World AIDS Day... And I'm Tardy!!!

I have a good excuse for being late... really!! You see, I'm doin' the most right now, and it's almost the end of the semester, and I'm old, and I'm tahd!!  So I'm recycling the post I wrote this past March for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. I promise you, I'll blog on semester break... I have a couple of wonderful stories about how I almost murked a chick in my Research and Practice class...

But in the mean time... here's the rerun.

Ok, this post is late in the day.  Blame my laptop, coz it's trippin'.... might be time to upgrade to that Apple I keep thinking about.  But that's a post for another day....

Today is National Women and Girls' HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.... and it's time for my periodic rant a discussion about the virus again.

However, today instead of my usual statistics, facts and examples, I wanna say a couple of positive and personal things.  I have always said that my motivation to be involved with the Red Pump Project and HIV/AIDS awareness stemmed from my profession as a nurse.  Weeeeelllllll..... yeah, but naw.

A big part of it is that a friend I met about 18 years ago, and loved well, died of AIDS related pneumonia in 1998.  But here's the thing.  She had a daughter.  Her daughter was born before HIV was part of the picture.  However, she was still left to carry on with the stigma that "Your mama died of AIDS."

She didn't get resentful or bitter.  She started advocating.  She started talking and educating.  And she started doing this at about 16 years of age, when it is really not the easiest thing to do to go against the opinions of your peers.

She's an inspiration to me.  She went on to get a Master's in Social Work, and lives in Northern California, working as a family therapist.

The moral of the story, there is life after HIV.  Not just for the loved ones who lost someone to the virus, but especially for people who are infected and managing the virus.

Follow the links below for facts and examples!

Much love and blessings to all.  Get tested, know your status and protect yourself.

http://www.awesomelyluvvie.com

http://www.theredpumpproject.com

http://www.raelewisthornton.com/

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/

http://www.aidsbeacon.com

Vote T.E.A.M. HIV/AIDS: Provide teens with peer to peer education and awareness

Vote T.E.A.M. HIV/AIDS: Provide teens with peer to peer education and awareness

It has been a little minute since I have embarked upon one of my famous HIV awareness rants...

...but that doesn't mean I don't still care!! Please follow the link and vote for these kids to get the grant. Young people are being infected and diagnosed at an alarming rate. Education, awareness, and prevention are our best weapons against this virus. Help these two fifteen year old girls achieve their goals of educating and raising awareness among their peers! 


And don't forget to check out The Red Pump Project 
and throw them some support!

STD's Are NOT Sexy... No Matter How "Spectacular" the Sex Was

Okay, so I worked a day shift today, and when I got home, I kissed my kid, changed clothes and checked my Facebook.  


One of my FB friends, Van had posted a YouTube link.  He had posted a video commentary/PSA in response to Kiely Williams' music video on YouTube for her song "Spectacular."  Now, I'm not gonna recap what he said.  I'm not gonna try to say it better or more politely.  Because I happen to think he did more than an excellent job of breakin' it down.  I'm only gonna direct your attention to the sidebar and ask you to click on the Red Pump.  


Attitudes like the one Miss Kiely expresses in her song... umm... yeah.  That's kinda what makes the Red Pump Project necessary in the first place.  C'mon, ladies... let's do better.  Know your status.  Know your partner's status.  Hell, know your partner!! Protect yourself.

See the videos below for the full story.  Warning before you play the videos, though:  They're both R rated. The first for subject matter and sexual triflingness and hosh*t.  The second for Van's potty mouth!

National Women and Girls' HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Ok, this post is late in the day.  Blame my laptop, coz it's trippin'.... might be time to upgrade to that Apple I keep thinking about.  But that's a post for another day....

Today is National Women and Girls' HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.... and it's time for my periodic rant a discussion about the virus again.

However, today instead of my usual statistics, facts and examples, I wanna say a couple of positive and personal things.  I have always said that my motivation to be involved with the Red Pump Project and HIV/AIDS awareness stemmed from my profession as a nurse.  Weeeeelllllll..... yeah, but naw.

A big part of it is that a friend I met about 18 years ago, and loved well, died of AIDS related pneumonia in 1998.  But here's the thing.  She had a daughter.  Her daughter was born before HIV was part of the picture.  However, she was still left to carry on with the stigma that "Your mama died of AIDS."

She didn't get resentful or bitter.  She started advocating.  She started talking and educating.  And she started doing this at about 16 years of age, when it is really not the easiest thing to do to go against the opinions of your peers.

