World Aids Day....

photo credit to my dad

I'm a day off, but I will do my duty and relay information. Check the bottom of my blog for the link to the AHOPE store. AHOPE is an orphanage that takes care of HIV+ children, which isn't really a popular thing to do in Ethiopia. They could use all the help they can get. Please consider buying Christmas presents from them, or sponsoring a child that lives at AHOPE. Part of Meron's Christmas present this year will be a sponsored brother or sister from AHOPE.

- HIV can NOT be spread through casual/household contact. HIV is not spread through hugging, kissing, shaking hands, sharing toys, sneezing, coughing, sharing food, sharing drinks, bathing, swimming or any other casual way. It has been proven that HIV and AIDS can only be spread through sexual contact, birth, breastfeeding and blood to blood contact (such as sharing needles).
- HIV is now considered a chronic but manageable disease. With treatment, people who are HIV+ can live indefinitely without developing AIDS and can live long and full lives.
- People who are HIV+ deserve to be treated with love, respect, support and acceptance as all people do. If anyone wants more info on transmission, there is great info on the Center for Disease Control website at http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/

We thought about adopting an HIV+ child from Ethiopia instead of asking for a healthy infant, but decided that while we live in the bowels of South Dakota it wouldn't be a good idea. We'd be too far from really good specialists. But, there is a strong possibility that next time we adopt we will check the 'Open to HIV +' box on the application. At this point, HIV is considered easier to live with than diabetes if treatment is started early enough. What a tragedy that there are still children all over the world dieing of this disease... many of them who were, very recently, friends and neighbors of my daughter.