The AIDS Woman

As part ofmy efforts to raise awareness of CARE, here is a story from the CARE website - www.care.org


The AIDS Woman
as told to Myat Lwin Lwin Aung

In late 2002, I was not well and had to go to hospital. There I found out I had HIV. After about three months, I was bedridden. I didn't get well for a long time AIDS: In my village, people call it simply "A." They say only bad people, immoral people, have it. There is no cure. I was going to die. I didn't dare tell anyone. How could I tell my family?

Finally, the headmistress of the primary school in Inn Ywar New Village had a talk with my mother. She told my mother I had AIDS, and offered to introduce me to some groups that could help. Mother told her to do whatever seemed right. That was how I came into contact with CARE, where I got medicine and treatment.

Now my whole family knew I had HIV. They didn't know anything about it and were frightened. They told me, "Don't touch this!" and "Don't touch that!" After I had taken a drink, they washed the cup at once. I sat somewhere and they washed the place. Eating together was out of the question.

I earned a living for this family. I earned money to send my younger sisters and brothers to school, for them to graduate and live like other young people do. Now I was the one bringing shame on the family, humiliating my younger sisters. Why did I get this? Was it my fault? Whatever it was, they called me "the AIDS woman." And they said it like a new swear word.
Ko Htein from CARE explained that HIV cannot spread to family members just by living under the same roof. It does not have to be immediately fatal, either. He talked to my husband, giving him counseling and a blood test. My two little girls also had blood tests. Both my husband and my daughters tested negative, to my great relief.

But I felt inferior. My parents didn't say anything, but my younger sisters gave me a hard time. It went on until I couldn't stand it any more. One day I had a quarrel with my younger sister, and she called me the AIDS woman. That did it. After that, I had to leave my mother's house.
My husband, my little girls and I made a lean-to in a friend's compound and lived under it. My husband drove a trishaw, and I sold lottery tickets; during the water festival I sold beer. We earned enough to eat. During this time, Ko Htein tried to help my family understand my situation. He convinced my younger sisters to attend discussions and training courses on HIV and AIDS, and set up discussion sessions in the neighborhood. My mother didn't accept Ko Htein at first. She said there was no such person in the house, and he shouldn't have come. But after a time, she grew to understand and took us back in. It took about eight months.

Then I faced another major challenge: I got pregnant. My husband had wanted a baby, and though I told him to use a condom, he refused. When I found out I was pregnant, I was worried. What if the baby was infected?

CARE sent me to hospital, where I received counseling and nutrition supplements. The doctors and nurses took good care of me. They showed sympathy and offered encouragement. Yet the closer it got to my due date, the more frightened I became. Was I going to die? If I died, how would my husband go on with a newborn baby? Would the baby be healthy? It would break my heart if the child was born with the virus. Why did I ever try to have this baby? I was frightened. On March 10, 2006, I had a little girl.

I was in good health while I was pregnant. When I give birth, I had to take medicines. The baby had to take medicines too. I gave her milk formula — I had done all I could to prevent the child from getting the virus and I wasn't about to pass it through breastfeeding. CARE taught my whole family and me how to keep the formula bottle and caps clean and how to handle everything. Staff members came to check on us, and if we were not handling the formula the right way, they corrected us. Now both my little girl and I are in good health.

Thanks to CARE, I can take care of myself and my new child. I often go to the CARE office for healthy food and condoms — I need to keep them handy. I also hand out condoms to anyone in the neighborhood who needs them. CARE also has helped me arrange visits to the doctor.
There are a lot of people like me in the village. With CARE's support, 30 of us in the village formed a self-help group for people with HIV. It is called Phyu Sin Metta, Pure Loving Kindness, and I am the vice-chairperson. Our group's first anniversary fell on May 26, 2006. We still depend on CARE's support, but eventually we will have to stand on our own feet.

CARE has done a lot to educate people in my village about HIV and AIDS, so now there are few instances of severe discrimination. There are still some people who discriminate against me. When they're angry with me, they call me the AIDS woman. But I am not afraid of people knowing about my condition. I don't care if they're afraid and do not talk to me. I make my own living, and I have a lot of people who help me.

There is a big difference between now and when I first learned I had HIV. I'm in good health, and I have a happy family life. I never think twice about helping other people like me. One woman who works with me used to think of herself as the walking dead. I encouraged her, and now she is in good health and runs a shop.

