I don’t have TB. I discovered this today at a quick visit to my new doctor’s office. I wasn’t too surprised, but the nurse was. Not ridiculously surprised, but it was clear to me that she certainly sees more positive tests than negative. And you know the pamphlets that are in the exam room of a doctor’s office? You read the titles of all of them, inevitably, because you’re sitting there waiting for the doctor to finally get around to you. Every single one in this office had something to do with HIV/AIDS. Not the normal “Get the facts on HIV” sort of pamphlets. “Diabetes and HIV”. “Depression and HIV”. “TB and HIV”. etc. Like, having HIV is a given – here’s what to do with all these compounding factors. It was such a wake up call to me. To at least a big chunk of this office’s patients, that is the reality. I know that HIV is still on the rise in this country, despite so much effort into education – it’s just scary to see it as such an accepted part of life. And with the TB – I always thought of that test as totally routine, almost a formality for going to school. I had a test less than two years ago, when I enrolled at Penn. (actually, I had two, because Penn won’t accept a negative TB test that they didn’t actually do – and I didn’t know that until after I got one from my doctor.) But my new doctor in Philly thought it was time for another one “because you live in Philly”. Scary. But, I’m negative, so I can still go to Nicaragua (and get malaria :-p).
It’s funny. My parents (and lots of other people) are really worried about my safety in Nicaragua. But the plain truth is, I’m probably in more danger just living in Philly every day.
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