The Face of HIV

I got some answers for the question posed in my comment section yesterday. I contacted Andrea to get the low down. Thanks Andrea! :)

In her words: "If you are actually in the middle of having to mop up blood then gloves would be a good idea. The reality is that the virus does not live very long outside of the body. It dies pretty quickly. The other reality is if you had a cut it would have to pretty much be gaping, bleeding profusely and you would have to rub your blood with their blood ALOT. The chances of transmittal are slim. I don't have glove very close. Maybe not the smartest move but it is that hard to transmit!"

I also asked her how a couple can have a sexual relationship if one is HIV+ without the other person contracting the disease. And how does a couple have a child without the partner becoming infected? Her answer: "There isn't a website out there that will tell you that you will not contract hiv if you have unprotected sex with a partner....even if you are undetectable. It would be on their heads and there would be backlash. That being said...there are statistics that show transmission is very low and mother to child transmission with ARV use is less than 2%. There is a sperm washing/IVF if the male is +. A very fine line for a couple to walk."

Hopefully that answers the questions a little bit. Keep the questions coming since it is good for us all to be educated so the stigma can be erased!

And on to the sweet face of Dasha! Who really opened my eyes to the reality of what hiv looks like in the face of a child!
Now...we can all agree that she is beyond cute! But if you could have witnessed her in action. Wow! Personality that is larger than life!

She is healthy and more importantly she gets to live her life with a family instead of in an institution! All because people like you and I are not afraid to tackle what would have seemed insurmountable only a decade ago! I really wish I could convey to you what this little girl did in us! It is not her fault that she carries a virus that is fatal without intervention!!

I have more to say (of course) but the children are restless and we need to get school started. If nothing else, just look at her little face, ask God to protect all the vulnerable children throughout the world and get involved somehow!!

Head over the www.reecesrainbow.org click on the hiv page and see the children who are waiting for families. Thankfully....you will no longer see Dasha's face on the waiting children list!