AIDS/HIV
This is part of a project for my class that ends today. Tell me what ya think.
It’s a typical day in Georgia, it is a hundred degrees outside in the scorching Georgia heat. Accord, Georgia is a small college town that runs with steady ease throughout most of the year. Between the months of August and May however, the town goes from a sleepy 1950’s style suburb on the outskirts of Atlanta to a throbbing academic center. The college that sprawls the central part of the city brings an influx of nearly 12,000 students of all backgrounds each fall and spring. Even as the summer heat blasts down on this small community the academia continues on. There are a handful of students that have made Accord a temporary home that are taking laid back summer classes. Professors take this time of the year to work on research and to prepare for the upcoming school year. On the whole the academic life that fosters so largely between August and May never really dies, the pace just relaxes and slows to the speed of a tortoise.
Jacob hails from a small crossroads town in the North Georgia Mountains. As a child he excelled academically and athletically. Going into high school he was one of the brightest fourteen year olds in the area and had an arm that could send a baseball flying across home plate at speeds that others his age were unable to achieve. These two characteristics and abilities made him a very likely student-athlete at the college level. However, to make a long story short the gift was not to stay with Jacob long. Mid-way through his junior season he sustained a career ending injury as he blocked home plate and collided with a base runner twice his size.
His home life left much to be desired. He has never met his father and his mother worked three jobs while he was growing up. She wanted him to have the life she missed out on when she became pregnant at the tender age of seventeen. Like everyone else she saw the gifts that Jacob possessed at an early age and knew they could be used to take him where she wished she could have gone. When the baseball injury crushed his chances at a college scholarship she was the first to insist that he go to the university in Accord, where he could continue with school.
Summer graduation is only a week away and with the prospect of moving from Accord and starting a new job Jacob can only think of one thing as he laid by the pool sipping cheap beer and watching the bikini clad co-eds play pool volleyball. He took his last class in May and within a three week span wrote two impressively well researched papers, took a mid-term, and a final. For the past month and half though he’s been working and spending his days by the pool with a glow on his face that makes you wonder how the prospect of leaving the simplicity of the college lifestyle behind. When it comes down to the bare bone of graduating college why would anyone want to leave Saturday’s like this one behind.
The glow on Shawn’s face equals that of Jacob’s, but for a different reason. Shawn is lying in the chair next to Jacob drinking the same cheap beer and admiring the same blondes and brunettes. Shawn isn’t graduating with Jacob, but is in just as good of a mood. (&) He recently returned from a study abroad trip that spanned a handful of African countries that most individuals from this part of Georgia will never think about, much less visit. He is a student in the medical field at the university and is involved in AIDS/HIV studies and prevention. Shawn has been rambling for the past hour about things he saw and the people that he came in contact with while he was on his trip.
Jacob is a little annoyed by the tone of what Shawn is rambling about, but at the same time, on some level, he at least understands some of what Shawn is saying when it comes to the issue of poverty. His mother and himself were dirt poor when he was a child. What he doesn’t understand though about this poverty issue is that these people live on as much as a dollar a day in some cases.
“Dude, it was something that you could never imagine. I’ve never seen so many people with so little. I never understood all the statistics and all the technical terms that I’ve heard in classes over the past few years until I got to see it for myself.”
As he says this Jacob is barely paying attention, his thoughts are on the best way to approach the blonde across the pool.
His reply came across with a half-hearted concern. “Wait, where all did you go while you were in Africa?”
“Well we spent 2 weeks in Botswana, 2 weeks in Zimbabwe, and a full month in Swaziland. Swaziland has more AIDS victims than almost anywhere in the world. It’s insane at how uneducated some people can be sometimes.” Shawn said this as he cracked open his third beer of the afternoon and was probably sizing up the same blonde that Jacob was eyeing just a few minutes ago.
Just to act interested and make Shawn think that he’s actually listening he keeps the topic open. “Why on earth do they have such a high rate of infection there, I mean I know you said they are uneducated, but that’s just not right man. I mean do they not know what a condom is for. Do they not understand how a person contracts AIDS?”
Shawn knows that Jacob doesn’t care, but still he continues because he knows that some of this information might actually benefit Jacob. “Well they understand that condoms help prevent diseases, but frankly they don’t believe in using them. For instance, one story I heard while I was in a small town in South Africa was about a woman that insisted that her husband use a condom after returning home from a long distance work related trip. He threw her out of the house, declared her a whore, and was shunned by the rest of the village. They see sex as natural and are in denial of the presence of AIDS/HIV. One long-haul trucker was actually aware of the disease and understood that he could carry it back to his wife and children, but insisted that while on trips that lasted as long as a month that he couldn’t go without sex. He said that he was going to die one way or the other and that it didn’t matter because he had to have sex.”
