World AIDS Day
Although I’ve cared for many patients with HIV, when I think of AIDS I do not think of statistics or other facts. I overlook the insensitive remarks from those who are too ignorant to understand the significance of this disease. Instead, I see only the face of a child – one that I cared for during my intern year. I think of the night I was on-call and scared to death he would die. He was scared too. He asked me to hold his hand and sit by his bed to help him fall asleep. It was the first time I really truly prayed for a patient. So on this day, I remember him.
I appreciate you’re perspective on issues like this. Thank you for sharing insights and experiences that most of us will never be able to have.
Ralph Waldo Emerson -
“Fear always springs from ignorance.”
It may have appeared that using the term ‘ignorant’ in describing some people seemed harsh in this context. I used it, not with maliciousness, but to highlight truth. I am stunned re: some insane things I’ve heard from people about ‘who, what, why, how’ regarding HIV/AIDS. Most (not all) of it is language reflecting fear.
To me, ignorance is consciously (or knowingly) choosing to remain uneducated about something WHILE voicing judgement or expressing strong opinion without some solid foundation. (Not just lacking the opportunity to learn or not being educated in general, but choosing NOT to learn about something and in addition to that choice, shaping or forming a lens of perspective on that topic).
Gwen, I’m not sure what your thoughts are about this terrible disease and those who contract HIV, but I’m pretty sure you are a charitable and loving person…I think. 
I agree with Confuscious “real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.” You’re right – one of the reasons for this blog (or blogging for some people) is to discover / share insight and perspective.
I think of the dozen or so children that I now take care of that are infected because their mothers were infected. I also have a few kids that are immigrants from Africa who had blood transfusions for malaria and appear to have aquired hiv from that. The children will have an immense burden their whole lives. We need a cure for hiv. This article was pretty interesting. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122602394113507555.html
I love your posts they are beautiful and simple.
I hurt just a little bit with this one though with the use of the words “too ignorant”. Why? Because I have probably said some really “ignorant” things in my life that if I could remember, I would now feel really terrible about. Perhaps rather than waving someone off as being ignorant on a subject (like I am proving to be right now) we can dismiss it on grounds that they just haven’t had the opportunities to learn and come to understand the things others may have. That’s why we do this right? (post on blogs that is) to shed some perspective and incite on things that others don’t have the opportunity to experience?
Thanks for opening the door to your understanding.
Gwen