28 May 2009

25 Years on – The People it Affects.

As mentioned in an earlier blog, it has been 25 years since the first reported case of HIV and still no cure.

But how has HIV affected people with HIV?

Well I was quite privileged to meet one of the longest known survivors of HIV while I was in South Africa. What an inspirational person he is. I have been wanting to blog about David Patient for a long time now but I have not had the time or the right material to put into the blog to do him and his story any justice.

When I met David I knew very little about him. I still know very little about him. Only from what I have read on the net and from what I have been told about him. The day I met David, in Johannesburg, it was his 25th anniversary of being diagnosed as being HIV+. At the time all I know of him was he was a director for a company what we were looking at using as a supplier of low income medical services to the South African Express Parcel Association (SAEPA) and that he had HIV and was wildly regarded as one of the longest survivors of HIV. Other than that I knew little else of this man that would inspire me to write this blog.

As David walked into the boardroom he looked just like any other person I had met. A tall slim man, a man that walked with a sense of presence. During the talks we had with him regarding the SAEPA project the only signal to emit from David was that of positivity. He just about oozed it. He wanted to see the project we were working on succeed. No issue was a big issue to him. He was not interested in problems only solutions. In true South African sprit he would make a plan if it got the job done.

This was not a person who was in a, “Woe is me! I am the poor sick person destined to die” mindset that seems to be the attitude of a lot of people who are diagnosed as having HIV. But no David Patient was going to rise above that and use this disease to motivate him and others. It was in effect his life force.

David’s story is that of a quite tragic one. I urge you to read the following article (Positive Heroes - David Patient) about David’s life with HIV. It is truly inspirational to see what David had to deal with all them years ago. These things have made him stronger as a result of it. He has risen above it all and wants to use his life experiences to help benefit those who are less fortunate than he is.

David has been a real inspiration to me. He has made me realise that most of my problems in my life are small in comparison to what others have to deal with. He has made me realise that one should grow stronger from there life experiences. Never give up no matter what is thrown at you. It really is a case of “ If it don’t kill you it will cure you!”

I thank David Patient for his support while I was in South Africa. I think him for standing in my corner and his advice when I asked for it. A true hero, one that a lot of people could learn from.

In the true spirit of David Patient and his say it as it is way – If your going to be part of the problem and not part of the solution then “ go hug a penguin!” (read my this blog entry for an explanation of the “go hug a penguin!” remark )

Please do read the “Positive Heroes – David Patient” article mentioned above (click on the highlighted link for the full article)

For more articles on David Patient click on this link here for a list of Google search results.

25 Years on – Still no cure


It was around 25 years ago that the first reported cased of HIV were being reported in the US and soon after in other parts of the world. 25 years and still no closer to a cure. But that’s not that surprising at all. Decades have passed and they have not yet found a cure for the common cold. A virus is just that, a virus, the perfect killing machine. It mutates and it attacks with stealth and force.

But 25 years ago people who were infected by HIV were convinced that there lives were over. In most cases it was. Doctors turning patents away if, they had HIV, and the stigma attached to it did not help them in the early days. To be honest things have not changed much since in that regard. While I was in South Africa last year I heard a story of a mother who had killed not only her self but her kids as the local communities believed she had HIV. Then the other day I saw on the BBC website that HIV patients are being refused medication for common illness.

So what has changed in regards to HIV 25 years on? Well awareness for one has changed. No longer is HIV an African or Gay disease. Everyone is at risk across the globe. But it does seem that the numbers of Gays and people in African countries contracting HIV are on the decline. On the other hand infection rates of young white heterosexual people in Europe and in the US are on the up. Why is this so is any one’s guess. I can only but speculate that the young white’s that are now being infected feel they are immune to this disease. One thing is for sure awareness in the UK is nothing like I saw in the 6 months I was in southern Africa. At times I thought I was in the wrong country and that I should be back in the UK spreading awareness of HIV.

But things are getting better for people with HIV. Treatments are much more effective than they have ever been. And now with early detection the medication does not have the same devastating effect that it use to in the past. Advancements in the medication and treatment now mean's that people with HIV can lead a more normal life than before. But could it also be that because of these advancements in treatment that youngsters are willing to take the risk and get HIV as they know they can just pop a pill and things will be alright? I don’t think we will ever get to the bottom of that one. At the end of the day prevention is better than cure and to be “forewarned is to be forearmed”. So education and awareness is the way forward.

Be sure to click on the links in the blog for more details.

1 May 2009

In the news

TNT Express publishes a quarterly in-house magazine, TNT Life, so that staff around the UK can be kept up to date with the going ons of other staff and company related news.

Well in this edition of TNT Life I have had a mention. Click on the images bellow to get the full story.


In addition to my story there was a bit on TNT's partnership, Moving the World, with the World Food Program and its work in Africa. Click on image for full story.