“You mean they know and don’t care? That’s just crazy.”
“Well some know and some don’t. Some believe that it was brought there by people in the West. Some have so little education and are in such denial that they believe that they can’t get it or that the disease isn’t real.”
A volleyball that is hit out of the pool and interrupts the conversation, Jacob gets up to toss the ball back to the crowd of girls in the pool. As he sits back down, his attention is on the pool, but asks Shawn what happens when people actually get the disease. “Once they have AIDS do they understand the consequences of it and acknowledge that it isn’t just something that can be cured?”
“Well some do and some don’t. A man I met while there named Jabulani Syabusi lost his brother not long ago to tuberculosis. The root cause of his TB was from AIDS, but the man refused to acknowledge that it was caused by AIDS, therefore not seeking the proper treatment. Treatment, when it is found is rather expensive there though. Most of the doctors won’t treat it. So people tend not to acknowledge the reason they are dying. His was contracted through sex. Many don’t believe that it is linked to sex though and continue with their sexual behavior even when the educational programs they have tell them what is happening.”
Jacob was still paying attention, but his focus was slowly being drowned out by the beer and the girls as he said, “Beer me Shawn, one more and I’ll have the guts to go talk to her.” He was pointing his empty can at the blonde that they’d both been eyeing for the past half-hour or so. “You can tell me the rest of what you saw later. It’s interesting, it really is, but I’m more interested in her right now.”
With beer in hand Jacob crawled out of his chair and made his way around to the other side of the pool to find out what the girls’ name was and if he could join in on the volleyball game that was going on.
Even though Shawn is almost 3 years older than Jacob and had come from a very different background they had became best friends over the past five years. It was the type of relationship where if you saw one the other was sure to be close behind. They were classmates, drinking buddies, roommates, wingmen, but above all they were best friends. This Saturday was just like any other summer afternoon over the last five years.
A few days later, on Wednesday, Jacob received a phone call from his mother. They talked on the phone about once a week about what was happening in each others life and every couple of months Jacob made the short two hour drive to his mother’s house to spend the weekend. For the first few seconds that the phone rang Jacob just listened to the ring tone that he had picked out for his mother. The call wasn’t expected, but at the same time it wasn’t unexpected either. With graduation just days away she probably wanted to confirm times and a plan to make sure everything was in order for her son’s big day. The phone call start off normal with the exchange on how the day was going, but ended in a tone that Jacob would never have imagined.
The call took a turn that would soon alter Jacob’s life forever as his the words rolled off his mother’s tongue in a slow, sweet southern draw. “Hun, I was feeling a little under the weather the other morning, so I went to see Doc Roberts. I want you to come home tomorrow so he can talk with you about my visit yesterday.”
“Alright mom, I’m pretty sure I can make it up tomorrow, but I’ve got to get back for a pre-graduation party tomorrow night that some of the guys I’m graduating with are throwing…”
This wasn’t what she wanted to hear as she cut him off in mid-thought. “The partying can wait Jacob,” he said it was serious.
“I want him to discuss with you the results of the tests when the come in and the likelihood of what can happen.”
“What’s wrong mom? What happened yesterday to cause you to go in? How sick are you?” Jacob knew that his mother had always been a healthy woman.
She had rarely been to the doctor as he was growing up, partly because she never had the money and partly because she made sure she never needed to go.
“Just make sure you’re here tomorrow morning early. The appointment is at 11AM.” That was all she said as she hung up the phone.
Jacob could hear the fear and worry in her voice. This was something he hadn’t heard since he was in the hospital with his arm in more pain than he thought possible back in high school. She was the one who told him he would never play again, not the doctors.
The doctors’ appointment was nothing like what Jacob had expected. He actually got there a little early, which was very unlike him. He is usually late for everything. Driving is an activity that he loves. He left at 9AM, took his time, avoided interstates and in general just tried to clear his mind and relax. Instead of going to a psychologist Jacob drove, with the windows down and the radio cranked to full volume there was nothing that could bother him.