I have had failures, too, but I don't let them get to me. We also have had group members pass away. It used to frighten me, but who is immortal?

I have to take care of my little girl, and I still have a lot of work to do for other people living with HIV. But I am ready. I am in good health, and I am going to live.

I am Powerful - Running for CARE

Empowerment is an amazing thing. You can do big and small tasks if you feel you have the tools. For many people in developing nations, poverty prevents them from living productive lives. Poor sanitation, lack of food, prevalence of disease, lack of economic opportunity and specter of war denies millions of people the opportunity to lead better lives.

For over 50 years CARE has been providing the tools and assistance to those who need them so desperately. It comforts me a great deal organizations like CARE are out there:

CARE tackles underlying causes of poverty so that people can become self-sufficient. Recognizing that women and children suffer disproportionately from poverty, CARE places special emphasis on working with women to create permanent social change. Women are at the heart of CARE's community-based efforts to improve basic education, prevent the spread of HIV, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity and protect natural resources. CARE also delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and helps people rebuild their lives.


Not only does CARE provide need assistance, they also work at the grassroots level through the CARE Action Network (CAN). Through CAN, CARE donors can communicate with and educate their political leaders on issues related to poverty: HIV/AIDS, nutrition, clean water, etc... I am proud to be a CARE donor and CAN member.

Because I have been empowered to accomplish so many things through my running, I want to use my running to help CARE. On January 14, 2007, I will be running in the P.F. Chang Rock N Roll Marathon in Phoenix, AZ. This is my first marathon. I am using this race to raise money for CARE, so they can continue their work. Today is the kick off of my campaign. I have an ambitious goal - $2620. I chose that figure, because a marathon is 26.2 miles. I hope you will join me in my support of CARE.

There are various levels of giving:

____ Marathon Level $100 +

____ Half-marathon Level $75 - $99

____ 10K Level $50 - $74

____ 5K Level $25 - $49

____ Other Amount (Please Indicate) _________________

You can send your donation to:

CARE
Attn: Andrea Porth
70 E. Lake St.
Suite 1430
Chicago, IL 60601

Please indicate in the memo portion of the check the Rock N Roll Marathon. This way we can keep an accurate count of how much has been raised.

Also if you are interested in the CARE Action Network (CAN), include a note indicating your interest, with your name, address and email address.

I appreciate any donation. For more information about CARE, go to www.care.org

If you have questions about CARE, please feel free to leave a comment to this post.

Thanks,
Charlie

New Shoes Again

I need to make this oath - I will never, ever buy running shoes at a non-running store again. A few weeks ago I bought a pair of Ecco's at Macy's. Yes...I went cheap, but Eccos have always been good regular shoes to me.

The running shoes realyl caused a lot of tow and ankle pain. This was evident during the Turkey Trot. I went to New Balance the other day and bought a pair of proper fitting shoes. Today I gave the shoes a 3.75 mile test run, and they were great. No pain for the first time in a long time. Phew....

Proper fit is so important, and I know that. While I still love Ecco shoes, I won't be buying their running shoes again.

:-)Charlie

Running Of the Turkeys

Happy Thanksgiving! Today was the annual Turkey Trot. This is an 8K race through Lincoln Park. It was a gorgeous day. sun was shining and the temps were in the upper 40's. Several thousand people were out and ready to go. And go we did.

As soon as gun went off, everyone flew out onto the course. I was no different. I barrelled down the road. Of course not fast enough to keep my boss from passing me. Still my first mile was under 12 minutes. My second mile was at 12 minutes. Same for the third. It was hard to keep that pace. My goal was to finish under an hour.

My ankles were killing me. I blame it on the new shoes, and will be getting another pair shortly. Still I managed a new PR - 1:00:30 (unofficial time). I was plenty happy with that.

Now I can go eat Thanksgiving dinner.

Gobble Gobble.

:-)Charlie

Difficult Run

Yesterday was a hard run for me. I had planned to go outside. The sun was shining, and all looked good. The wind though was a tough 30 m.p.h. Ouch! So I headed to the gym. I ran 5.2 miles.

I am still getting used to my new shoes. I think as a result, I was getting sore in the ankles. I wanted to run more, but my ankles told me to stop. I listen to them, because I want to be able to run another day.

