HIV

I took care of my first HIV+ patient this week. He was in rough shape, suffering from AIDS dementia, Hepatitis C, and many other comorbidities. During our conversations, I found out a lot of interesting things about his life: a past stabbing, jail time, the loss of two children. Taking care of this person reminded me how much I love and miss working with drug addicts, prostitutes, homeless folks... generally marginalized groups. I appreciate how down to earth and candid they can be (he told me the speech therapist was "a bitch" out of the blue), and I love being a positive, respectful, non-judgmental presence in their lives.