A cab driver brings it home

by Andrew Sedor

After a night of bar hopping, my friend and I waved a cab to take us home. I started talking to the cab driver, as I usually do, asking if it had been busy that night.

Carl* told us that business was down and even Stampede only provided mediocre business. We continued light conversation and after awhile he asked what we had been doing this summer.

I told him that I was a summer student at AIDS Calgary Awareness Association. After a pause to gather his thoughts, Carl tentatively inquired “how long can a person live if they have HIV?”

I was surprised by his question but answered that there is not easy answer to that question. I let him know that factors such as treatment, nutrition, and life style all contribute to the life span of a person living with HIV.

Carl was now very interested in the conversation. Turning his head he asked “how long can someone live if they don’t have medication?” As a summer student I let him know that I couldn’t give him a definite answer but that the research I myself had read on the topic indicated that life expectancy can drop significantly without medication.

I explained how antiretroviral drugs (the medication) impeded the spread of HIV in white blood cells. My pre-med friend in the cab with me jumped in to clarify how the HIV virus attacks the immune system.

After a thoughtful pause Carl revealed that he had a good friend who was HIV positive but who was in denial and won’t go on the medication. She is very ashamed of her HIV status and she doesn’t want her family to find out. Carl had tried to talk with her many times, attempting to persuade her to take the antiretroviral medication… but she wouldn’t listen.

At this point we had pulled up to our destination. My friend paid and got out of the cab. Carl kept me back with a question…“My friend is starting to lose a lot of weight… what stage of infection is that?” I didn’t know exactly and I let Carl know that I wasn’t sure what stage the infection was in.

We stayed in the cab and talked for another 5 minutes about what he should do. I told him to keep on trying to convince her to get on medication and educate herself about the virus. I shook his hand, left the cab and said goodnight. He stayed parked outside the house just staring out his window for about 2 minutes.

I had decided to walk the rest of the way home. While I was walking, I thought about why AIDS Calgary was so important. Medical clinics and hospitals are there to provide the medication to help your body, but HIV/AIDS doesn’t just attack you physically; it attacks you mentally. AIDS Calgary and other AIDS service organizations are hospitals for the mind and heart, a place to turn when even your family stigmatizes you.

*not his real name

Andrew Sedor was a summer student at AIDS Calgary within the Development Team.