Treat HIV/AIDS patients with more compassion
http://aztecpressonline.com/2015/04/treat-hivaids-patients-with-more-compassion/
By KATIE VACIO
When it comes to the taboo subject of HIV/AIDS, people as a whole still react by dehumanizing the sick.
Instead of trying to understand the illness, people stay ignorant because of its history. HIV/AIDS carries a stigma because of its association with homosexuals or drug addicts.
“Patients who are infected are still treated with shame, stigma and hate,” says Robert Knight, a peer counselor/case manager with the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation.
Much of the reaction stems from lack of education and understanding, Knight adds.
“Too many still believe this is still a gay disease and that you can get it by touch and-or close proximity,” he says.
Cultural perception plays a role as well, says Vera Bowlby, the SAAF manager of case management services.
“It also depends on the culture background,” she says. “The Latin and Spanish communities have different reactions than here. The stigma is still there.”
The local AIDS foundation still deals with some stigma, Bowlby adds, but it is not as bad as it used to be. In the past five years, it has become much easier for clients to access services and treatments.
“When someone is newly diagnosed, it comes free of rejection and the shame because of how most people got infected with the virus,” Bowlby says.
Some people who are infected with HIV/AIDS rise above the obscene scrutiny.
Russell Collingwood, 46, who has the illness, says it doesn’t define who he is as a person.
“Most of my friends and all of my family know my status,” he says. “The two partners in the relationships I’ve been with since my diagnosis are both HIV negative.”
Collingwood doesn’t try to hide his situation.
“I think because I’m so open about my status and don’t let it define me or make me a victim, I don’t get treated any differently,” he says.
The more knowledge that people have of the disease, the less discrimination, hate and stigma will be felt by people with HIV/AIDS.
Anyone can get infected. Famous personalities include singer Freddie Mercury, actor Rock Hudson, basketball player Magic Johnson and hemophiliac patient Ryan White, who was expelled from middle school in 1984 after he contracted the disease through a blood transfusion.
The virus can spread in different ways, from having unprotected sex to using the same needle as an infected person to an unfortunate accident.
Collingwood’s partner of 12 years died from the illness, and Collingwood became infected while caring for him.
“I was changing his IV, and he had a seizure,” Collingwood says. “Blood was backing up into the IV tube and the IV needle tore his vein. His arm swung around and hit my hand holding the IV needle and it ended up slicing the back of my hand open.”
Society also still thinks of HIV/AIDS as a death sentence, which fuels fear and ignorance.
“It’s really no different today living with HIV than it is living with diabetes,” Collingwood says. “You have to take care of yourself, see your doctor and most importantly, take your meds every day.”
Collingwood wishes “happiness and love” for anyone living with HIV/AIDS.
The Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation has adopted a new focus and direction without losing its core mission and value, Knight says.
He believes the changes helped unite the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, questioning and allied communities.
“It is my hope that the legacy we leave behind is an organization that has dealt with this epidemic head on,” he says. “We have fostered a loving family environment of acceptance and tolerance.”