Reaching into the Web of HIV - Clive

Since the end of September, Clive has been operating the HIVEX Equipment in Durban.

Clive

A few weeks ago, I was invited to talk to a group of students in Durban who had just graduated from a three-year study course. During my talk about HIV and the need to respect ourselves sufficiently so as to never be exposed to the virus, I noticed a pretty young woman sitting in front of me with unsightly marks on her arms.

Having been around many people with HIV, I soon realised that she had evidence of Karposi’s Sarcoma (a skin cancer found in people with advanced HIV). It is sad to see young people with the promise of life ahead of them, already being cut down by the ravages of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

The discussion with this group was light, yet serious and I urged them to get tested and if diagnosed HIV+, to urgently do something about their infection. Problems that are confronted become workable solutions!

The next day, this young girl arrived unexpectedly at the HIVEX treatment centre and asked if we could talk privately. She told me she was HIV+ and wanted to come for treatment but could not afford to pay anything. I agreed to treat her for free.

That afternoon, a woman in her early sixties, a nursing sister, appeared at the treatment centre. She told me her daughter had heard me speak the day before and asked if she could start being treated herself. This woman has huge visible signs of the negative side-effects of anti-retroviral medication. She has been on medication for HIV for over ten years.

Within days of starting treatment, the nursing sister had brought one of her nursing colleagues for treatment, as she had already witnessed a considerable improvement in her own condition. She went on to tell her neighbours, whose 24-year old son had a CD4 count of only 11! After only a week of treatment, this boy’s mother came to see me to thank me for the miraculous change in her son’s condition.

Just before 6am one morning, I received a call from a lady who asked where I was. She told me she was waiting for the HIVEX treatment centre to open. On arrival, I noticed that she was related to the nursing sister but did not want anyone to know she was being treated. The next day she arrived with her partner who has some fame in the sports world.
The young lady who was treated, showed an amazing turnaround and has returned bringing friends who also have the virus. The marks on her body have started to fade and she is trying to pluck up the courage to tell her brother who also has HIV. The silencing effect of stigma is preventing so many people from doing what is necessary to get themselves treated, keeping HIVEX a secret and preventing them from sharing its benefits with friends and loved ones.

Over time, networks grow organically. They begin slowly and much like a snowflake which finds other snowflakes to become a large snowball, so a process begins which carries on silently but effectively.

In the future, others who were at my initial talk will come forward when they are ready to make “positive” changes in their lives. This will in turn generate a meaningful response from others who then see the visible signs of radical change in someone else’s health.

HIV spreads virally! The rate of infection accelerates exponentially unless measures are enacted to thwart the process. Likewise over time, a treatment such as HIVEX might also start to spread virally, once sufficient people have seen the benefits for themselves and feel motivated to share this with those they really care for.


HIVEX might also help to break the stifling deadlock caused by stigma, as those treated begin to understand the full potential of a second chance! When people perceive HIV as being treatable, the grip of stigma starts to wane.


I marvel at the impact of my seemingly unimportant talk to a group of young and enthusiastic students. The ripples from that pond continue to create waves and lives are changing in the most profound way as a result.