Eyes Wide Shut

I know I updated only 2 days ago so this probably won't be that exciting. But it's a lazy afternoon and I can only read my book for so long. Also I needed to get on here to check my e-mail.
On Monday night Jerry was talking about how his placement was getting really crazy. Jerry is a 48 year old retired fire fighter from Chicago. He is medically trained and has been here for like 2 months or so. His placement is at UKCUN, where they work with HIV/AIDS patients. They actually do a lot of things. They do home visits, make sure they are getting their meds, examine the patients to see if a hospital visit is necessary. They also are a walk-in clinic for HIV testing and have had to tell numerous people that they are HIV positive. Jerry was explaining how it seemed like their patients had been doing relatively well and this week they just started falling apart. Also, they got 2 new patients added and had to do initial visits.
Richard and I offered to skip our placements on Tuesday to help out at UCKUN. I'm not sure what made me agree to this since I am the most squeamish person I know. I think part of it is that I was curious about what kind of work they do there, another part was that I know they make a huge difference in the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS. And I knew my placement would survive without me for a day.
Here's a bit of background on HIV/AIDS in Tanzania. The rate of AIDS in Tanzania is 8%. It is 9% in the coastal regions. Bagamoyo has an AIDS rate of 15%. Realistically the rate is probably closer to 20 or 25% because there are many people who live in rural parts who do not get tested. Accurate statistics are difficult to obtain. Basically, because of religious views, those suffering from AIDS are seen as being cursed. As a result, they face tremendous stigma in the community. Their neighbors despise them and very few people are willing to help take care of them. There are also false beliefs that lead to AIDS being spread. One is the belief in traditional healers. The healers tell patients that if they sacrifice a chicken or goat or participate in some special ceremony that their illness will be cured. Of course they are not but since they believe they are, they continue to live the same lifestyle as before, infecting many people with this disease. Also, many people here believe that if you have AIDS you can cure yourself by sleeping with a virgin. I'd really like to meet the dude who started spreading this ignorant lie.
Tuesday at UKCUN (oo-koon) ended up being pretty chaotic and disorganized which seems like the norm there. When we first got there, Jerry explained everything and what we might see that day. How does one prepare for something like this? I don't think it's really possible. I spent a good amount of time picturing the nastiest puss-filled sores that I could imagine and still I don't think I'd be ready to see such horrible things in real life. Luckily, I didn't see anything too alarming on Tuesday.
After the mini "orientation" we got tested for HIV. It's not required or anything but I think Doug just likes to play doctor and practice on CCS volunteers. My results were negative, hooray! After that, Kat, Jerry, John and I went on a home visit. We met Mtaya who has known he has AIDS since September. When he first got tested, his CD4 (T-cell) count was 7. To give you some idea, those without HIV/AIDS have a CD4 count of about 1500. When someone with HIV's CD4 count drops below 250, they are considered to have AIDS. So 7 is pretty damn low. I'm still skeptical that the translation came across correctly but we double and triple checked. The reason I was so surprised was because Mtaya seems to be doing pretty all right at this point. He is 47 years old. We don't know what his CD4 count has been since September because they haven't recorded it on his blue card even though he's been tested every other month since. Overall, they said he looks like he is in Stage 1. They found something hard in his lower abdomen area so we suggested that he go to the hospital for X-rays or an ultrasound. The other thing is that his house was pretty nice for Bagamoyo standards. In the US it'd be appalling but it was relatively clean and organized and there weren't any major repair issues. Also he was the only one in his house with HIV which is really good. And he seemed to be surrounded by people who took care of him. All in all, I was really lucky to experience such a unsurprising home visit for my first one.
AMAP, the placement I'm currently at, will be closed next week because Sahidi has to move it to a new location. Jerry has somehow convinced me that I will be more useful at UKCUN and I have agreed to work there next week. I'm probably crazy and I'm totally unsure if I can handle this. But I feel like it could be a life changing experience. Or at least perspective changing. I will either be doing home visits with Jerry and Caroline or going out to "the bush" (har har), which is the most rural areas, and teaching hygiene and helping them clean up their homes. Everything is still a bit unclear and up in the air. Wish me luck!
My hour is just about up so I'll update this weekend or next week!