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Bruce Springsteen--THE BOSS!


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Saturday is World Aids Day. We asked authors Gerald M. Oppenheimer and Ronald Bayer to help us commemorate this important holiday, to help us remember why AIDS research, awareness and education is so very important to our society. Oppenheimer and Bayer are the authors of Shattered Dreams: An Oral History of the South African AIDS Epidemic which uses interviews to tell the story of how physicians and nurses in South Africa struggled to ride the tiger of the world’s most catastrophic AIDS epidemic. In the original article below they reflect on the progress made and work still to be accomplished.

Once again it is almost World AIDS Day and in cities and communities around the world, there will be commemorations marking the date, December 1. But this year may be different. Some will begin to say, as they did in the United States, “Enough!” Too much energy, too many resources, have been devoted to an epidemic whose dimensions may have been exaggerated. They will point to a recent report from the United Nations suggesting that the global burden of HIV have been overestimated. Instead of the approximately 39 million people, as the world body previously reported, it is now thought that the numbers are closer to 33 million individuals. The number of newly infected, said the report, is declining where it is not leveling off. Seizing on these numbers, we will be urged to breathe a collective sigh of relief. (more…)

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Earlier today we excerpted from the Handbook for Mortals: Guidance for People Facing Serious Illness by Joanne Lynn and Joan Harrold. The next excerpt focuses on something we all will experience someday, the approach of death. While I hope this is something you won’t have to worry about for many years, knowledge may ease your anxiety.

“How will I know when death is getting close?”

Just as doctors usually cannot pinpoint the day when a baby will be born, they cannot predict the exact day or hour when you or your loved one will die. You might need reassurance that it is simply not always possible to know when death is near. Some illnesses make prediction difficult. (more…)

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There is no easy way to face death and their are no easy answers for how to prepare. Yet, Drs. Joanne Lynn and Joan Harrold, in their book Handbook for Mortals: Guidance for People Facing Serious Illness provide equal measures of practical information and gentle insight. Their book prepares readers for the decisions they will need to face, where to look for help, how to ease pain and other symptoms, what to expect with specific diseases, and how the health-care system operates. It also provides advice on how to come to terms with dying. In the passage below the authors reflect on a common mistake, forcing your loved ones to eat. Be sure to check back later today for another excerpt. (more…)

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