She's an inspiration to me.  She went on to get a Master's in Social Work, and lives in Northern California, working as a family therapist.

The moral of the story, there is life after HIV.  Not just for the loved ones who lost someone to the virus, but especially for people who are infected and managing the virus.

Follow the links below for facts and examples!

Much love and blessings to all.  Get tested, know your status and protect yourself.

http://www.awesomelyluvvie.com

http://www.theredpumpproject.com

http://www.raelewisthornton.com/

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/

http://www.aidsbeacon.com

Time for that talk again....Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

About a year ago, while schlepping around the intrawebs, I got to "know" some people who have irrevocably changed my life.  Good, bad or indifferent... it is what it is.  I put "know" in quotations b/c I have never actually met any of these ladies.  Yet we have shared some pretty deep conversations online.  Have discovered that we hold similar tastes, likes, values, beliefs, pet peeves and humor.  My friendships with these people are every bit as valid and valuable to me as any I have with people in my immediate vicinity.

Because of one of these friendships, I became involved with the Red Pump Project.  Look over on the sidebar... my humble lil' blog with its sporadic readership was one of the first to Rock the Red Pump, last March for National Women's and Girl's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.  And I'm rockin' it again, and again, and again....

Today is Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.  And I personally think that it's the most important of the awareness campaigns going.  Why?  Because, demographically, Black Americans are unbelievably over represented as far as HIV/AIDS is concerned.  Now, my girl Luvvie has covered the stats in her post over at the RPP website.  And I believe if it ain't broke, don't fix it... so I'm gonna trust y'all will click the daggone links!

One stat that I came across deals with the disparity between pediatric AIDS among different ethnic/racial demographics.  The following tables come straight from the CDC website and they make me want to vomit.

FIGURE 2. Racial/ethnic distribution in total population and among infants aged ≤1 year, persons aged ≥13 years with diagnosed HIV* infection, and children aged <13 years with diagnosed perinatal HIV infection --- 34 states, 2004--2007^†

* Human immunodeficiency virus.

^† Data adjusted for reporting delays.

^§ Hispanics/Latinos might be of any race.

Alternative Text: The figure above shows racial/ethnic distribution in total population and among infants aged less than1 year and persons aged greater than 13 years with diagnosed HIV infection, and children with diagnosed perinatal HIV infection in 34 U.S. states from 2004-2007. During 2004-2007, among all children with diagnoses of perinatal HIV infection in the 34 states, 69% were black, 16% were Hispanic, 11% were white, and 4% were of other or multiple races. In contrast, 15% of infants in the 34 states aged less than1 year were black, 22% were Hispanic, 56% were white, and 7% were of other or multiple races. The percentages of black and Hispanic females aged >13 years with HIV infection were similar to those for children with diagnoses of perinatal HIV infection; 67% were black, and 14% were Hispanic.

FIGURE 1. Annual rate of diagnoses of perinatal HIV* infection per 100,000 infants aged ≤1 year, by race/ethnicity --- 34 states, 2004--2007^†

* Human immunodeficiency virus.

^† Data adjusted for reporting delays.

^§ Hispanics/Latinos might be of any race.

Alternative Text: The figure above shows the annual rate of diagnoses of perinatal HIV infection per 100,000 infants aged less than1 year, by race/ethnicity in 34 U.S. states from 2004-2007. From 2004 to 2007, the annual rate of diagnoses of perinatal HIV infection for black children decreased from 14.8 to 10.2 per 100,000 (p = 0.003), and the rate for Hispanic children decreased from 2.9 to 1.7 per 100,000 (p = 0.04). The rates for white children and for children of other or multiple races did not change significantly.

source

Yep, you read those stats right.  Disgusting.... 

At one point in the HIV/AIDS story, an infected mother automatically meant an infected infant.  But there are meds now, that when taken during pregnancy, can prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child across the placenta.  And these tables are showing clearly that those meds are not getting to Black expectant mothers.  

And why?  Poor access to prenatal diagnosis and care?  Lack of information?  Lack of availability of meds that could prevent those infections?  Lack of caring?  Yeah, all that.  And more. 

So, what do we do about it?  We talk, yell, scream!  We get involved.  We start conversations about prevention.  We make this a priority topic again!  

I refuse to let the conversation die as long as I'm drawing breath.  Please get involved.  Use condoms.  Know your status.  Share information.  If we keep rowing the boat in the same direction, we can get those lines going in the right direction people!

By the way, the RPP has a brother organization, The Red Tie Project, with a focus on issues relating to men and HIV/AIDS.  Check them out!

