7.13.2007

I was bruised and battered/And I couldn't tell what I felt/I was unrecognizable to myself

It´s been two weeks since I´ve started working in the HIV clinic here in La Plata, and the words of Bruce Springstein are all around me. Already my head is swimming with stories and emotions. While I am far from seeing it all as they say, I have seen so much more than ever before in such a small period of time. In my first week, I stared Kaposi Sarcoma (skin cancer associated with AIDS...indicating the innevotable mortality which awaits) in the face...I spoke with young women who were meeting HIV head-on, with their small children along for the ride...I spoke with mothers and children of sick patients, transexual sex workers, drug addicts, and patients with fewer CD4 cells than I have fingers...I helped to counsel a young couple, newly infected with HIV, as they delt with the raw emotions associated with the news and anger over the fact that the man was unjustly fired from his job when his co-workers learned that there was merely the suspicion that his girlfriend was HIV-positive...at this point, I began looking for Tom Hanks...but then, this isn´t a Hollywood blockbuster, is it? This is real life...this is HIV in a developing country at the dawning of the 21st century.

I was delighted to hear that the state offers so much to these desperate individuals...the government actually pays for ALL diagnostic tests, care, and treatment (including antiretrovirals)...the problem is, however, that these gifts don´t necessarily give life. After the economic crisis in 2001, life in Argentina quickly plummeted for the vast majority...with over 70% of the population living below the poverty line, HIV is just one more thing that many can just not afford the time or energy to properly deal with. Free ARVs are fantastic...but what good do they do if you have no food, or at least inadequate amounts and types of food, to eat with them (beyond the obvious importance of food, it is incredibly important for HIV-positive individuals to maintain a healthy diet and many of the drugs require that they be taken with food)...what good does emotional counseling and empowerment do if you have no job and no permanent home to call your own? It seems as though these people have been continuously betrayed by their own government and now they have been betrayed by their own bodies...even the blood in their veins is rebelling against them...

Before coming here, I was a bit confused by the words Bruce Sprigstein sings in the middle of his hit song Streets of Philadelphia: ...aint no angel gonna greet me/just you and I my friend...Now I see a bit more clearly just how true these words can be...how right Bruce might have actually been. While I completely see God´s hand here and am confident that there are, in fact, angels here among us...for me, maybe they´re all HIV-positive...I am also accutley aware of the lack of such comfort felt by our patients. I would like to think that there are angels who will greet them here in this world, but I´m just not confident that they will be afforded such encounters...at least not outside of the clinic in which I find myself working. There, we try to build a sense of empowerment and ownership over their bodies, their lives, their illness...we hold workshops every friday (including art therapy and reflection sessions) to supplement our normal medical and psychosocial services, with the hope that we can build a base, a foundation from which the patients can begin to organize their lives and make healthy decisions in every area of their life, as they begin to allow HIV to trickle over into all aspects...as they begin to live with HIV rather than die from it...

12 comments:

Sylvana said...

Wow. This is so amazingly intense... How do you communicate with the people? I didn't even realize you are fluent in Spanish! I'm so proud of you. You are one of their angels! But there is so much more work to be done of course... lots of love, can't wait to see you in November. We must plan our trip out. Will be in touch soon.

Anonymous said...

viagra online uk Buy Viagra Online No Prescription viagra facts viagra price comparison does viagra really work buy sublingual viagra online how does viagra work viagra lawyers negative effects of viagra pfizer viagra viagra soft tabs generic viagra online over the counter viagra viagra manufacturer

Anonymous said...

[url=http://www.ganar-dinero-ya.com][img]http://www.ganar-dinero-ya.com/ganardinero.jpg[/img][/url]
[b]Estas buscando formas de ganar dinero[/b]
Nosotros hemos encontrado la mejor guia en internet de como trabajo casa. Como nos ha sido de utilidad a nosotros, tambien les puede ser de utilidad a ustedes. No son solo formas de ganar dinero con su pagina web, hay todo tipo de formas de ganar dinero en internet...
[b][url=http://www.ganar-dinero-ya.com][img]http://www.ganar-dinero-ya.com/dinero.jpg[/img][/url]Te recomendamos entrar a [url=http://www.ganar-dinero-ya.com/]Ganar dinero desde casa[/url][url=http://www.ganar-dinero-ya.com][img]http://www.ganar-dinero-ya.com/dinero.jpg[/img][/url][/b]

Poker said...

