Met someone today who may be dead within a year

[PHATchik]

I had to to an interview with this man that is doing a lecture at our university. He is HIV positive and also has Hepatitis C and Hemophilia (a blood clotting disorder). Some medication that he was taking for the hemophilia got infected with the HIV virus, thus he contracted it. I talked with him for two hours today. I have only been affected by a story once before, and that one was because I was personally involved. When I left from talking to him today, I was just in a totally different mindset. He said that he might not be here next year, but it's nothing for anyone to feel bad over. I can't say that I agree. I just met him today, but I think that if I hear that man has died sometime in the future, I truly will feel a sense of sadness.

 

[manny78]

Enjoy every minute of your existence. That's the only advice I could give.

 

[JohnyJuice]

Jesus, that frigging horrible. I am not sure how his meds would be contaminated though. Maybe he is a closet homo?

 

[PHATchik]

No, he's not gay. If I wondered about that before the interview, I have no doubts about it afterward. I'm not sure how it got contaminated either. He was infected 1983 and diagnosed in 1985, less than 6 weeks after getting married to his second wife. (She's HIV negative today btw although he did inform me that they have a very satisfying sex life.)

 

[danielson]

less than stringent sterilisation of equipment may have allowed meds injected to transmit.....

may also explain the hepC, thats primarily blood 2 blood as well





it does happen......death that is. i;ve met people, interviewed them and a few weeks down the line they have died. maybe im cold inside for ssaying it, but you do need a sense of detachment or a way of dealing with all the burdens if your gonna move on from the death. i have friends who are wrangling with what ur wrangling right now, and im sure i will bond with someone who kicks it soon as well.

u just have to remeber theres nothing you can do.....and the person dying would want you to apply your time to better things that may help them or others like them. your article for instance may highlight the dangers of cross contamination of medical supplies

u will feel sad, but u will move on.

 

[PHATchik]

He's very heavily focused on educating people. In fact, he's trying to write a book, but it's not going so well. He's wanting to find someone to write with or rather a ghost writer. Asked me if I knew of anyone. I'm almost tempted to say I'll be the ghost writer for his book, but I don't know if I have the skills, expertise, or time to do it. It would truly be an experience though, I know that much.

 

[big4life]

I'm sorry sweetie. That is one of the worst things about being a reporter, you have to see people suffer or when they hurt.

 

[danielson]

don;t feel obligated to do it for him because he's a terminal patient or anything, it sounds like it may be too much work for one person to handle whos juggling a job, a uni degree and is supposedly experimenting with her sexuality ( )

do try and find somene for him though. he sounds ike a lovely chap, and this book sounds like a worthy venture, you;d be suprised at how literature like this can help people if its written well.....

one of my greatest fears is getting to know someone and then they die and i get overcome by sadness.......i do know i'd get better over time.....as will you

 

[Mdguy]

Sad story. It is something we all have to deal with in our lives at one time or another. I would much rather die a quick death rather than from something slow and persistent like that.

A man (and a good friend) I worked for a few years ago was diagnosed with lung cancer which was found at the time to have already spread into the surrounding bone. Within a couple of months, I saw him go from a very strong, determined individual to a weakened person who had to deal with his own inevitable mortality. I stayed with him for a week, driving him an hour each way to the hospital for chemotherapy on a daily basis when his daughters were unable to, and knew that this would probably be the last time I would see him. Within 2 months after that, he had died.

 

[PHATchik]

That's one of his problems. The fact that everyone thinks it is a disease you get if you are gay or a drug user. When he first went public with it, he got a lot of bad things directed at him.


And big4life, the man got to me. He was talking about this 12-year-old boy that was in the same predicament. Had hemophilia and got HIV through the medicine. THe boy was dying and asked him if there would be aches in Heaven. And he told him no, there wouldn't be any pain or aches. That's the one time in the interview that I nearly cried. I felt tears come to my eyes. Working with kids and loving kids the way I do, that one got to me.

 

[saint808]

Can i ask you a question... could you gt hit by a car tommorow? We could all be dead in a year's time... you never know when your number is gonna be up... sometimes you just have a rough idea. Enjoy your life and don't spend it worrying. I do enough of that for everyone.

 

[PHATchik]

He is considered a Walking Miracle. He's got eight different diagnosed illnesses. Diabetes, Hep C, Hemophilia, HIV, and a few more. He's been given 6 months to live twice, a couple of years to live twice. He says that it's marvelled them that he is still alive now. He's just getting over a bout of pneumonia. What's amazing is that he made it past childhood considering the environment he grew up in. Tossed around from foster home to foster home, some abusive. He was born with hemophilia in the 1940s when there was very little treatment available.

 

[Taps]

That's really terrible. Poor guy.

Kinda makes you realize what's important.

 

[PHATchik]

That's really terrible. Poor guy.

Kinda makes you realize what's important.

Yeah, I started thinking a lot about things tongiht. People I care about, and do they know it? Things I should say or do and quit putting off. Lots of things. Like Saint said, any of us could die tomorrow.

 

[Robert Jan]

Who has seen the movie
"the view from here"
Its about 2 aids suffering gay lovers and their best friend, who films their downward spiral to their death. Cynicism throughout the movie. very sad.

 

[biteme]

Don't mean to sound like the cynic, realist that I am, but every person I meet may be dead in a year.

 

[thebabydoc]

Jesus, that frigging horrible. I am not sure how his meds would be contaminated though. Maybe he is a closet homo?

Virtually all hemophiliacs prior to 1984 contracted or are dead from HIV. This is because their disease often requires multiple blood transfusions and the blood supply was completely contaminated back then. That's also how he got Hep C.

 

[gettinlarger]

Not about HIV ... but a dude I work with was just diagnosed with cancer. In his colon and his liver. I feel so bad for the guy. He's so nice. He's got 2 young kids too. He definitely does not deserve to go out like this ...

And this guy has so much fucking heart. The other day he was in work carrying cases of liquor and shit out all morning (I work in a liquor store.)

 

[PHATchik]

Virtually all hemophiliacs prior to 1984 contracted or are dead from HIV. This is because their disease often requires multiple blood transfusions and the blood supply was completely contaminated back then. That's also how he got Hep C.

Actually, he has a factor 8 deficiency. The factor 8 medication was contaminated with the virus. He didn't explain how.

 

[biteme]

Not about HIV ... but a dude I work with was just diagnosed with cancer. In his colon and his liver. I feel so bad for the guy. He's so nice. He's got 2 young kids too. He definitely does not deserve to go out like this ...

And this guy has so much fucking heart. The other day he was in work carrying cases of liquor and shit out all morning (I work in a liquor store.)

That really sux. Life can be so Goddamn cruel.