Following last week’s comment about him from Michael’s Consultant at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Andrew explains the technique that he and Michael use to ensure that Michael takes his HIV meds every day. Continue reading medication adherence: our technique
It’s only two weeks since I was up at the HIV clinic at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. That appointment was an emergency one due to the somewhat awful cough and chest infection from which I was suffering at the time. The news back then was that the results from May’s blood tests were very encouraging:
CD4 = 190 (9%)
VL = undetectable
Well, today I had the results of the tests on the blood taken two weeks ago. Whilst the CD4 count is down numerically to 140, the percentage is the same at 9%. This was not entirely unexpected as my body was fighting the chest infection at the time. Viral Load was once again undetectable.
My consultant, Dr Carol Emerson, reckoned that this was all down to a certain Andrew. Continue reading “results and more tests…”
Back in March I was pleased that the Faith Mission Shop in Queen Street, Belfast had removed Chick Tracts from sale given the homophobic views expressed in them. Yesterday I was disappointed with Faith Mission.
After my blog post in March I had gone in to see this for myself. Whilst there I asked if there were any books on living with HIV – as there were many on living with cancer. I was pointed to a small section marked ‘ethics’. At this point I saw three words next to each other on a shelf which was immediately below the shelf marked ‘Homosexuality‘. Continue reading “Christian bookshop lumps AIDS with Death and Suicide”
While a recent surveys suggests that one in five in the UK doesn’t know that unprotected gay sex can spread HIV, a television show in the US shows that discrimination on the grounds of HIV is very much still alive. Continue reading too much misinformation out there – education on HIV is much needed
My name is Andrew, and I am living with HIV. You might think that I am HIV positive – I am not. I am living with HIV because my boyfriend*, Michael, the man I love, is HIV positive. I am living with HIV because HIV has a direct impact on my life. I am also, to some extent, living with PVL-MRSA, because Michael has that too. Today Michael had an appointment at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, and his doctor took the opportunity to screen me for MRSA, because there was a chance that I was an asymptomatic carrier. It … Continue reading my name is Andrew
I am HIV positive.
Just saying that brief sentence or its alternative
I am living with HIV.
gives people the opportunity to do and say the most remarkable things. Continue reading “each time you tell, you’ve no idea what you risk unleashing”
I’m writing because when you are first diagnosed as living with HIV, many people think that life is over; that there is no future. When I was first diagnosed I was one of those. So many people told me that HIV is not a death sentence Life is for living You must remain positive. And I tried to believe them – it is not always easy. But I can tell you that if you hang in there, life will bring new surprises, new friends, and new joys. It is not possible to look into the future and to know what … Continue reading The best is yet to come…. hang in there
Amidst the stories surrounding the founder of WikLeaks, Julian Assange, today’s Mail on Sunday, the headline appears
Accusers went to police after he refused AIDS test
It has to be said that the text of the story refers to an HIV test – but the headlines that which grabs the readers’ attention is using incorrect language. Moreover, it is offensive to the many people throughout the world living with HIV – and as has been said before, I am one of them.
By sensationalising the story, the Editor of the Mail on Sunday breaches the the Guidelines for reporting HIV published by NAT, Continue reading “Mail on Sunday continues to show prejudice: why am I surprised?”
It is only the day after World AIDS Day, and I am not the only patient that has had issues with the nursing staff in the HIV clinic at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, this afternoon.
I cannot go into the specifics of the incident concerning another patient, but the problem that I had was that they didn’t read the notes that the doctor had made in my notes.
Well done to Lib Dem MP Stephen Gilbert! He has tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons which calls on the Government to ‘introduce an evidence based approach to allow as many people as possible, regardless of their sexuality, to safely donate blood’. Openly gay himself, Stephen Gilbert has done something on World AIDS Day to call on Her Majesty’s Government to end the ban on gay and bisexual men, and their partners, being blood donors. Stephen said: As an openly gay Member of Parliament, I am a passionate believer that we must end this ridiculous and … Continue reading What have you done for World AIDS Day?
Gyronny Herald 