Also check out this link... Pediatric AIDS Chicago Prevention Initiative for more info on perinatal transmission prevention.

World AIDS Day

Today was World AIDS Day, and I am shamefully late with this post. I'll spare you the explanation, because it is totally devoid of any entertainment value.... Instead, I'm gonna repost something I wrote a while back, because it still says what I wanna say about HIV/AIDS.

As usual though, I want to take this opportunity to urge everyone to KNOW YOUR STATUS!!

I don't care what you think, HIV is world wide, yes, even here in the Cornfield. Just like with so many other things, knowledge is power!

Originally posted 3-2-09

I was enduring a long and boring day of orientation for a new/old job today, and as my mind is prone to do, it wandered. It was wandering in the direction of trying to come up with a blog topic. I haven't posted for a while, so it's about time I got off my duff and did something about it.

**side note: if you work with me, no, I'm not leaving. I just caved into the pressure from a couple of people and am picking up an ER shift or two a month at another hospital. If you don't work with me, you probably don't give a dang that I picked up a "spare job."**

Anyway, as I sat there with my mind meandering, beginning to despair of my totally idea free inspiration zone, my phone buzzed. I checked it at the next break, and it was Luvvie's blog post on my email. Of course I read it immediately. What better cure for interminable boredom than that? Leopard print leggings....oh my damn! But it wasn't the leggings that got me, it was the public service announcement about the upcoming National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on March 10 and the RED PUMP PROJECT. In this PSA there is inspiration to write about what I know......

I'm a nurse, and one of the hats I wear at my "real job" is Infection Control and Prevention. I'm a card carrying member of the Southern Illinois Chapter of APIC (Association of Practioners of Infection Control). This is the most active and influential professional association of it's kind. ( I admit to being a microbiology geek. Deal with it, I have.) They write standards of care for every situation you can imagine based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. Infectious disease is something that gets me riled up. So here goes my rant on HIV/AIDS.

In the years since HIV/AIDS first landed on the world with both feet, there has been a continuum of response ranging from no reaction to over reaction, ignorance and ignoring to fear and alienation, and just about everything in between. I remember at one time feeling safe and isolated from the big bad bug because I lived in the middle of a cornfield in the middle of the country, and this was a Big City, fringe of the nation, fringe of society problem. And at that time, that was the message we were getting from the media. I was in maybe 8th or 9th grade at the time, it was the early 80's and AIDS was a "gay men's" problem. Then more information came out, the bug crossed gender and orientation lines, and the panic set in. (If you really want the scoop on the mishandling of the early days of HIV/AIDS, read And the Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts. And if you're not pissed off before you're halfway through, screw ya!)

Anyhoooo..... what I've been seeing in my cornfield lately is an increase in people being treated for AIDS and the opportunistic infections that go hand in hand. I had gone 4 years as a nurse in this area and actually cared for only a smattering of HIV positive patients. The last 6 months or so, however, has provided my total clinical experience with HIV with exponential growth! I can't say it's making a "comeback" because it never went anywhere. Not really. It just lost attention because the antiviral cocktails slowed the mortality rate. People are still dying, just not as fast and furiously as before the drugs were developed. But that slow down, the discovery that babies could be spared the virus if the HIV positive mom was on the meds during pregnancy, and the acceptance that casual contact didn't spread the virus all contributed to a change in perception of HIV/AIDS. It kinda fell off the radar, but it didn't fall out of existence. And new cases are on the rise again. And most of these new cases are women. And, as Luvvie pointed out, most of these women are black--66%.

So, I'm thinking, if I go 4 years and see 2 cases of HIV in my cornfield, then see 3 cases in the last 7 months...... what the hell is going on in the Big City? What is the new infection rate like in high density population areas like NY, LA, DC and Chicago? What are the chances that we aren't going to see a frightening upsurge in new cases in the near future?

The science behind preventing the spread of HIV hasn't changed in a decade, really. The fact that AIDS kills hasn't changed...it just takes a little longer. What has changed is the general attitude towards it. It used to be a BIG DANGED DEAL, and now, it's not, in many people's minds. Well, dammit, it NEEDS to be. Get tested. Be careful. Use condoms. Quit acting like it has gone away, because IT'S BEEN HERE THE WHOLE TIME!!! Quit ignoring HIV/AIDS. It's as much a part of our world as the oceans, the forests and the fields. Open your eyes, and deal with it.

See, it still says what I want it to say... and it's still relevant (unlike Paula Abdul or Lil' Mama).

