Last One

Wow, I can’t believe this is my last blog for this class. This semester has gone by so fast. This is my last semester at UCF since I am graduating. It is kind of a bitter sweet experience. I feel like I just started yesterday. It hasn’t really settled in yet that I am actually graduating and have to start a new chapter in my life. College has been a wonderful experience. I learned a lot about myself and the person that I want to be in the future.

I can’t believe I was so worried and nervous about this class in the beginning. This class has opened my eyes to a lot of things, not just HIV. I think this class was a great choice for me. I wish I would have taken it sooner. This class allowed me to think about things I would have never thought about. It made me realize a lot about the person I am and how I would react or handle certain things. I learned about HIV is other classes that I have taken but not to this extent. I was always just told what it was, how you get it, how it affects your body, and some statistics. It never really impacted me that much and I never really gave it much thought outside of class until now. I feel like I have a greater appreciation for everything that deals with HIV. Whether it is the people who have it, the doctors who treat it, or the people that volunteer their time and raise money for it. I am truly grateful for everything I have learned and I will take it with me in the future.

Did You Know: Children with HIV

Children living with HIV have many needs including social, psychological, and emotional needs (AVERT, 2010). Emotional care needs to be provided to these children to help them cope with their HIV and possibly the loss of their parents or family members to HIV (AVERT, 2010). They need this support to help them deal with being diagnoses, treatments, handling discrimination, side effects of the medications, and dealing with death (AVERT, 2010). The first line of support for these children are their “families, friends, caregivers, and healthcare workers” but the government also needs to ensure that these children are able to reach services that will help them (AVERT, 2010).

Reference List:

AVERT, (2010, March 11). Children, HIV, & AIDS. Retrieved April 14, 2010, from AVERT: http://www.avert.org/children.htm

Image 1: (2010). Retrieved April 14, 2010, from http://www.topnews.in/files/HIV-logo.jpg

Image 2: (2010). Retrieved April 14, 2010, from http://fly4change.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/save-children-logo.jpg

The End is Near

There is really only like three weeks left of classes after this one and then I graduate. I should be more excited but I am really not. I still feel like I am no where in life and have so much more stuff to accomplish before I can actually get to where I want to be in life. This has been stressing me out a lot lately. Thinking about my future drives me crazy and any time I try to talk about how I feel I always get the same answer; it will be worth it in the end. Maybe it will be but right now that is not what I need to hear.

Since I live in Ft. Lauderdale I was not able to make it to any of the panel meetings. So to replace that assignment I had to read the book AIDS in America. It was a very good book and was very interesting. I never realized how many things are contributing to the problem with controlling the spread of HIV in this country. The book talked a lot about President Bush and how his religious beliefs affected things that could have been done. I wonder what President Obama will do to help the HIV problem. I hope he actually makes a huge difference regarding this issue and educating the youth on proper sexual education. It amazes me that many of the problems could have been avoided if people were properly educated. It seems like such a simple solution; add better sexual education to schools. But apparently it’s not that simple when the government and those religious belief groups get involved.

Did You Know: Children with HIV

Children who have HIV have many obstacles to overcome. They are more susceptible to childhood illnesses since their immune systems are weakened (AVERT, 2010). These illnesses include mumps and chickenpox which can affect any child regardless if they have HIV but in children who do these illnesses last longer and do not respond well to medications (AVERT, 2010). Also they are more susceptible to opportunistic infections such as Tuberculosis and PCP (AVERT, 2010).

Reference List:

AVERT, (2010, March 11). Children, HIV, & AIDS. Retrieved April 7, 2010, from AVERT: http://www.avert.org/children.htm

Image: (2010). Retrieved April 7, 2010, from http://www.hiv-aids-symptom.com/uploads/world_AIDS.gif