photo taken from: https://www.worldnetsales.org/yourmemorystick/p/6/male-nurse-3003 I have worked my ass off for more than three years as a nurse. And being a nurse here in the Philippines is no joke. Nurses are underpaid. Well, not necessarily overworked since the hospital I worked for have fewer patients compared to government hospitals. But some, if not most patients that we have expects the best service from us to get their money’s worth. And even if that best service includes feeding them even when they are able, massaging their backs and feet to induce sleep, and putting their TV on or off even when the remote control is within their reach. And these are still mild nursing...

So here’s the timeline of my life with HIV: March 27 - medical exam for my work abroad March 29 - HIV positive via ELISA (screening test) May 8 - HIV positive via Western blot (confirmatory test) May 28 - first visit to an HIV hub May 29 - baseline labs      I had my blood drawn; submitted three samples of sputum; and had my X-Ray. I was told that the CD4 machine is under repair. It has been broken for a month or two, as said by a fellow pozzie. June 7 - consultation with the hub’s HIV specialist      He said that all my lab results are good, but I was prescribed with Isoniazid as prophylaxis; just something to prevent me from developing TB....

I was diagnosed last March 29, received my confirmatory result on the first week of May, and had myself checked at a local HIV hub last May 28. Until now, I still do not have my CD4 count because the machine in our hub is under repair. But I was informed by a fellow pozzie that it is currently being fixed, and might be available before June ends (fingers crossed). Starting from the time I was diagnosed, I had excision biopsy of lymph nodes (my family insisted to doing it because they fear I have cancer). The result came back, and it indicated that I have reactive follicular hyperplasia (in simple terms, I have an infection). If they only researched about it extensively over the internet,...

                                                              image taken from http://momfog.com/2012/03/29/mom-guilt/ I had a relationship three years ago, and I learned that he died this January 2012 due to liver abscess. He was in his early 30s. As I’ve mentioned in my earlier blog entry, I kind of assumed that it may be caused by Hepatitis B. I got myself tested, and the result was negative. But now that I have HIV, I have a strong suspicion that I may have gotten the virus from him. We had unprotected sex. When I learned...

                                                                                             my pre-HIV pic I created Pinoy Positive in facebook, twitter, and blogspot with the purpose of having support system as I start living as an HIV-positive individual. Since I haven’t disclosed my status to my family and close friends, I find it best to ventilate my thoughts and feelings in these social networking sites, and at the same time, get to interact with...