For more information, visit the Red Pump Project or the Red Tie Project, or the CDC website.

And for a lil' Ig with your Info, check out Awesomely Luvvie!

National HIV/AIDS Testing Day

I wanna know how many of you are talking about it today. How many of you thought about it? How many of you even care?

Well, as a Red Pump Project blogger and Ambassador, I find it behooves me to

STAY IN YOUR FACE ABOUT HIV!!!

Once again, the virus is here. It's not going anywhere. The statistics on new infection rates are stunningly scary to me. We should know better by now, people.

I know it's hard to say to someone you care about, "Hey, boo.... let's get tested." But dang, that's what it comes to. Yes... it's hard. But it's your life.

There is great research going on in terms of meds and treatments. There are wonderful resources out there for those who are living with the virus. But keeping this discussion open, advocating for awareness, education, testing and prevention is the real way we are gonna get back the ground we lost to this illness.

So, once again.... here I am on my soap box, singing my same old song... get educated, get involved, get tested.

For more statistics, resources and education see The Red Pump Project website or visit the CDC online.

Locally, in the Southern 19 counties of Illinois, the HIV Consortium out of the Jackson County Health Department offers wonderful support programs and resources for those living with HIV/AIDS. Also, all of the County Departments of Health offer confidential, free testing. Each office has a Registered Nurse on staff who coordinates and facilitates services for those living with the virus.

No one has to be alone in this. Let's not let this conversation die out, or let the topic be put on the back burner. HIV is real, and it isn't going anywhere.

Hey, it's serious talk time again, kids!

So, some of you know where this post is going already...  It's time to talk about HIV/AIDS again.  

I like to pretend sometimes that more than five people read my blog.  Therefore, I'm gonna give some information to you like it's gonna reach people who need to have it.  

My area of the cornfield is pretty rural and remote.  The nearest "big" city is St. Louis, MO.  Other than that, our big attraction is Southern Illinois University (Go Salukis!).  That's not to say that we're completely back-ass-wards, but hey.... our resources are sometimes hard to find.

This is a link to the Southern Illinois HIV Consortium.  It actually functions, I believe, under the umbrella of the Jackson County Health Department.  I know it services the South 19 counties of Illinois.  Among the services offered are testing, counselling, treatment adherence support, education and awareness programs.  I don't have permission to quote their mission goals, but let me just say that they are committed to helping those who have HIV live full and satisfying lives.  They offer programs encompassing both medical and social services.

Next, here's some information on an upcoming date.  National HIV Testing Day is coming up June 17.  I would love it if everyone who reads this post would encourage folks to get tested and know their status.  Having said this, I can hear the grumbling already! "I don't know anyone in a high risk group.  I don't want to get into other people's business." Blahblahblahblahblah!

Let me ask a few questions.....

Have you ever had even the slightest suspicion of your partner's fidelity?  Have you ever gotten "caught up" in the moment?  Are you sure your partner never had high risk sex or used injectable drugs before you hooked up?  Are you SURE?

Get tested!  Know your status! Know your partner's status!

Finally, I am still championing The Red Pump Project, and in fact, am the Ambassador for the Cornfield and surrounding area.  I would love my local chicas to get behind this project, too.  We could do some girls' nite out kinda stuff and promote education, prevention and awareness at the same time!  Check out the website and get involved.  Shoot me ideas about events and activities we could get behind!  I'd love to hear from you!  Hit me up on my e-mail amymay117@gmail.com

Red Pump Project--Checkin' Back In

Hey, y'all know this blog rocks the Red Pump for Women and Girls' HIV/AIDS awareness.  I am kinda an AWARENESS and PREVENTION fanatic.  (After all, I'm a nurse and Infection Control and Prevention is part of my gig).

Anyhoo... I haven't addressed HIV for a while, so I thought I oughta put a few thoughts out there.

And they are just some random thoughts.  Soooo........

• Know Your Status!!!! Get tested!
• Know Your Partner's Status!!!!  And here's a thought.... If you don't know someone well enough to feel "comfortable" talking about health issues like HIV, STD's or Hepatitis, do you REALLY have any business having sex with them??
• Stay informed!
• Get Involved!

Ok, I gotta get out the door to church now, so I'll revisit the topic later.... 

In the meanwhile, go visit the Red Pump Project and check out their topics and resources.

Peace n Blessings!

Nurse Amy

National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Well, are you talking?  You should be.  Talk to all the women in your life and open up the dialogue.  HIV/AIDS is still among us.  We need to keep the topic in the collective conversation.  