As he walked in the front door of his mother’s small 1 bedroom apartment he was surprised at how different everything looked. This is when he remembers his childhood and the countless jobs his mother worked to support him. She is doing better for herself but not much better and the underlying poverty that he experienced as a child is still obvious in the sparse decorations and the cheap furniture. His mother met him in the kitchen as he pulled a Coke out of the refrigerator and headed to the patio for a quick smoke.
“You know you really should quit that. Cigarettes are bad for you, they cause bad breath, and worst of all they can cause cancer.”
“Don’t hassle me mom this is the first one I’ve had today. I’ve been slowly cutting back and as a gift to myself I’m quitting for graduation.” He smiled and chuckled as well as she did. He then continued, “So what did Doc Roberts say and why do you want me to go with you today?”
“Let me tell you this to begin with. I’ve been seeing Mike for the past year now, you know. Well I found out early in our relationship that he’d cheated on me one night in a bar. He got drunk and went home with some woman that he’d met while he was there. He later found out that the woman was HIV positive. There’s a possibility that I might have caught it from him.”
Jacob was in mid drag when the words “HIV positive” were spoken. He sat there shocked, holding the smoke in without realizing it. He had forgotten the cigarette, the coke, graduation, and everything else that was on his mind. He was shocked.
“You might be what? Did I just hear you say that you might have HIV?”
“Yes, I didn’t go in for the test immediately after I found out, but I’ve been sick for a few days and needed some medication. While I was there I asked to have the HIV blood test so I would know for sure. They should be ready when we go to the office today. I wanted you to be there with me when I found out. The doctor said that it was very possible.”
Dr. Roberts gave them the news after sitting in the waiting room for only 10 minutes. The test had come back positive. AIDS was something that he had never dealt with before. Because Dr. Roberts is only a general practitioner, he could not give Jacob’s mother the proper treatment. He recommended that Jacob’s mother see a specialist for more details about treatment. Jacob’s mother took the news very passively. Over the past few months she knew that this could be a real possibility and had done research on the types of treatment available and what the next step should be if she tested positive. Jacob couldn’t handle the news. He was already in shock from the initial conversation with his mother and with graduation only three days away he felt like the world had just collapsed on his shoulders.
As they pulled back up to his mother’s apartment Jacob said he couldn’t come in. He told her that he wanted to get back to Accord. He needed time to think, time to process what he had just learned. He needed to talk to Shawn. There was so much that he needed to do. His mother was understanding and told him to take all the time that he needed and that she would be down around noon on Saturday for his graduation. The drive back on the other hand was very different.
As he pulled away he lit another Camel, lit it, and dialed Shawn. He spent the next two hours on the phone with Shawn talking about what he had just been told and Shawn explained to him what he knew about treatment. Shawn knew what he was talking about and tried to explain it in the best way he could.
“Shawn, I don’t know what to do. This is so confusing and I never imagined that anyone I knew could get it. The doctor tried to explain what kinds of treatments are available and how effective they are, but I was so shocked that I don’t remember most of it.”
“Well Jacob, there are antiretroviral drugs available that work quite well. Your mother could live a very long time on these drugs. They’re expensive and most insurance won’t cover them, but they work. The people I saw in the South African regions had very limited access to these and even when they were available the government didn’t completely support them. Studies show though that these drugs are effective and whatever the costs she should take them if she wants to live. Some of the most widely recognized organizations in the world support these drugs globally. The World Health Organization even sent teams into Swaziland, one of the places I visited, to administer treatments and have thus far had a huge success. However, the Health Minister in South Africa still disputes these drugs and believes that they don’t…”
Jacob had heard enough and cut Shawn off mid-sentence. “Enough about Africa Shawn, I need to know what is going to happen to mom. I know there are treatments but I don’t know much about them. That’s why I called you. After I’ve came to grips with this and understand what is going on a little better you are more than welcome to tell me all the statistics and facts about Africa.”
As the days wore on the news and shock finally began to settle in on Jacob and he began to realize what he could do for his mother. He spent weeks researching HIV/AIDS, learning all he could about the virus and what the United States was doing to prevent the spread of HIV. He wanted to know about all the treatments, medications, and alternatives to medications. He went with his mother to all her doctor’s appointments so he could talk with the doctor about all he had learned and keeps tabs on his mother’s status.
He and Shawn began an organization that gives support to single women living with HIV/AIDS and tried to secure funding to help with the cost of their treatment. Their support group has caught the eye of leading HIV prevention and treatment centers and has begun to expand their enterprises into other states. They hope that one day they will be able to expand into other countries to help single women with this deadly disease.
