I attended a class on stigma and discrimination on People Living with HIV/AIDS today.
The speaker, Mr. Rama Pandian, had come from Chennai. He is the founder of a NGO that helps People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHAs) in TamilNadu. It helps them get better access to govt. services, provides training to PLHAs to get livelihood, provides counseling for HIV infected people and a lot of other stuff too.
The Speaker was a source of great inspiration for me. He is leading a healthy life though being diagnosed with HIV in 1992. He shared with us his problems after being diagnosed, how he had problems with trying to disclose the news to his family, how, because of misconceptions about the disease, he lost his job... so on and so forth.
But what made me sit up was how he came to terms with his illness and LIVED productively. Most PLHAs i see in my practice or those i come across in my life have a bigger problem than HIV. they have to deal with a hugely-underestimated amount of depression.
Psychological issues can kill you! HIV will NOT. after the advent of newer drugs, and better political and medical committment, HIV life expectency is returning to near normal.
Mr. Rama Pandian thought me a very important thing.
TO BE DYING IS SURELY A PROBLEM, BUT TO HAVE TO BE LIVING WITH THE IDEA THAT WE WILL DIE IS WORSE.
Kudos Sir.
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