A reality of where we are going. It is something like 1 in 10 are infected according to some reports.
I was asked the other day what I was going to do to protect my family. I don’t think I answered the question very well, so I’m going to try to do better here.
Have I ever been in contact with people who are infected? Yes, I would think so. Just looking at the numbers it would be almost impossible not to. Did I know it? No. I was asked once by a doctor how I was going to treat someone with AIDS. I just said, “Like I would anyone else”. Afterwards I thought about the question, I’m not sure if it was a medical or personal question. I took it as personally. I specifically remember last year doing ministry at the university hospital and asking myself, “Do I lay my hands on these people when I pray for them?” The answer had to be YES, for a number of reasons (just look at Scripture).
I was asked “How will you protect your family from AIDS?” Well, how do you protect your family here? What am I NOT going to do, is have my children live in a bubble. They will be out running around and playing with the area kids just like they do here. I don’t know who may be infected with HIV over here anymore than I can be certain of it over there.
How HIV is passed on: vaginal, oral or anal sex, injecting drugs from infected needles, blood transfusions, mother to child, tattoos/piercing health care settings (rare). Infected blood or sexual fluids entering your bloodstream in a sufficient quantity are the only ways to become infected.
You CANNOT get HIV from: kissing, sneezing, coughing, sharing drinks/cups, spitting, sharing musical instruments, swimming pools, toilet seats, public showers, insects, injections from sterile needles, protected sex.
So what am I going to do? Probably sounds like a copout but I’m going to trust God. No, I’m not going to be careless. But of course that can be point of discussion because often what I see as okay Kelly sees as dangerous.
What we will do is love the people the way Christ has commanded us to do no matter who they are or what they might have.
2 comments:
You are right, the best thing to do is to trust God. We have had so many friends die of AIDS. It is really sad. Nothing can really prepare you for getting close to someone and then they die of such a dreadful disease. You just be careful and wise and trust God.
suzie
You are doing exactly the right thing by trusting God. Actually in some ways, you will be safer there because you may be thinking about it more. In the US, we assume (wrongly) that we know others are disease free. You can't tell by looking at someone if they have AIDS. As a nurse, when a patient tells you they have AIDS, it is easy to protect yourself. We get lazy with standard precautions (gloves) with the others when it is them we need to be more "fearful" of. By treating everyone as if they do have AIDS, just as we are supposed to do here, you shouldn't have any problems. Again, these are the things we are supposed to be doing with EVERYONE no matter age, race, sex, etc.
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