HIV an 69

[darkeyes]

Been tryin 2 catch upwiv wots goin on in the world since cummin bak from me hols.. spotted this lil gem on the beeb..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7523212.stm

Seems ifyas 20 wenya gets infected ya hav an expected life span a anotha 49 years..more ifyas a gal. Thot 2 mesel.. gud..brill.. things r lookin up for peeps who r suffrin this shitty illness. Since 1999 the life expectancy for sufferers has increased by anotha 13 years an thats gud an all.

Ya can imagine jus how much a a cumdown it wos wen me wos speakin 2 me lil cuzzin las nite, who is like er big cuzz..luffly.. but a bit a a tart.. she is str8 tho an luffs guys an has a rite gay (in the old fashioned sense a the word) ole time wiv 'em. We got 2 talkin bout HIV an seems she knew bout these developments an sed summat 2 the effect "..well..don expect 2 live 2 b 69 ne way an its such a long time away wy shud me worry?".

Cudda knocked me down wiv a feather me can tellya.. wen she wos wee she wos always so str8 laced an responsible.. Tho on the pill as a preventative for pregnancy, health precautions r not summat she bothers bout, nor dus she intend 2 get health checks, an afta speakin 2 summa the younga kids at work this mornin seems they mostly feel the same way. Guts more so than girls but expected that.

Now me not bein holier than thou ere. Hav neva been a gr8 1 for takin precautions gainst HIV an condoms hav neva been summat me has bothered much bout..they jus no fun wen it cums 2 certain sexual acts. Only if an wen me had skin breaks did me eva allow em 2 b used. But hav always had regular an frequent health checks an hav always felt that wos so important sepsh wiv the lifestyle me led. Don matta much ne more cos hav Naggy an neitha of us stray. But bout those kids... now ther attitude dus worry me. Don won em 2 hav a mizzy or worse no sex life.. but do wont em 2 know wot they can do as prevention, an the importance a havin ther health checked out regularly espesh if they r sexually active. They r jus so ignorant a HIV an Aids it jus aint true. 49 years is a long time even if yas healthy. 49 years wiv HIV an all it entails healthwise is a very long time indeed.

Took a long time las nite explainin 2 me lil cuz jus wot it cud mean. An tomoz me takin er 2 meet a m8, same age as me who has HIV. An she, believe me has lotsa health probs associated wiv it havin caught it at 17 an life is often no fun for her woteva...

So wile me thinks expandin the life expectancy a sufferers is a truly wondaful thing, it aint a cure, an 2 sum extent cosa the fateful dyin day mayb bein pushed bak for kids who hav it, its a dubble edged sword an as 1 lad sed 2 me this mornin ova coffee, "I gotta die of sumthin.. aids at 69 is as good a way as any". jeez

[ambi53mm]

So wile me thinks expandin the life expectancy a sufferers is a truly wondaful thing, it aint a cure, an 2 sum extent cosa the fateful dyin day mayb bein pushed bak for kids who hav it, its a dubble edged sword an as 1 lad sed 2 me this mornin ova coffee, "I gotta die of sumthin.. aids at 69 is as good a way as any". jeez

Jeez is right....I think I may have uttered about those same words more or less back when I was about 17 or so to anything that may have involved the risk of death...usually followed by a "Hey we all gotta go sometime". Funny how often in my later life I find myself eating the words of my youth. I think one of my all time classics was: Arguing that people over the age of 75 should willingly give up there lives to make more room for new people...the images of Soylent Green still fresh on my mind.

I tell my kids often if I had known that I'd live to be so old, I would have taken a little bit better care of myself when I was younger.

Best of luck Fran...one on one always seems to work best.

Ambi

[darkeyes]

Talkin 2 Shaz an the kids er age at work made me think a lot yesterday bout me own life, an how me lived it. Cos 2 sum extent it wosnt so diff from thers. In fact like u wen in me teens didn giv a sod bout growin old...jus didn expect 2 for 1 reason or otha...an didn care.. life wos for the moment an for the joys me cud get outa it. Up till the time me got married that wos how things wer an afta me hubbie an me split up it wos how me resumed me life.. even 2 sum extent toward the end a the marriage...

But talkin 2 this vibrant brite an alive girl brot home 2 me jus how risky me own life had been fore Kate an me finally got our act togetha.. wos lukky me sposes cos since splittin up wiv me husband hav neva had much 2 do wiv guys.. me interests lyin elswer..but b fore then, certainly b fore me wos engaged, the future didn worry me much an did me own thing. That's not 2 say there is no risk bein free an easy wiv otha women, an that they cant pass it on 2 otha women.. they get HIV jus like ne 1 else, but the perception me always felt is that it wos safa as well as yummier..

