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The
topic of HIV and aging keeps coming up more often as the HIV community
gets older and lives longer. I am now one of the over-50
crowd that should take note of the fact we are going to live to a ripe old
age. Now, every time I hear something about HIV and aging, I pay
attention. In workshops I've attended I've met people who have
lived 25 to 30 years with HIV/AIDS. They tell stories of how they were
told to put their affairs in order, they would die within months, maybe a
year. There were times when they were so sick, practically on death's
door, only to bounce back and continue the fight. Many would get very
emotional talking about watching their friends get sicker and pass. Some
of them have lost more than a hundred friends and acquaintances over the
years. Quite often I heard, "why am I still here"? Last month our agency held a workshop on HIV and aging
that looked at starting over. The subject matter dealt with financial and
career planning, retirement, your Living Will, finding a Power of
Attorney, relationships and living arrangements. When, back then, people
were told they were going to die, many sold off their homes and property
and used the money to really live before they died. Now, decades later,
some have returned to the work force and others are finding they have time
to learn new skills and go back to work. Something I would like to see more information on are
the health issues attributed to HIV and aging. There may have been other
articles on this subject but the one that stood out for me was by Susan
Pigg of the Toronto Star (link) and her article titled "When HIV
moves into nursing homes." Toronto’s HIV/AIDS experts and activists are
growing increasingly alarmed by “a hidden epidemic” — infected
people who have lived decades longer than anyone imagined and are being
hit with a host of aging illnesses in their 30s, 40s and 50s. They include
dementia, cardiovascular and liver disease, cancers, diabetes,
osteoporosis, emphysema and kidney problems This article also speaks of long time survivors who are
aging faster than people who don't have the virus, perhaps 10 - 20
years faster. This equation, I believe, was compiled by a medical research
group, based on the abuse we do to our bodies and the medications
that affect our organs after many years. Some days, I swear I know what it
feels like to be 70 years old and I'm only 57. The biggest concern I have is that there may come a
time when I am not able to care for myself. I know I wouldn't want to
burden my family members or friends to have to take care of me. This means
going into some sort of long-term care facility. I’ve worked in those
places and I know that not many of them are places I would want to be. I
worked as a Personal Support Worker and when I took my course, the section
on HIV/AIDS was one paragraph in the book. We learned about universal
precautions, working with each patient/resident as if they could have HIV,
but there were some in the class that said they didn't feel they could
work with someone with AIDS. There definitely needs to be more education
in that part of the healthcare system; long-term care facilities are not
ready for us. When I do put my affairs in order, I’ll be setting up
a "secondary decision maker" to make sure my healthcare is what
I want to live with. One thing I can't wait for is becoming a little grumpy old man someday! It could be so much fun. More Information on US Health Issues
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