bare except for medical equipment & a bed. Persons/Medical Staff will normally be put into protective suits/gowns, exam gloves, Eye/Face covers and most times a dust mask or a Particulate Filtering Mask. There was alot of unknown information and terrifying fear throughout the public & even the medical community. Many cities & communities in our country were very barbaric when dealing with AIDS patients. Even to the point of putting newly arrived patients in a room and ignored. Unless the patient arrived with family or friends it was common practice to let the AIDS patient die alone, rather than try and treat the symptoms. That rapidly changed in larger cities when "Advocates" for these patients started to make thereselves known. That was about the same time as Ryan White coming to the forefront of the national news.
Since now, most know that HIV is not easily contracted, and that not only "homosexuals" get the diseases...education about the infection and how to PREVENT getting it or spreading it, is how we are dealing with "HIV". Society now is learning to be more compassionate to those that are sick.. learning to hate the sickness, not the sick person. There still many that need to be educated correctly (like many school teachers, politicians & parents) about HIV, AIDS & STD's. Some the less educated adults are either fearful or, in many cases, close-minded. But our society is currently moving in the right direction when comes to understanding a little more.
Again, please feel free to ask me questions about HIV/AIDS or how my disease affects me (even if you think it is too personal, ask anyways).
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Post by medicinerocks on Mar 24, 2012 21:41:42 GMT -10
This might be a bit of a tangent, but in many ways HIV stigma is similar to leprosy in Hawaii during the late 1800s to almost mid-1900s. Medical professionals of the time indicated that leprosy was a stage of syphilis; insinuating that the frightning phsyical malformation and inevitable death as a result of disease progression, was somehow linked to sexual promiscuity. This led to much fear, embarrassment and shame in affected individuals, lasting for generations. Isolating them, while a debateable public health action, consequently increased negative public stigma for the disease.
Fortunately while HIV is still widely misunderstood, we have professionals and educated patients that work daily to change public perception of HIV. I believe times have truly changed since leprosy. This doesn't mean that we should lose momentum in working to solve the social challenges HIV presents, but we ought to recognize that there is a more compassionate community - working globally - through multifacted efforts to eliminate this disease. We are very fortunate to have learned from our past mistakes.
I think the myths that exist today are the result of a lack of edcuation. If our society were informed and literate about STDs then we would not have a place for fear or untruths. No one organization can solve the problem alone. Until there is a cure, HIV will continue to remain a complex social problem that we must work unitedly to solve.
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Post by shadowwalker1600 on Mar 26, 2012 19:02:03 GMT -10
Aloha MedicineRocks! You're correct... Society in general did/does treat HIV/AIDS diagnosis just like Hansen's Disease (Leprosy) of the late 1800's - early 1900's. In part it is because the medical community learned more about the way HIV/AIDS can & does spread. There are also many Non-medical that have educated themselves about how HIV is contracted and know that just because someone has the disease doesn't warrant radical isolation or fear from casual contact.
But, there are many people in our population that are very ignorant about truth of HIV/AIDS. Of course the idea that AIDS is a justified punishment for those that homosexual, addicted IV drug user, etc. Uneducated adults that pass on their ignorant perceptions to younger generations is (in my opinion) the cause of most the negativity associated to HIV/AIDS. I believe that educating young generations about the reality of sexual behavior and how to make the correct decisions. Of course we know some young adults won't make the best decision, but we must give them the information & the tools to make the correct decision when the time to choose arrives. We must inform & show the young people the consequences of their choices. I have been, and suppose will be, a face that is the result of a bad decision made at a critical time. Normally after I have spoken with groups of young adults (16-28yo's) about what it's like having AIDS, I have an open disussion with them and allow them to ask anything they want to know about my sexuality, day to day living, dating/relationships, how I deal with all the side-effects from diseases & especially from the medications. I talk to them in a way that they want to hear & comprehend what I'm saying and why I'm saying it. I feel by educating young people of the up-coming generations about making the best decision for themselves in the heat of the sexual moment. Also educate them that it ISN'T wierd to treat HIV+ folks like any other person. That just because someone is gay, Bi, transgender doesn't mean they have or will get infected, that in fact the heterosexuals have as good a chance at getting infected if they make the wrong decision and the wrong time. I tell them that I live with the results of a bad decision everyday. And I do tell them all the horrible things that can and do happen while being infected.
Hopefully, most will hear my words and learn from seeing consequences of my bad decision.
If anyone has questions for me about living with AIDS, medications & side-effects or anything like that...please feel free to post here or contact me.
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Post by Kiki on Mar 29, 2012 10:55:23 GMT -10
One of my friends/cast members asked me how The Yellow Boat affects us today being that Benjamin contracted his virus through Factor 8. I explained that Benjamin's story is similar to Ryan White's story and what an impact it has had on our laws and the HIV community. Even though children aren't contrCting HIV via Factor 8 treatments, do you think we, as a society, are still affected by the relationship between HIV and Hemophilia? How so?
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