Barry to live till 106 - HIV funny moments

This HIV journey has not been without its funny moments - I am sure there will be more moments and one just happened .

I will add to them as they come up. We have had a laugh about them but at the same time the insensitive attitude of some of those who are treating us , has been an insult too!!!

Today 2nd Feb 08 - life expectancy with HIV

Barry is home from hospital but is so sick ( vomiting ) I think that it is dangerous for him - he is already so low so danger of dehydration and other problems - and also means he can not keep his medication for PCP down and really needs to if he is to recover from this and live with HIV for a few years.

So I had to call out Kernow Doc ( Cornwall's out of hours doctor service) to try to get something to stop him vomiting - at least over the weekend before we can access his doctor on monday.

A very 'upbeat' extrovert young doctor came in the Kernow doc van - it was on the one hand refreshing to have a doctor that did not appear to see coming out on a saturday as a pain in the arse and who seemed so unfased by HIV.
BUT ........................................................

He was too bloody upbeat.

Barry really is very ill.
He gave Barry an injection in his bum that shoud stop him vomiting - we have to wait an hour or so now to see if it has worked -

But he also had on his notes ( because they were left behind and I read them ) to 'give wife advice on how to cope with HIV/AIDS situation'.

So he asked me how I felt and what were my concerns .
I said I am worried he will die with this infection - and we need him to get better from this infection so we can tie up our affairs with our daughter etc.

He was good from a purely medical point of view as he realised Barry did need some help right now and he gave Barry the injection he needs to try to help the vomiting

But - A lot of use he was to reassure me!

He said 'he ( Barry ) could live for 50 years yet' and left !!!!!

Barry and I just curled up with laughter after he left because Barry is at the moment 56 years old!!! This emergency doctor obliviously had not read his notes and even bothered to take in how old we both now are!!!!

So we were in fits of laughter as if we believed what he said and took comfort in it we would believe that Barry's life expectancy with HIV and a low CD4 count of 9 is far more than the average person.

As Barry at 56 now, if he lived another 50 years would be 106!!!!!

How likely is that????

Football
The other funny moment was at the HIV clinic last week.
Barry has muscle waisting and is very underweight.
But they assured him that with HIV antiviral medication he could be fit and active and playing football at weekends!!!

We were gobsmacked!! To think that HIV meds could have Barry playing football!!!!! They must be truly miracle drugs!!
They will be telling me I will play football next!!!!!

As Barry has NEVER played football, NEVER wanted to and NEVER could as his eye/ball coordination is non existent and any way he has NEVER has one iota of interest in Football or in fact any other 'male sport'

The assumption was I suppose that 'all men love these sports' just because they are men?
............and the ultimate of living with HIV would be able to play them again?

Total sexiest prejudice really- total crap - and trying to pull the wool over our eyes!! We keep being treated as if we are daft!!

We will be lucky to be able to ever live even a partially 'normal ' life for us ever again and fucking football has never been part of our life anyway- perhaps they should have found out first if it was before banding around such stupid statements

And also neither of us ever want to live to 106 or expect to - with or without HIV.

Our concerns right now are much more serious than stupidities such as the ability to play football or to live to 106!!!!!