A HERO OF TRUE LOVE - HIV/AIDS

Members of AIDS Holistics have seen such deaths many times. The doctor who wrote the letter set down the end path accurately. Perhaps he was a little hasty in criticizing and judging the family.

AIDS affected families can suffer burn-out. AIDS sufferers can cause deep ongoing stress for long periods of time, the result of paranoia, anger, depression, hallucinations and delusions.

There is much suffering in any family that has a loved one dying of AIDS. Sameo died in our house rejected by loved ones. Please click:

STUDY IN DEMENTIA - SAMEO

Dr Kiafuli reports on the wasting muscle and fat tissues, loss of hair, sunken eyes, skeletal appearance and final loss of bladder and bowel control. Much has now been written on AIDS care. Please click:

Palliative Medicine: Symptomatic and Supportive Care for Patients ...

www.amazon.co.uk › ... ›Health Issues › Illnesses & Conditions › AIDSCached

Palliative Medicine: Symptomatic and Supportive Care for Patients with Advanced

Cancer and AIDS: Amazon.co.uk: Roger Woodruff: Books

Death from AIDS is frightening for a family to experience. Family who are not at the bedside may care for their loved one but find difficulty in facing the pain of someone who was once so vital and healthy.

Many people dying of AIDS lose memory and do not recognise other family members.This person appears not to have been on anti-retroviral drugs. She suffered the full thrust of dementia. Her mind had died before her body.

Perhaps we should not judge family by their response at the end. Being present at the moment of death is not essential proof of love. People have to go to work and school. They can not sit by a bed until a loved one has died.

People may want to remember their loved one as she was. They are afraid to see an emaciated skeleton lying on a death bed.

Why did the husband and family not make sure she was on ARV drugs?

 

A hero of true love

By HOGANDE KIAFULI  as published in PNG Attitude

DEATH WAS ALREADY CREEPING slowly in like the approaching dusk. There was a gloomy ambiance all around her, and the air reeked of death.

Today or tomorrow, now or ever, she would breathe her last. The beating of her heart will tempo slowly to a halt, and she would cease to exist.

Her stature heralded impending doom. Her bones claimed prominence amidst the wasting muscle and fat tissues. Her strength faded so badly that even her once so soft and curly hair, failed to stand firm on her rather thin scalp. The ears looked as if they were withered by the sun, and the eyes sunk deep into the skull.

As if afraid to look into the face of death, the eyeballs turned upwards, revealing only the white sclera. Her mouth and tongue were flaked with white stuff that bled easily. Water could not be sipped, and food cannot be chewed because the tongue was very painful.

She can talk no more, for her voice was suppressed by the terrible infection. The bones of her limbs were clearly visible. The arm bones were so visible that they looked like baseball bats stuck in the sides of her chest. The ribs stood out distinctly from their cage, moving with each breath that she struggled with.

Her abdomen looked as though it had been emptied of its contents. Urine flowed out unrestrained, for she failed to muster up strength to contain them. The odour of urine and faeces become transient companions.

As if spelled by the odour, no relative visited her. Her mother, who happened to be a health worker, seems to have frozen her account of tender-loving-care. The one male in the world that she calls Daddy, withheld his loving presence at her dying moment.

Her brothers refused to show that she was their little sister, once so loved and cherished. Her sisters, with whom she enjoys spending time, deemed it a waste of time to visit her.

As her moments ticked away, the memory of her family faded, and she brushed aside all remaining hope of seeing them again. She was convinced that there are no traces of love left in their hearts for her.

Nevertheless, a man sat on the bed by her side. He was the love of her life. Tears flowed freely flowed down his cheeks, as he watched her sick body. He wished he could look into her eyes once more, and see the colour and radiance of life in it.

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