I was emotionally down at the end of my run. My marathon training has not gone well, and I really needed the miles. I was feeling like a failure. Of course this is my mind trying to play devil's advocate with me. It's funny how the mind works. We set goals, and then something inside us tells us how we can't do it. This is where you really have to be strong with yourself.

At the end of my run, I wanted to cry. So the little voices won that battle. I am determined they won't win the war though.

This morning my ankles are fine, and I will run today. Later this week is the Turkey Trot.

:-)Charlie

World Peace

“World Peace!” that’s the mantra we use in our yoga class, and this morning on my run I thought I would use it. I had read a book about running and spirituality, and how you should have a phrase or prayer you say as you run. So I gave it a try.

I found my running was more focused, and my thoughts more clear as I ran saying this in my head. I even felt a bit freer in my movement. I could be onto something here. J

Today was my recovery run after the 8-mile run on Sunday. I felt really good. I’ll try again this week for a 15 – mile run.

Next week is the annual Turkey Trot. I look forward to this race, because it is a great way to start the Thanksgiving holiday. I feel I earn my meal as I run the 8K.

:-)Charlie

Birthday!!!

Today I am 44! So how did I celebrate this occasion? Yesterday I treated myself to a facial and a haricut. I called it my spa day.

http://www.chicagomalesalon.com/

I've never had a facial. It was nice. Matt, the skin care guy, led me into a little room with lots of new age music playing. He asked me to slip into a robe. When he came back, he got out a foot tub with hot soapy water. I sat with my feet in the tub as he explained the facial he was going to do.

He left the room, then I got onto the massage table - face up. When he came back, he put something over my face, which emitted steam. It was odd at first, but I got used to it. Soon he was putting some Mango goop(technical terms here) on my face. It stung a bit, but had been warned about that. He left the goop on, and went to massage my feet and legs with hot stones. I really enjoyed that.

Soon it was time to wipe the Mango stuff offf my face, then he cleaned my face a bit. Soon he got out a large magnifying glass, and was giving my face the once over. He told me I had great skin. Surely I hydrate. I do!!! He removed some blackheads(the only part I didn't enjoy). Then he put another goopy mask on my face. While that set in, he massaged my hands and arms with hot stones - very nice.

Once he finished with my hands, it was time to wipe the stuff off my face. All in all it took an hour. We chatted for a few minutes about cleansers, then it was time for my haricut.

Ric, my stylist, is amazing. We are working on a new look for me. This is my thrid visit with Ric. The best part of the haircut is when he washes my hair. I get a scalp massage like I have NEVER had. He is amazing! My the time I was done, both my hair and face were shiny, and looking lovely.

This morning, I got up with the goal of running 15 miles. My ankles gave out at 8. I'm not too disappointed, but I would have liked to run the full15.

So this has been a greatway to turn 44. Tonight, it's Cuban food with friends. Looking forward to it.

:-)Charlie

Renewal

Duringmy training for the half marathon, there was a point where the running stopped. I had a week or so of non-training. I didn't mean it to happen, it's just the way life went. Well it happened to me the last week or so.

Either I have had ankle pain, or I was emotionally down, or I just didn't have a run in me. So I didn't run. I can hear the gasps from the more pure runners out there. Well I am back training, so the goals are still going ahead.

I had a long talk with Q over the weekend about life and running. He reminded me of many things I have accomplished in my short running career. Of course the majority of our talk was about my non-running life, but there was running talk, and I was able to apply what he was telling me about the other aspects of my life to my running.

As you know I have long battles with self esteem. I have taken a hit of late due to some thigns beyond my control. I ate. NO, I didn't gain all the weight back. It just felt like it. I've gained 4 lbs. Not horrible in the long run, and I did not get depressed about it.

So what do I do now?

1) Stay focused. I have miles to put in, and training to do. January14 will be here before I know it.

2) Remember I have a lot of support. Friends, family and loved ones are behind me. Not just supporting my running, but supporting me.

3) We all have set backs, this was one, time to move on.

4) Write down a training plan. If organization can work for me in other aspects of my life, I can make it work in this life.

5) Plan fun training activities - Turkey Trot 8K.

I turn 44 on Sunday...I know...I look 24 :-) I'm going to enter a local 5K that day. Nothing like attacking the mid-40's with a run!

So now I am back on track, and things look good.

:-)Charlie