As someone who has worked in health care for more than 15 years, I have witnessed firsthand, the devastating effects of America’s AIDS epidemic. I have watched countless AIDS patients - some of them were friends - die right before my eyes.
15 to 20-years ago, an HIV diagnosis was a literal death sentence. With one exception, there were no appeals and no delays. And medically speaking, in old days, most of the medications prescribed to treat the virus, were almost as deadly as the disease itself.
Fast-forward to today.
Because people are living longer with the disease once dubbed a “big disease with a little name” (Prince/Sign O the Times), a lot of people are foolishly putting their health at risk and engaging in unsafe sexual practices. And the proof is in the numbers.
According to the Chicago Department of Public Health, in 2008, there were an estimated 20,871 people living with HIV/AIDS in Chicago. That’s 8,500 more infected people than there were in 1995.
World AIDS Day is December 1, 2010. I ask that each and every one of you take the time to remember those who have died, celebrate the medical advances that have been made, and take the necessary precautions to protect yourselves from HIV/AIDS.
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