HIV Support Group
HIV (also known as human immunodeficiency virus, and formerly known as HTLV-III and lymphadenopathy-associated virus) is a retrovirus that primarily infects vital components of the human immune system which can lead the syndrome known as AIDS. Many of the problems faced by people infected with HIV result from failure of the immune system to protect from opportunistic...
I apologize if this isn't the proper forum in which to post this, but there aren't really any support groups for family members here (that I could find).
I just lost my brother to HIV/AIDS because he was unaware he was infected and, therefore was not on any type of antiretroviral meds. He ended up having complications after surgery, developed double pneumonia was placed on a ventilator for several months and wasn't responding to treatment. After a series of tests, it was determined that he had advanced HIV. We lost him after two months in ICU.
My brother had been living in the Middle East and Asia for the last 10 years, and had been receiving medical care there during that time and at the time he was placed in ICU. However, I still don't understand how there were no red flags before this happened.
For me, this has really stressed the importance of testing more than ever...and I wonder why it hasn't already become a part of routine checkups/physicals. I understand fear is the reason why most people don't get tested. But for me - now - the fear is NOT knowing. It tears me apart inside when I think about my brother...and how he may still be here if he had known sooner.
I just lost my brother to HIV/AIDS because he was unaware he was infected and, therefore was not on any type of antiretroviral meds. He ended up having complications after surgery, developed double pneumonia was placed on a ventilator for several months and wasn't responding to treatment. After a series of tests, it was determined that he had advanced HIV. We lost him after two months in ICU.
My brother had been living in the Middle East and Asia for the last 10 years, and had been receiving medical care there during that time and at the time he was placed in ICU. However, I still don't understand how there were no red flags before this happened.
For me, this has really stressed the importance of testing more than ever...and I wonder why it hasn't already become a part of routine checkups/physicals. I understand fear is the reason why most people don't get tested. But for me - now - the fear is NOT knowing. It tears me apart inside when I think about my brother...and how he may still be here if he had known sooner.
In most parts of the world, many or most of the laws pertaining to HIV/AIDS were written years ago before the treatments were very good. Treatment has gotten a lot better, but there has been little activism and thus little pressure to change some of the older laws or regulations that should be changed today.
Testing has become much more prevalent in most parts of the word, and the tests have become more accurate and less expensive. But in many places there are still rules or laws against testing without a patient's informed consent. In some cases, a test for HIV is not forbidden by any rule or law but it is also not required and thus left up to the doctor and patient to decide whether or not to test.
Initially, I joined this group in search of advice on how to best support my newly diagnosed brother (when he was transferred to a hospital here in the US and we had hope that he was going to make it). You all seem to have a great network of support here; I only wish he had been able to get well and become a part of it.
Seeing my only sibling suffer through the last week of his life, knowing there was nothing I could do for him, other than be by his side, was the most helpless I've ever felt in my entire life. I would do anything to prevent others from having to go through that if I could.
I suppose my goal here now is to educate myself further and, hopefully, gain a better understanding so that I can do my part to promote and support HIV awareness. That being said, I'd love to contribute to the group in any way I can...or just lend an ear should anyone need to chat, vent, etc.
Thank you, again.