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From: Richard.DeWald@f70.n382.z1.fidonet.org (Richard DeWald)
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
Subject: Questions
Message-ID: <38189@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>
Date: 19 Aug 90 16:18:36 GMT
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Note:	Copyright 1990 by Daniel R. Greening.  Permission granted for
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In a message of <14 Aug 90 15:16:08>, Tandika Star (1:308/0.4) writes:

 TS>1. I was told that AZT makes the patient emotionally "grouchy/touchy". 
 TS>Is this true? If it is, does it affect all, most, some, or just those 
 TS>with a tendency to be a grinch to begin with?

There are other people who are more qualified to answer this question than I 
here in the conference.  I can never really tell myself, if you are sick 
enough to be using AZT (until very recently, you had to be sick to get/afford 
it), you are feeling BAD.  That's plenty of reason to be grouchy as far as I 
am concerned.  Why use AZT to explain something that may have a simpler 
explanation?  Sick people are usually not a barrel of laughs.

 TS>2. It is my understanding that some medical expenses will be covered by 
 TS>V.A. Can anyone tell me just WHAT is covered and how this covereage is 
 TS>determined?

I can't.  We don't have a VA hospital in Austin, so I am totally out of touch 
with this.

 TS>3. Is any financial aid (to an individual) available through the Social 
 TS>Security Administration?

Again, someone else can be more accurate.

 TS>4. Are there any Hospices for PWA's in Tucson, Az?

Do you have local gay/PWA organizations where you live?  Ask them.

 TS>5. What are "tactful" ways of handling the following emotionally 
 TS>charged comments and responses:
 TS>
 TS>  a. "My god, what will my friends THINK. We have some very critical 
 TS>friends, you know."

"Critical friends" is an oxymoron (contradiction in terms) in this situation.  
If they're critical of a seriously ill person, they aren't friends and they 
are excess baggage now.

 TS>  b. "Well that's what he gets for being like that." (This isn't a 
 TS>direct quote, the wording was too crude for me to post here.) 

How I respond to this common comment depends on the situation.  It ranges from 
"I wonder if it is as bad as what you get for being a bigot?" to "Virses do 
not discriminate." to (these days) "Tell me, if this is God's retribution, 
then why isn't Saddahm Hussein sick with a 106 degree fever these days?"

 TS>  c. "He's not still working in food service is he?"

"You're not still terribly uniformed about AIDS, are you?"

 TS>loosing his business by not handling the situation properly? Third, to 
 TS>the best of my knowledge, and so far confirmed by what I've read, AIDS 
 TS>isn't spread by casual contact. I have read of cases of children with 

That's the best of everyone's knowledge.  I have contact with HIV+ people 
almost every day.  I am in much more risk to my health while in the car on the 
way to and from.

 TS>  d. "You know, in the Bible it says that there will be pestilence on 
 TS>the earth in the end times."

The bible is a wonderful metaphorical spiritual text and the pestilence is 
bigotry and hatred.

 TS>(This was a really touchy one for me because I am not a christian, nor 
 TS>a 'follower' of the bible. However, I try to respect everyone's 
 TS>beliefs.)

Spiritual texts will be of some help to you now.  Get a copy of the 
Bahgavad-Gita, the Bible, the Koran, the Tao teh Ching, etc... and start to 
look for advice.  Just like the Prego spagetti sauce "It's in there."

 TS>6. Are there any support groups in Tucson geared towards the PARENTS 
 TS>and relatives of PWA's?

There are in Austin.  There is even a support group (I attend) for health care 
workers that care for AIDS patients.

 TS>7. I have read that in some cases funeral homes are refusing to deal 
 TS>with PWAs. Is this the case in Tucson? How can I find out?

Call and ask.

Richard DeWald, BSN Student
Univ. of TX - Austin.

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