Don't mind me, I've just been living under a rock for 5 years or so. We used to watch the news religiously after Abbi was first born, but our newsness has deteriorated over the years. I mean seriously, one of Abbi's first words was "Josh" referring to CTV Edmonton's weather boy, Mr. Classen, himself. Abbi had a huge crush on Josh, although when she finally got to meet him in 2009, she had just been released from the hospital after her second surgery, and well, she wasn't exactly herself. Although Josh did teach her the coolest handshake that she still remembers to this day.
"Gimme five up high"
"Gimme five down low"
"Cut the pickle"
"Now give a tickle"
"Gimme five down low"
"Cut the pickle"
"Now give a tickle"
Sigh...Josh really was kind of dreamy. With a handshake like that, he's definitely cool!
Now I know some people say the news is depressing and there is no good news on the news, blah blah. And I don't want to offend if you are anti-news types, but I see the news as the reality. Now I get that some stations show bloodier footage than others, and some put a political spin on the stories they tell. True, true. But its keeps me hip with what is going on beyond these 4 walls, and that to me is important (or at least should be).
Although have you seen the "Good News News?" Its slightly funny, slightly sad. All the stories are positive and happy. Like "Fireman Bob rescued Fluffy from the local tree yesterday." Cute, but yeah, not the reality. Sigh.
Why have I been under a rock you ask? Well, seriously...people can live with HIV/AIDS? Um, yeah, if this is not like new news to you, then you can be slightly shocked. I really had no idea. The only glimpse of it I got was on Grey's Anatomy was when Bailey was going to transplant an organ from a sister to a sister, although the one offering her organ had HIV. The sister would die without this organ, but Bailey kept on saying, "You can live with HIV now, its not a death sentence." You think I would have caught on then, but apparently not.
Last night I went with a friend to a movie at the local library put on by World Vision. After, um, some serious bus drama, we missed half of the first movie, which was about a woman's life who had worked in Africa as a nurse many years ago. After that movie they had a question and answer panel, including this incredible woman, Elsie. So after that, and a brief intermission (read: a trip to the local Second Cup and me spilling shocking amounts of popcorn into my purse), we started our second movie, A Clinic Called Hope. Wow. I mean wow. I was blown away.
A group of Ontario doctors and nurses have worked together with the government of Lesotho (a country in Southern Africa) to set up this AIDS clinic, and within 3 years the plan was for the Canadians to teach the local staff how to run it, and eventually hand it over. So this documentary was shot in the early days of the clinic. This is the part that struck me the most. We have had ARV's (Anti-Retroviral Drugs) in the world since 1996. The drug companies were spatting over who was going to to make all the profits in Africa, and so they kept the generic forms out (to keep profits high). This dispute was only resolved in 2005, when they finally allowed generic forms of the drug into Africa, at prices that the people could actually afford.
9 years people...
Seriously?
Seriously shocking...
So the documentary was about these people going in there and the response they got. They had 2 doctors and 4 nurses. Soon they had 500 patients. There was no discrimination, it was first come, first served. The showed specific people pre and post the medication. Incredible. The people knew it was their one shot at life, and you could see how grateful and hopeful they were.
Some people argued that they shouldn't distribute the drugs until a system was set up to educate the people and keep them accountable, blah, blah. What a stupid North American way to look at it! Geesh, its saving their lives. They know the value of it. Over and over it was said, "Its their one shot." And believe me, these people took it. And they were disciplined. "You have to stay healthy and be sure to take your medication every 12 hours, sharp!" So they show one woman take out her pills, put them beside her watch on the counter, and sit and wait until 9:00am. What diligence!
Seriously?
Seriously shocking...
So the documentary was about these people going in there and the response they got. They had 2 doctors and 4 nurses. Soon they had 500 patients. There was no discrimination, it was first come, first served. The showed specific people pre and post the medication. Incredible. The people knew it was their one shot at life, and you could see how grateful and hopeful they were.
Some people argued that they shouldn't distribute the drugs until a system was set up to educate the people and keep them accountable, blah, blah. What a stupid North American way to look at it! Geesh, its saving their lives. They know the value of it. Over and over it was said, "Its their one shot." And believe me, these people took it. And they were disciplined. "You have to stay healthy and be sure to take your medication every 12 hours, sharp!" So they show one woman take out her pills, put them beside her watch on the counter, and sit and wait until 9:00am. What diligence!
The main doctor said there is no time for programs, for regiments, its now or never. He spent 7 months in this clinic (away from his wife and children who were back in Ontario, incredible), and you could see the love and passion that he poured into it. At the end they said, now its not a matter of having the drugs, its about having the people to distribute them. Here are some statistics I found on Lesotho today, and sadly, not much has changed...