Things changed a lot wen Kate wandered in 2 me life.. lust became sumthin much more.. Lou's birth las year, an recently adoptin Kate's elder daughter kinda changed me perceptions an me priorities.. the world is a dangerous place, an human interraction carries its risks.. sexual interraction as much an as life threatenin as ne. Talkin 2 Shaz made me think bout our kids..an jus wot we need 2 do an say 2 them as they grow up. Shiv is 9 now an she already huntin down lads...at least they always on er mind an she has had a few bf's.. she knos bout HIV/Aids, cos we hav made sure of it, aswe hav dun ova otha STD's, an wot can b dun in the way a prevention... sex edication at school aint much 2 rite home bout an ya kno wot pre teens r like for myth an legend. Lou will get the same treatment at the rite time.. both our kids will b made aware a wot it means 2 b a woman in this day an age an prepared as best we can for the life ahead.. wot they make of it is ther responsibility in the end.. but woteva that is it won b outa ignorance or lacka luffin support from ther parents they will fall down an make a mess a things...

Me still not sure bout growin old an becummin a grey haired ole lady.. zimmer frames do nowt for me image.. but for 1st time in me life..am givin it sum serious thot... am still daft tartie spoilt opinionated an luff fun sex an the gud things in life... wondrin tho if me mum, the ole bat, wos rite.. is mothahood becummin me? Jeez..am I becummin me mum?? God forbid!!!

Kids don think 2 much bout ther future.. career prob ina nebulous way, uni mayb..but not half a century ahead..an don give a sod bout how ther lives will b tween now an then.. betta 2 b healthy than not howeva ya livya life.. do all we can 2 make sure our girls r, an in the case of me lil cuz... wot me can 2 make er realise that yea.. 69 a long time away..but ya can liv it wiv health an lotsa fun, or cop HIV wen reely ya don need 2..there r enuff diseases an pox in the world as it is, an lots ya can do sod all bout..betta 2 avoid best ya can those ya can do summat 2 prevent... HIV an its effects on ya life is 1 ya wanna avoid an can do summat 2 avoid.. like teachin grannie 2 suck eggs 2 u an me..but wosn always so 2 me ne way... an certainly aint 2 millions a kids round the world. Shud b..but the message aint sinkin in.. jus gonna do my lil bit 2 help wer me can get that message 2 stik...

[csrakate]

I applaud your conviction to educate the young ones, Fran...and I'm afraid it's gonna take your generation to perhaps get the message across. Someone my age is likely to be met with rolling eyes and a smirk! LOL! But the sad fact is that with youth, there comes a feeling of being impervious to death....that because it seems so far away, it isn't necessary to take the necessary precautions to ensure a long and happy life. The increased incidence of STD's among the young is evidence that many have turned a blind eye to safe sex. I grew up in a time where we mostly had to concern ourselves with pregnancy but kids today face a death sentence if they don't act wisely. It's almost as if they prefer to fly in the face of danger than to admit that there is a disease such as HIV.

As someone who is a tad bit older, I can tell you that life does indeed get better with age and I truly wish at times that I had been a bit better to myself over the years. As I have learned, it's never too late to start taking better care of yourself, but I would hate for someone so young to one day wake up and realize that they are reaching their advanced years with regrets on being granted longevity due to illness. There is nothing wrong with living for today as long as you are aware that there may very well be many, many tomorrows.

Keep talking to them Fran! You never know who's life you are going to impact!

Hugs,
Kate

[darkeyes]

Sumwer on the beeb web site wos anotha article bout this same subject Mumsy .. seems HIV is no longa considered "a fatal virus" cosa the increase in life expectancy ova the las few years. Think thats bollox an an absolutely appallin thing 2 do cos for mos peeps wiv HIV don matta if they 30 or 70, if HIV breaks down ther immune system sufficiently, an ultimately causes AIDS, it is therefore the cause of woteva illness ultimately kills ya actually killin ya!

God mumsy..am only 2 aware that kids won take it in or treat it seriously.. kno me didn, an reely only now am I thinkin bout it as deeply as me prob shudda at 15 20 or 25.. but wetha they listen or not, an act or not, we havta make sure kids kno jus wtf HIV means for them an every 1 round em...

Talkin summat me neva stops doin Mumsy.. ask me dad... tee hee. Had me yabbrin in 'is earole all me life. "Every 5th word makes sense" sez 'e.:tong: Not 2 sure wetha thats an insult or a compliment...:(:bigrin: