Speaking as an HIV+ individual myself, I can assure you that every two cases of HIV infection are never quite the same experience. This stems from the nature of circumstances and up-bringing. It's not so much the use of condoms and money to look at. It's education. Even the most educated person on the subject of HIV (taking myself for example) will have a whole different outlook on the subject when they become infected.
Education ideally is the key. In my case, some $1533.53 CDN every 30-days of taxpayer's money is spent on just one case just in a 30-day supply of drugs for an HIV+ individual just to stay alive. That works out to roughly $18,700.00 per year on the government's dime (or god forbid your own). Taking into account the other medications that are required to counterbalance the side-effects of the medications that keep you alive, the total costs reach an approxemation of $2500.00 CDN every 30-days in order to live a normal life. Again, that works out to roughly $30,500.00 CDN every 30-days to live normally.
You must truly ask yourself if an extra measley little $10,000 to $15,000 for one year is worth the cost of your life? What's more is the complete mental breakdown that discovering your HIV+ status willl send you through, even in the case of myself. The Government of Ontario passed a law that required highschool students to conduct a minimum requirement of 40 hours in the course of their 5 years in highschool (originally 6) doing community service. My charity of choice was ACCKWA (The Aids Committee of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo, and Area - Online at hxxp://www.acckwa.com). I was 14 years of age at the time I started to interact with the friendly staff, other volunteers, and one particular public health nurse who I've grown throught the years to trust as a reliable source of accurate information. With as much education as I had on the subject from having continued to volunteer my services there on a mostly part-time basis, I was finally informed by the public health nurse I've grown to trust at the age of 23 years old (9 years later) that I am HIV+.
The world suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. My job came tumbling down to a screeching halt for medical reasons for which I am still in treatment, With a medication cost of $2500/month for medications alone to keep me alive and healthy, a monthly car insurance bill to get around for $145/mo (now reduced to $100/mo), and a contracted portable internet plan of $45/month, yet a mere take-home income of $2,000/month what was I to do? I had to resort to a government funded disability program that pays for my drugs and provides me with $1053/mo in money. This only barely manages to get the bills paid. What's left at the end of all the bills and debt that is now slowly decreasing? NOTHING! The bottom line is finding out your status is earth shattering, no matter who you are or what your experiences are. It is only through education of what the text books don't teach you about HIV that really makes the difference. Always remember to rate your risk assessment, get your test results for sure, before engaging in possibly unsafe activity such as bareback anal (or bareback vaginal in the heterosexual community).
This only begins to describe the beginning of stage of finding out you're HIV+ in my case. Many other possible sitations that are far worse off than my experience both have and can still happen. You really must ask yourself "Is it really worth it?" and "Can I really afford to commit to this kind of life for the rest of my life?" I can tell you as a person who has had the unpleasant journey down the life of being HIV+ that it's simply not worth the risk. hxxp://tech911.ath.cx/morning.jpg <– Is having to do that every day in order to live, or take the alternative of death worth one stupid :an2: ?
NO LOVE WITHOUT A GLOVE! <– Now that sounds like a wise motto to live by. Spread the word, wear the ribbon, whatever it takes. Education is the only true prevention of harm we have left at this day and age.