Lesotho has the third highest AIDS prevalence in the world
1 in 4 people are living with HIV
Due to AIDS, womens life expectancy is now 40 years, men can hope to live to 41
In 2007 alone, 18,000 people died from AIDS
110,000 children have lost at least one parent to AIDS
Over 50% of the 260,000 ppl. living with HIV are women
An estimated 62 new HIV infections and 50 deaths due to AIDS occur each day
In 2007, it was reported that there were only 89 doctors for the whole population of about 2 million people.
Source: www.avert.org
One story that one of the panel women shared (she worked for World Vision) was so powerful. She said she and her team were going into a village in Niger. She said they got out of their truck, and she said her heard this almost deafening sound of singing and dancing. She said it sounded like it was coming over loudspeakers it was so loud. As they approached the village they saw hundreds of women lining the road, and it was them who were singing. As she started to walk through the crowd, the women began grabbing her hands. Not the hands of the men with her, but only the hands of the women in the group. And saying something. None of which she understood. When she finally got through this throng of women, the leader explained this to her. He told her that this was the local womens group, and by touching her hands they wanted her to see how hard they worked (I imagine it was from the callouses on their hands). And she choked out through tears to the crowd last night, "Who am I? Who am I that these women would want me to know this?"
All I could think was, "Who am I?" Not in an angry, I'm not worthy kind of way, but in a geesh, this entitlement complex that I (we) have here in North America. That people somewhere, somehow could justify withholding from people a life-saving medication, all for profits sake. Mind-boggling really. I think far too often we get caught up in our little cocoons, so caught up in choosing paint colors, or in our super-cute new shoes that we forget to look outside our 4 walls, and see that sometimes, its truly is a matter of life and death.
So go...turn on the news, I dare you! ;)
Lesotho has the third highest AIDS prevalence in the world
1 in 4 people are living with HIV
Due to AIDS, womens life expectancy is now 40 years, men can hope to live to 41
In 2007 alone, 18,000 people died from AIDS
110,000 children have lost at least one parent to AIDS
Over 50% of the 260,000 ppl. living with HIV are women
An estimated 62 new HIV infections and 50 deaths due to AIDS occur each day
In 2007, it was reported that there were only 89 doctors for the whole population of about 2 million people.
Source: www.avert.org
One story that one of the panel women shared (she worked for World Vision) was so powerful. She said she and her team were going into a village in Niger. She said they got out of their truck, and she said her heard this almost deafening sound of singing and dancing. She said it sounded like it was coming over loudspeakers it was so loud. As they approached the village they saw hundreds of women lining the road, and it was them who were singing. As she started to walk through the crowd, the women began grabbing her hands. Not the hands of the men with her, but only the hands of the women in the group. And saying something. None of which she understood. When she finally got through this throng of women, the leader explained this to her. He told her that this was the local womens group, and by touching her hands they wanted her to see how hard they worked (I imagine it was from the callouses on their hands). And she choked out through tears to the crowd last night, "Who am I? Who am I that these women would want me to know this?"
All I could think was, "Who am I?" Not in an angry, I'm not worthy kind of way, but in a geesh, this entitlement complex that I (we) have here in North America. That people somewhere, somehow could justify withholding from people a life-saving medication, all for profits sake. Mind-boggling really. I think far too often we get caught up in our little cocoons, so caught up in choosing paint colors, or in our super-cute new shoes that we forget to look outside our 4 walls, and see that sometimes, its truly is a matter of life and death.
So go...turn on the news, I dare you! ;)
Loved spending this night with you, Holly. Thanks for enduring the bus drama with me! This is a great reflection on the night. Elsie inspired me. When I am her age, I want to sit in my wheelchair and say "it has been a good life."
ReplyDeleteKatrina told me you guys had attended this event but I didn't get to hear about it then. So good to hear what you learned!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm so glad you're willing to turn on the news.
I think I've got some good reading for you when you're ready for it!
Thanks for sharing this Holly. For most of the world life is about living or dieing.
ReplyDeleteWe (I) have SO much that we forget that we are the monority when it comes to how we live.
Drug companies are a business in the west that is for sure. We are fooling ourselves if we think drug companies main agenda is to help people. These kinds of stories really get my goat (if I had one) :o)
And about news...if we had cable we would have more choices...my trouble is finding unbiased news if that's even possible. I just want the facts without someone elses influence or agenda mixed in with what I am hearing.