"I was bruised and battered/And I couldn't tell what I felt/I was unrecognizable to myself" is extremely impressive text. I like how you brought forward many clear viewpoints and I agree with Trey Talk. Your article coaxes thought out of the reader from start to finish. I really like
"I was bruised and battered/And I couldn't tell what I felt/I was unrecognizable to myself".
--------------------------
Doyles Room & Juego dinero Black Chip & Ultimate Bet 365 BetPoker & Online Promo

Play Like Phil said...

This is really a fascinating Trey Talk website and all your articles like
"I was bruised and battered/And I couldn't tell what I felt/I was unrecognizable to myself" , lots of useful stuff.
--------------------------
PokerSource Review

Like game fun said...

I’m fascinated by how well you laid out your
"I was bruised and battered/And I couldn't tell what I felt/I was unrecognizable to myself" post and presented your views. Thank you, i visit your Trey Talk blog next time.
--------------------------
Click link Bet365 Poker

Anonymous said...

black comment dating man white woman http://loveepicentre.com white man black woman dating services

Anonymous said...

pursuit vince flynn ebook http://audiobooksworld.co.uk/de/Mystik-Thrillers/c1044/?page=26 ebook file extension [url=http://audiobooksworld.co.uk/Paul-L-Fackler/m97749/]free woodsong ebook[/url] tunnel in the sky free ebook

Anonymous said...

pawns in the game ebook http://audiobooksworld.co.uk/fr/H-Xu/m46962/ wml ebook download [url=http://audiobooksworld.co.uk/es/S-M/m113015/]ebook computer networking a top-down approach[/url] stephen king's dark towers ebook mediafire
[url=http://audiobooksworld.co.uk/it/Organizzazioni-senza-scopo-di-lucro-e-beneficenza/c2173/][img]http://audiobooksworld.co.uk/image/8.gif[/img][/url]

Anonymous said...

administrator can not uninstal software http://buyoem.co.uk/it/category-12/Multimediale-e-Divertimenti ace contact software [url=http://buyoem.co.uk/fr/product-37054/Diamond-Cut-DC-Forensics-Audio-Laboratory-8-0]what music software will recognise iphone[/url] x64 tv software
[url=http://buyoem.co.uk/product-37184/Webpage-Maker-2-5]Webpage Maker 2.5 - Software Store[/url] orcad software for free downloading
[url=http://buyoem.co.uk/it/category-13/Software-di-Musica?page=3][img]http://buyoem.co.uk/image/5.gif[/img][/url]

Anonymous said...

parallel computing software http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/product-32944/OrgBusiness-Software-PhotoLab-Calendar-For-Workgroup-2-3 panda antvirus software [url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/es/information-9/Anti-Spam-Policy]ble memory software[/url] gemstar s guideplus software
[url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/es/search]Busqueda - Cheap Legal OEM Software, Software Sale, Download OEM[/url] computer software types
[url=http://buysoftwareonline.co.uk/category-100-114/Other?page=2][img]http://buyoem.co.uk/image/5.gif[/img][/url]

Anonymous said...

[url=http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/avodart.htm][img]http://onlinemedistore.com/7.jpg[/img][/url]
pharmacy technician certification program http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/eurax.htm pet pharmacy maine [url=http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/cytotec.htm]new york board of pharmacy[/url]
pakistan online pharmacy http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/depakote.htm online mexico international pharmacy [url=http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/synthroid.htm]synthroid[/url]
pharmacy usa http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/indinavir.htm freds pharmacy [url=http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/categories/cholesterol.htm]pharmacy errors[/url]
compounding pharmacy melbourne http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/categories/anti-acidity.htm best choices peoples pharmacy [url=http://certifiedpharmacy.co.uk/products/nimotop.htm]nimotop[/url]