It’s a typical day in Georgia, it is a hundred degrees outside in the scorching Georgia heat. Accord, Georgia is a small college town that runs with steady ease throughout most of the year. Between the months of August and May however, the town goes from a sleepy 1950’s style suburb on the outskirts of Atlanta to a throbbing academic center. The college that sprawls the central part of the city brings an influx of nearly 12,000 students of all backgrounds each fall and spring. Even as the summer heat blasts down on this small community the academia continues on. There are a handful of students that have made Accord a temporary home that are taking laid back summer classes. Professors take this time of the year to work on research and to prepare for the upcoming school year. On the whole the academic life that fosters so largely between August and May never really dies, the pace just relaxes and slows to the speed of a tortoise.
Jacob hails from a small crossroads town in the North Georgia Mountains. As a child he excelled academically and athletically. Going into high school he was one of the brightest fourteen year olds in the area and had an arm that could send a baseball flying across home plate at speeds that others his age were unable to achieve. These two characteristics and abilities made him a very likely student-athlete at the college level. However, to make a long story short the gift was not to stay with Jacob long. Mid-way through his junior season he sustained a career ending injury as he blocked home plate and collided with a base runner twice his size.
His home life left much to be desired. He has never met his father and his mother worked three jobs while he was growing up. She wanted him to have the life she missed out on when she became pregnant at the tender age of seventeen. Like everyone else she saw the gifts that Jacob possessed at an early age and knew they could be used to take him where she wished she could have gone. When the baseball injury crushed his chances at a college scholarship she was the first to insist that he go to the university in Accord, where he could continue with school.
Summer graduation is only a week away and with the prospect of moving from Accord and starting a new job Jacob can only think of one thing as he laid by the pool sipping cheap beer and watching the bikini clad co-eds play pool volleyball. He took his last class in May and within a three week span wrote two impressively well researched papers, took a mid-term, and a final. For the past month and half though he’s been working and spending his days by the pool with a glow on his face that makes you wonder how the prospect of leaving the simplicity of the college lifestyle behind. When it comes down to the bare bone of graduating college why would anyone want to leave Saturday’s like this one behind.
The glow on Shawn’s face equals that of Jacob’s, but for a different reason. Shawn is lying in the chair next to Jacob drinking the same cheap beer and admiring the same blondes and brunettes. Shawn isn’t graduating with Jacob, but is in just as good of a mood. (&) He recently returned from a study abroad trip that spanned a handful of African countries that most individuals from this part of Georgia will never think about, much less visit. He is a student in the medical field at the university and is involved in AIDS/HIV studies and prevention. Shawn has been rambling for the past hour about things he saw and the people that he came in contact with while he was on his trip.
Jacob is a little annoyed by the tone of what Shawn is rambling about, but at the same time, on some level, he at least understands some of what Shawn is saying when it comes to the issue of poverty. His mother and himself were dirt poor when he was a child. What he doesn’t understand though about this poverty issue is that these people live on as much as a dollar a day in some cases.
“Dude, it was something that you could never imagine. I’ve never seen so many people with so little. I never understood all the statistics and all the technical terms that I’ve heard in classes over the past few years until I got to see it for myself.”
As he says this Jacob is barely paying attention, his thoughts are on the best way to approach the blonde across the pool.
His reply came across with a half-hearted concern. “Wait, where all did you go while you were in Africa?”
“Well we spent 2 weeks in Botswana, 2 weeks in Zimbabwe, and a full month in Swaziland. Swaziland has more AIDS victims than almost anywhere in the world. It’s insane at how uneducated some people can be sometimes.” Shawn said this as he cracked open his third beer of the afternoon and was probably sizing up the same blonde that Jacob was eyeing just a few minutes ago.
Just to act interested and make Shawn think that he’s actually listening he keeps the topic open. “Why on earth do they have such a high rate of infection there, I mean I know you said they are uneducated, but that’s just not right man. I mean do they not know what a condom is for. Do they not understand how a person contracts AIDS?”
Shawn knows that Jacob doesn’t care, but still he continues because he knows that some of this information might actually benefit Jacob. “Well they understand that condoms help prevent diseases, but frankly they don’t believe in using them. For instance, one story I heard while I was in a small town in South Africa was about a woman that insisted that her husband use a condom after returning home from a long distance work related trip. He threw her out of the house, declared her a whore, and was shunned by the rest of the village. They see sex as natural and are in denial of the presence of AIDS/HIV. One long-haul trucker was actually aware of the disease and understood that he could carry it back to his wife and children, but insisted that while on trips that lasted as long as a month that he couldn’t go without sex. He said that he was going to die one way or the other and that it didn’t matter because he had to have sex.”
