HIV/AIDS (Alva Kennedy-video 6)

I found this speaker very moving when she told the class her story about her son.

That must have been incredibly heart-wrenching to find out her son was HIV positive.

Even more so when she had to watch her sweet baby boy waste away until his death.

On top of having an HIV positive son, she had an unfaithful husband who was secretly

interested in men as well. I know this video is a few years old, but I wish I could give

this woman a big hug. I knew that the drugs used to combat HIV were poisonous, but I

had no idea. She couldn’t stress enough how toxic the drugs were. According to Mrs.

Kennedy, the drug AZT is incredibly toxic because the drug has caused liver failure in

patients and gave the patients a higher risk for heart disease and diabetes.

I also was surprised to hear that anonymous testing is advised for checking if you

have HIV or AIDS. CARES or Planned Parenthood do these types of testing. It was

disheartening to find out that any insurance companies that find out that you were

tested for the virus could possibly reject you. In this case, does that mean anyone who

is infected with the virus may be at risk of having insurance companies reject them

because of a “pre-existing condition?” She advised that if one were to get tested, that

he or she should bring a trusted friend of family member with them.