Did you know?
There are still families that feel that it is better to hide their child’s HIV status from them? As a matter of fact “data from several centers indicate that between 25% and 90% of school-age children with HIV infection/AIDS have not been told they are infected,” (AIDS, 1999). It can be taken into consideration that some of these children are too young to understand what is going on and therefore they are not being told. It can also be thought that it is too hard to handle for the parent, to actually voice that their child has HIV (AIDS, 1999). This is something extremely serious that I came across. What is this child going to do if someone else, other than their parent, discloses their status to them? I can only imagine how secluded and alone they would end up feeling. It is a shame to think that a parent would hide something so serious from their child. In this same article it states that when children do know about their status “they can have higher self esteem than children that are not aware of their status,” (AIDS, 1999). Overall, with reading this article it made me think about what I would do in this situation. If my child was infected with HIV I wouldn’t hide it from them. I would wait until my child was at least 4-5 years old. This way they can understand what is happening to them. I would want them to understand that they do not need to be ashamed and that I am a safe haven for them to turn to when they need support.
Spotlight on HIV/AIDS
This week we were asked to research 2 famous people that were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and who died with complications to the matter. Of course this doesn’t mean they died from AIDS, but instead it could be from an opportunistic disease or an infection that their body couldn’t fight off. The two people that I chose to research were Freddie Mercury and Ryan White.
Ryan White was diagnosed with AIDS when he was 13. “He acquired the HIV infection through a blood transfusion,” (The HIV/AIDS Programs: Who Was Ryan White?). On April 8, 1990 Ryan passed away, he was 18 years old and spent his life fighting to be allowed in school (The HIV/AIDS Programs: Who Was Ryan White?). Mrs. White-Ginder, his mother was the advocate for her son and she didn’t stop when he passed away. She is still out there fighting against the stigma set up against people that are infected with HIV/AIDS.
Freddie Mercury was a member of the famous group, Queen. He wasn’t open about his status with AIDS and performed one last time on October 8, 1988 (Freddie Mercury: biography). Freddie died on November 24th, 1991. The death was apparently peaceful and in his own home due to AIDS-related bronchial pneumonia (Freddie Mercury: biography).
The weeks continue:
This week I get to attend a women’s panel for this class. I’m extremely excited to be able to listen to experiences and hopefully ask some questions! I recently completed the signs and symptoms module and one of the illnesses that I was most interested in was the HIV wasting syndrome. I was interested in it because I believe that I have seen it first hand, it happened to a close person to my family who had AIDS. She passed when I was in elementary school, but I will never forget the way she looked. It pained me to see this once large woman be so small. Now I do not know if she was actually diagnosed with the HIV wasting syndrome, but I feel that it is a decent assumption, considering the research that I found on the issue. During this past week, things have been pretty hectic and I’m gearing up to get started on the next assignment. I hope all of you enjoy the rest of your week.
References
AIDS, C. o. (1999, January 1). Disclosure of Illness Status to Children and Adolescents With HIV Infection. Retrieved March 3, 2010, from AAP Policy: http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;103/1/164
Freddie Mercury: biography. (n.d.). Retrieved March 3, 2010, from Freddie: http://www.freddie.ru/e/bio/
The HIV/AIDS Programs: Who Was Ryan White? (n.d.). Retrieved March 3, 2010, from HRSA: http://hab.hrsa.gov/about/ryanwhite.htm
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It is horrible how HIV/AIDS effects the children most of all. I can not even think how you could possibly tell your child they have HIV/AIDS. And it amazes me how crazy parents become when it comes to their children. I understand that HIV/AIDS is scary, but those other parents had no right to kick Ryan out of school. They act like he is going to infect their kids on purpose. Just shows you how lack of education can ruin a lot of things.
ReplyDeleteThe parents who are not telling are not doing it to keep their child in the dark; they are doing it to protect their child from saying something by accident that causes the other children to start to tease them for being HIV positive. Children can be very cruel.
ReplyDeleteThe younger the child the more likely they will be to spill the news and then suffer the backlash. My daughter knows she is HIV positive and that she is not to talk to others about it. A few of her very good friends know, but that is all. If the word were to get around her school, her life would be over.