“You mean they know and don’t care? That’s just crazy.”
“Well some know and some don’t. Some believe that it was brought there by people in the West. Some have so little education and are in such denial that they believe that they can’t get it or that the disease isn’t real.”
A volleyball that is hit out of the pool and interrupts the conversation, Jacob gets up to toss the ball back to the crowd of girls in the pool. As he sits back down, his attention is on the pool, but asks Shawn what happens when people actually get the disease. “Once they have AIDS do they understand the consequences of it and acknowledge that it isn’t just something that can be cured?”
“Well some do and some don’t. A man I met while there named Jabulani Syabusi lost his brother not long ago to tuberculosis. The root cause of his TB was from AIDS, but the man refused to acknowledge that it was caused by AIDS, therefore not seeking the proper treatment. Treatment, when it is found is rather expensive there though. Most of the doctors won’t treat it. So people tend not to acknowledge the reason they are dying. His was contracted through sex. Many don’t believe that it is linked to sex though and continue with their sexual behavior even when the educational programs they have tell them what is happening.”
Jacob was still paying attention, but his focus was slowly being drowned out by the beer and the girls as he said, “Beer me Shawn, one more and I’ll have the guts to go talk to her.” He was pointing his empty can at the blonde that they’d both been eyeing for the past half-hour or so. “You can tell me the rest of what you saw later. It’s interesting, it really is, but I’m more interested in her right now.”
With beer in hand Jacob crawled out of his chair and made his way around to the other side of the pool to find out what the girls’ name was and if he could join in on the volleyball game that was going on.
Even though Shawn is almost 3 years older than Jacob and had come from a very different background they had became best friends over the past five years. It was the type of relationship where if you saw one the other was sure to be close behind. They were classmates, drinking buddies, roommates, wingmen, but above all they were best friends. This Saturday was just like any other summer afternoon over the last five years.
A few days later, on Wednesday, Jacob received a phone call from his mother. They talked on the phone about once a week about what was happening in each others life and every couple of months Jacob made the short two hour drive to his mother’s house to spend the weekend. For the first few seconds that the phone rang Jacob just listened to the ring tone that he had picked out for his mother. The call wasn’t expected, but at the same time it wasn’t unexpected either. With graduation just days away she probably wanted to confirm times and a plan to make sure everything was in order for her son’s big day. The phone call start off normal with the exchange on how the day was going, but ended in a tone that Jacob would never have imagined.
The call took a turn that would soon alter Jacob’s life forever as his the words rolled off his mother’s tongue in a slow, sweet southern draw. “Hun, I was feeling a little under the weather the other morning, so I went to see Doc Roberts. I want you to come home tomorrow so he can talk with you about my visit yesterday.”
“Alright mom, I’m pretty sure I can make it up tomorrow, but I’ve got to get back for a pre-graduation party tomorrow night that some of the guys I’m graduating with are throwing…”
This wasn’t what she wanted to hear as she cut him off in mid-thought. “The partying can wait Jacob,” he said it was serious.
“I want him to discuss with you the results of the tests when the come in and the likelihood of what can happen.”
“What’s wrong mom? What happened yesterday to cause you to go in? How sick are you?” Jacob knew that his mother had always been a healthy woman.
She had rarely been to the doctor as he was growing up, partly because she never had the money and partly because she made sure she never needed to go.
“Just make sure you’re here tomorrow morning early. The appointment is at 11AM.” That was all she said as she hung up the phone.
Jacob could hear the fear and worry in her voice. This was something he hadn’t heard since he was in the hospital with his arm in more pain than he thought possible back in high school. She was the one who told him he would never play again, not the doctors.
The doctors’ appointment was nothing like what Jacob had expected. He actually got there a little early, which was very unlike him. He is usually late for everything. Driving is an activity that he loves. He left at 9AM, took his time, avoided interstates and in general just tried to clear his mind and relax. Instead of going to a psychologist Jacob drove, with the windows down and the radio cranked to full volume there was nothing that could bother him.
