Fuck it.

[mikeybill]

Yesterday one of my best friends came round for a cup of tea - and to tell me he was diagnosed HIV+ a week ago with a CD4 count of 58 - so he must have had it for a few years. He hadn't had a test for 5 years, but figured he didn't need one

Comments

[hotal]

Sorry to hear about your friend. I'm waiting out my time to go get tested. I have a concern this time around.

You can't seem to go anywhere in the community without the shadow of HIV anymore. I can't imagine what it's like to have lived with it for so long.

I don't know what else to say, but I wanted to say something.

[mikeybill]

And I appreciate that, thanks

[sorenr]

*hugs*

Hiv sucks, but that's not all there is to Life, and that's just what you must remember. Our mirabelle tree came into bloom the last weekend, attracting dozens of bumble bees. I'd love to bring you to the garden and stand you under that tree for a minute to listen to the roar of their tiny wings humming merrily along.

(Yes, that was an attempt to offer a "happy place"...)

[sunsmogseahorse]

I feel for both of your friends. I commend your friend with the recent diagnosis for being so careful. It's not worth kicking oneself over though, sort of like a careful driver who winds up in a crash anyway. We do what we can and that's all we can do. He didn't do anything imprudent.

Your young friend is having a very common experience too, and something of the sort we all do in one way or another. Here's where I'll sound like the Red Queen: "Why, I often engage in as many as six inadvisable things before breakfast!" Doesn't mean they're advisable, just that we move on. I hope he's OK, and that talking with you about it, thinking things through, and getting tested are helpful to him. I bet they are.

Wish I knew what to tell you about not thinking about it. That seems to be the path too many of us have taken.