Perspective

One of the things I noticed when I first arrived in Uganda was the scarcity of people around my own age, early 50's. Cathy Ellis explained that many people of that generation were wiped out in the original AIDS epidemic. Uganda today is a leader in Africa for actually reducing the rate of people with AIDS. On the wards, we are all acutely aware of the risk of infection. We are taught how to protect ourselves: double gloving, careful disposal of sharps, awareness of all body fluids, eye protection, rubber aprons for delivery, hand washing, anti-bacterial gels. One of the first things we check on a chart is the woman's "TR" status - "TR" means tested negative for HIV, "TRR" means tested positive for HIV. One day last week, we attended 6 young women. Two were having their first baby, 1 was having her second baby, and 3 were having their third baby. All were between the ages of 19 and 23. Five out of the 6 were positive for HIV. As I tended to these women, I wasn't thinking anymore about my risk. I was protected from head to toe. Instead I was thinking about those 5 young women, infected with HIV, their newborn child and their families at home. That is the real tragedy.

Tina