For a year or so, Drs. have had a hard time controlling H's HIV viral load. His virus is resistant to all, literally ALL, the meds that were available last year. As a result, he went into a nose dive last Fall, the culmination of which was my ill-fated attempt at placement and a corresponding nose dive into burnout for me.
But in February of this year, new meds came out. And a few months later, his viral load is undetectable for the first time in 10 years. And his T cell count is the highest it's been during that time as well.
At the same time, he's taking what amounts to chemotherapy and it makes him feel sick a lot of the time. So, whether his viral load is up or it is down, he's just not able to participate that much.
It's happened many times, about every two years or so: his virus gains resistance to the meds he's on, his health takes a dive, we discuss hospice, etc. Then, new meds come out, they pull him back from the brink and for a year or so he's out of the woods. Then his virus develops resistance…rinse and repeat.
What's striking this time is that his dementia and delusions don't seem to be improving, even as his viral load drops, hence all the fretting about alien conspiracy theories.
More than his physical health, what has been hardest for me is the mental decline.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
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1 comment:
You have my sincere sympathy... I think you should go ahead and put H in a hospice. Otherwise, you can't even keep your job in order to pay for the medical bills for H.
I hope things go well for you.
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