Today is a day for women and girls to focus on how HIV impacts females.  But are we gonna drop the topic after today?  Not on this blog, we're not!!  

Visit the Red Pump Project site today and frequently.  There you will find info, links and resources as well as a Blogroll of 95 Bloggers who, in addition to providing support to the project, are excellent reads!

Here's the link for the Red Pump Project:
http://www.theredpumpproject.com

Here is a link to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and their site for this March 10 event:
http://www.cdc.gov/Features/WomenGirlsHIVAIDS/

Some serious stuff--HIV/AIDS

I was enduring a long and boring day of orientation for a new/old job today, and as my mind is prone to do, it wandered.  It was wandering in the direction of trying to come up with a blog topic. I haven't posted for a while, so it's about time I got off my duff and did something about it.

**side note: if you work with me, no, I'm not leaving. I just caved into the pressure from a couple of people and am picking up an ER shift or two a month at another hospital.  If you don't work with me, you probably don't give a dang that I picked up a "spare job."**

Anyway, as I sat there with my mind meandering, beginning to despair of my totally idea free inspiration zone, my phone buzzed.  I checked it at the next break, and it was Luvvie's blog post on my email.  Of course I read it immediately.  What better cure for interminable boredom than that? Leopard print leggings....oh my damn!  But it wasn't the leggings that got me, it was the public service announcement about the upcoming National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on March 10 and the RED PUMP PROJECT.   In this PSA there is inspiration to write about what I know......

I'm a nurse, and one of the hats I wear at my "real job" is Infection Control and Prevention.  I'm a card carrying member of the Southern Illinois Chapter of APIC (Association of Practioners of Infection Control).  This is the most active and influential professional association of it's kind. ( I admit to being a microbiology geek.  Deal with it, I have.)  They write standards of care for every situation you can imagine based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. Infectious disease is something that gets me riled up.  So here goes my rant on HIV/AIDS.   

In the years since HIV/AIDS first landed on the world with both feet, there has been a continuum of response ranging from no reaction to over reaction, ignorance and ignoring to fear and alienation, and just about everything in between.  I remember at one time feeling safe and isolated from the big bad bug because I lived in the middle of a cornfield in the middle of the country, and this was a Big City, fringe of the nation, fringe of society problem.  And at that time, that was the message we were getting from the media.  I was in maybe 8th or 9th grade at the time, it was the early 80's and AIDS was a "gay men's" problem.  Then more information came out, the bug crossed gender and orientation lines, and the panic set in.  (If you really want the scoop on the mishandling of the early days of HIV/AIDS, read And the Band Played On:  Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts.  And if you're not pissed off before you're halfway through, screw ya!)

Anyhoooo.....  what I've been seeing in my cornfield lately is an increase in people being treated for AIDS and the opportunistic infections that go hand in hand.  I had gone 4 years as a nurse in this area and actually cared for only a smattering of HIV positive patients.  The last 6 months or so, however, has provided my total clinical experience with HIV with exponential growth!  I can't say it's making a "comeback" because it never went anywhere.  Not really.  It just lost attention because the antiviral cocktails slowed the mortality rate.  People are still dying, just not as fast and furiously as before the drugs were developed.  But that slow down, the discovery that babies could be spared the virus if the HIV positive mom was on the meds during pregnancy, and the acceptance that casual contact didn't spread the virus all contributed to a change in perception of HIV/AIDS.  It kinda fell off the radar, but it didn't fall out of existence.  And new cases are on the rise again.  And most of these new cases are women.  And, as Luvvie pointed out, most of these women are black--66%.  

So, I'm thinking, if I go 4 years and see 2 cases of HIV in my cornfield, then see 3 cases in the last 7 months...... what the hell is going on in the Big City?  What is the new infection rate like in high density population areas like NY, LA, DC and Chicago?  What are the chances that we aren't going to see a frightening upsurge in new cases in the near future?

The science behind preventing the spread of HIV hasn't changed in a decade, really.  The fact that AIDS kills hasn't changed...it just takes a little longer.  What has changed is the general attitude towards it.  It used to be a BIG DANGED DEAL, and now, it's not, in many people's minds.  Well, dammit, it NEEDS to be.  Get tested.  Be careful.  Use condoms.  Quit acting like it has gone away, because IT'S BEEN HERE THE WHOLE TIME!!!  Quit ignoring HIV/AIDS.  It's as much a part of our world as the oceans, the forests and the fields.  Open your eyes, and deal with it.

For more information on the Red Pump Project http://tinyurl.com/afcrx2