What's the odds of this coincidence?
I have been very much involved in the AIDS awareness movement since the Boss, DrYusof brought me over to JKNS to do the programme after DrNarimah transferred out for further studies. I have to admit, while I was in Lahad Datu, my favourite programme was maternal and child health, and even at that, I was doing heaps of adolescent health programme. I became quite comfortable with that, and work was enjoyable and (dare I say) easy. But the I was challenged by Boss, and yea, how can you say no to your Boss, right? So I took up the challenge, and I enjoyed it much! It even brought me on a free trip to Hong Kong! Yea, the perks of Public Health.
That was sometime last year, and for the second time in a row, WAD was an important date to mark on the calendar. I remembered even as a student, I was once guided by our (very sexy and alluring) ProfAdeeba, who was and still is, the authority in HIV / AIDS of UMMC and even KKM generally. I was so mesmerised by her that I thought to myself, if there's one thin that I want to be good at, I want to be Mr Know-It-All for HIV infection. Little do I know that I am living the aroma of that dream today, some 6 years after that infatuation with the Prof.
HIV to me has always been a job. It is work. I was involved in data collection for the State, and in running programmes to ensure we can manage and contain the infection and disease (though that is like the fattest dream one could ever have, since I do realise that I may not see the fruit of our labour in this near future) but still, someone still had to do the job and the show must go on.
We have been on the street, and off the street in some sleazy hotels and salons, doing prevention works, giving health education, building rapport with pimps and hookers (excuse me, I mean sex workers) alike, detecting some and did lots of counseling at the same time.
Now, something could be said about detecting a client with HIV- I've seen it as a personal victory, a reason for celebration, one of 'them' shot down before he / she could go and spread the disease to another, a success of the public health system and the world owe us a bottle of champagne...
Now, what follows after the detection of a case is quite schematic. A lot of thoughts have been put into making sure it is do-able, and facilities of all levels have been equipped to give the best care and support for the newly diagnosed. I, myself, has also been involved in a lot of counseling post-confirmation, and tears, anger, denial, fear and all that stages of accepting a bad news that we learned as students under psychology/psychiatry I've seen them all.
Positive living, bereavement, coping with stress, all these are things that comes to mind when we talk about life after diagnosis with the afflicted, it's quite easy actually. Doesn't take a shrink to do it, really.
But nothing prepares me for the one case that I got to know, just on the eve of World AIDS Day this year. A friend of mine (of whom I know has had a naughty reputation) was recently diagnosed with HIV infection, and currently battling with a bad infection of Hepatitis C, eating away his liver.
I was practically hyperventilating for a good 20 minutes. My mind was cloudy and that schematic algorithm on what to do suddenly makes no sense. No words of comfort I can think of at that time, in fact, I was looking for someone to offer me some comfort. Anything, anything would do, just say that it isn't real. I was in denial myself.
I have gone through the phase where my peers are getting married one by one, getting babies one by one and leaving the government for greener pastures one by one. I did have the thought of one day, my friends will start to die one by one, but I never thought I have to worry about that for the next 30 or 50 years to come!
All I can think of, is that what I have been saying all this time, suddenly makes sense and suddenly becomes so real. We do not talk enough about this matter, and we do not care enough about it to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
I want to challenge all of you who reads this, to talk about sex and protection to your loved ones, to your partner, to your regulars, whoever. I think this matter has been a taboo for a day too long, and really, change come from ourselves.
How to start? Just say,
Honey, we need to talk...
I have been very much involved in the AIDS awareness movement since the Boss, DrYusof brought me over to JKNS to do the programme after DrNarimah transferred out for further studies. I have to admit, while I was in Lahad Datu, my favourite programme was maternal and child health, and even at that, I was doing heaps of adolescent health programme. I became quite comfortable with that, and work was enjoyable and (dare I say) easy. But the I was challenged by Boss, and yea, how can you say no to your Boss, right? So I took up the challenge, and I enjoyed it much! It even brought me on a free trip to Hong Kong! Yea, the perks of Public Health.
That was sometime last year, and for the second time in a row, WAD was an important date to mark on the calendar. I remembered even as a student, I was once guided by our (very sexy and alluring) ProfAdeeba, who was and still is, the authority in HIV / AIDS of UMMC and even KKM generally. I was so mesmerised by her that I thought to myself, if there's one thin that I want to be good at, I want to be Mr Know-It-All for HIV infection. Little do I know that I am living the aroma of that dream today, some 6 years after that infatuation with the Prof.
HIV to me has always been a job. It is work. I was involved in data collection for the State, and in running programmes to ensure we can manage and contain the infection and disease (though that is like the fattest dream one could ever have, since I do realise that I may not see the fruit of our labour in this near future) but still, someone still had to do the job and the show must go on.
We have been on the street, and off the street in some sleazy hotels and salons, doing prevention works, giving health education, building rapport with pimps and hookers (excuse me, I mean sex workers) alike, detecting some and did lots of counseling at the same time.
Now, something could be said about detecting a client with HIV- I've seen it as a personal victory, a reason for celebration, one of 'them' shot down before he / she could go and spread the disease to another, a success of the public health system and the world owe us a bottle of champagne...
Now, what follows after the detection of a case is quite schematic. A lot of thoughts have been put into making sure it is do-able, and facilities of all levels have been equipped to give the best care and support for the newly diagnosed. I, myself, has also been involved in a lot of counseling post-confirmation, and tears, anger, denial, fear and all that stages of accepting a bad news that we learned as students under psychology/psychiatry I've seen them all.
Positive living, bereavement, coping with stress, all these are things that comes to mind when we talk about life after diagnosis with the afflicted, it's quite easy actually. Doesn't take a shrink to do it, really.
But nothing prepares me for the one case that I got to know, just on the eve of World AIDS Day this year. A friend of mine (of whom I know has had a naughty reputation) was recently diagnosed with HIV infection, and currently battling with a bad infection of Hepatitis C, eating away his liver.
I was practically hyperventilating for a good 20 minutes. My mind was cloudy and that schematic algorithm on what to do suddenly makes no sense. No words of comfort I can think of at that time, in fact, I was looking for someone to offer me some comfort. Anything, anything would do, just say that it isn't real. I was in denial myself.
I have gone through the phase where my peers are getting married one by one, getting babies one by one and leaving the government for greener pastures one by one. I did have the thought of one day, my friends will start to die one by one, but I never thought I have to worry about that for the next 30 or 50 years to come!
All I can think of, is that what I have been saying all this time, suddenly makes sense and suddenly becomes so real. We do not talk enough about this matter, and we do not care enough about it to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
I want to challenge all of you who reads this, to talk about sex and protection to your loved ones, to your partner, to your regulars, whoever. I think this matter has been a taboo for a day too long, and really, change come from ourselves.
How to start? Just say,
Honey, we need to talk...
3 comments:
sedih sa baca ni...huhu....mari la kita sama2 membenteras AIDS..buli benteras meh? emm....Honey, we need to talk....nice ending...hehehe
this is scary dude..then again promiscous people deserve what they get (punya main jahat ni statement haha..kidding bro :))
xigorx: membenteras boleh, tapi the process takes on reeeaaallllyyyyy slow... mangkali tu masa tua mati pucuk sudah kita, hehe
jerry: hhmm... deserving is a very sensitive and subjective matter... ya, jahat tu statement
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