Via: Elev8.com
Though people no longer talk about it with as much frequency as they once did the big disease with the little name is still out there. It’s still out there taking siblings, wives, husbands, cousins, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, neighbors, children, men, women, and teenagers’ lives. It has not been cured. It has silenced future leaders. It has destroyed entire families. Therefore in the honor of my brother, William, who lost his battle to this dreaded disease I will share the following information. If he were here He would want you to know:
AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome:
- Acquired means you can get infected with it;
- Immune Deficiency means a weakness in the body’s system that fights diseases.
- Syndrome means a group of health problems that make up a disease
Being HIV-positive, or having HIV disease, is not the same as having AIDS. Many people are HIV-positive but don’t get sick for many years. As HIV disease continues, it slowly wears down the immune system. Viruses, parasites, fungi, and bacteria that usually don’t cause any problems can make you very sick if your immune system is damaged.
I recall the very first time my older brother said he was HIV positive. It seemed to suck all the air out of the room. My mother stared at him. I thought for sure that I was hearing things. This was the mid 1980’s when the mere word would send chills down your spine. At that time we only understood it to be a disease that guaranteed certain death. After he left the house that evening, my mother cried tears of great sadness. She wanted so much to not believe anything that he had told her. My dad sat in silence. It was then we started getting as much information as possible. My brother did well the first few years until he caught a cold. That cold was the beginning of the end of any normalcy that we would ever see in him. The infections, the t-cell drop and the shingles all made rapid appearances. It was only then did we learn that living life to the best of your ability was the key.