As he walked in the front door of his mother’s small 1 bedroom apartment he was surprised at how different everything looked. This is when he remembers his childhood and the countless jobs his mother worked to support him. She is doing better for herself but not much better and the underlying poverty that he experienced as a child is still obvious in the sparse decorations and the cheap furniture. His mother met him in the kitchen as he pulled a Coke out of the refrigerator and headed to the patio for a quick smoke.
“You know you really should quit that. Cigarettes are bad for you, they cause bad breath, and worst of all they can cause cancer.”
“Don’t hassle me mom this is the first one I’ve had today. I’ve been slowly cutting back and as a gift to myself I’m quitting for graduation.” He smiled and chuckled as well as she did. He then continued, “So what did Doc Roberts say and why do you want me to go with you today?”
“Let me tell you this to begin with. I’ve been seeing Mike for the past year now, you know. Well I found out early in our relationship that he’d cheated on me one night in a bar. He got drunk and went home with some woman that he’d met while he was there. He later found out that the woman was HIV positive. There’s a possibility that I might have caught it from him.”
Jacob was in mid drag when the words “HIV positive” were spoken. He sat there shocked, holding the smoke in without realizing it. He had forgotten the cigarette, the coke, graduation, and everything else that was on his mind. He was shocked.
“You might be what? Did I just hear you say that you might have HIV?”
“Yes, I didn’t go in for the test immediately after I found out, but I’ve been sick for a few days and needed some medication. While I was there I asked to have the HIV blood test so I would know for sure. They should be ready when we go to the office today. I wanted you to be there with me when I found out. The doctor said that it was very possible.”
Dr. Roberts gave them the news after sitting in the waiting room for only 10 minutes. The test had come back positive. AIDS was something that he had never dealt with before. Because Dr. Roberts is only a general practitioner, he could not give Jacob’s mother the proper treatment. He recommended that Jacob’s mother see a specialist for more details about treatment. Jacob’s mother took the news very passively. Over the past few months she knew that this could be a real possibility and had done research on the types of treatment available and what the next step should be if she tested positive. Jacob couldn’t handle the news. He was already in shock from the initial conversation with his mother and with graduation only three days away he felt like the world had just collapsed on his shoulders.
As they pulled back up to his mother’s apartment Jacob said he couldn’t come in. He told her that he wanted to get back to Accord. He needed time to think, time to process what he had just learned. He needed to talk to Shawn. There was so much that he needed to do. His mother was understanding and told him to take all the time that he needed and that she would be down around noon on Saturday for his graduation. The drive back on the other hand was very different.
As he pulled away he lit another Camel, lit it, and dialed Shawn. He spent the next two hours on the phone with Shawn talking about what he had just been told and Shawn explained to him what he knew about treatment. Shawn knew what he was talking about and tried to explain it in the best way he could.
“Shawn, I don’t know what to do. This is so confusing and I never imagined that anyone I knew could get it. The doctor tried to explain what kinds of treatments are available and how effective they are, but I was so shocked that I don’t remember most of it.”
“Well Jacob, there are antiretroviral drugs available that work quite well. Your mother could live a very long time on these drugs. They’re expensive and most insurance won’t cover them, but they work. The people I saw in the South African regions had very limited access to these and even when they were available the government didn’t completely support them. Studies show though that these drugs are effective and whatever the costs she should take them if she wants to live. Some of the most widely recognized organizations in the world support these drugs globally. The World Health Organization even sent teams into Swaziland, one of the places I visited, to administer treatments and have thus far had a huge success. However, the Health Minister in South Africa still disputes these drugs and believes that they don’t…”
Jacob had heard enough and cut Shawn off mid-sentence. “Enough about Africa Shawn, I need to know what is going to happen to mom. I know there are treatments but I don’t know much about them. That’s why I called you. After I’ve came to grips with this and understand what is going on a little better you are more than welcome to tell me all the statistics and facts about Africa.”
As the days wore on the news and shock finally began to settle in on Jacob and he began to realize what he could do for his mother. He spent weeks researching HIV/AIDS, learning all he could about the virus and what the United States was doing to prevent the spread of HIV. He wanted to know about all the treatments, medications, and alternatives to medications. He went with his mother to all her doctor’s appointments so he could talk with the doctor about all he had learned and keeps tabs on his mother’s status.
He and Shawn began an organization that gives support to single women living with HIV/AIDS and tried to secure funding to help with the cost of their treatment. Their support group has caught the eye of leading HIV prevention and treatment centers and has begun to expand their enterprises into other states. They hope that one day they will be able to expand into other countries to help single women with this deadly disease.