A student all my life, the past 25 years I focussed my research on how to improve health and wellbeing. As a health-concious, longevity and wellness researcher, I have a specific interest in mental health. I know for a fact, what I speak and think is just as important as what I eat and drink. Traveling rural Tanzania for almost two years, we were in the fortunate position to experience the major health benefits simple living offers. Now I encourage people to eat a rainbow diet and live a mediterranean lifestyle. A more challenging part of my job is to provide supportive services to HIV infected and affected people to manage this dreaded disease. A challenging part of my job as a wellness consultant was to provide supportive services to HIV infected and affected people to manage this dreaded disease. HIV, currently can not be cured, but can be treated, and once again, adjustments in thinking patterns and a healthy lifestyle will assist to manage the illness like any other chronic life-threatening disease. I do understand the doubts and fears that overwhelms when faced with the reality of being HIV-infected. I was accidentally exposed to HIV-infected blood during a week of voluntary testing and counseling (VCT), while working at a corporate headoffice in Pretoria. This being a workplace injury I was provided with a 28-day course post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), a drug to reduce the risk of HIV infection.
PEP after HIV exposure is effective but there have been cases where it has failed. Confronted with the very real possibility of being infected with the HIV-virus, I suddenly realised that life changes rapidly. I have to do everything I still wanted to do - right now. What I really wanted to do, was to compile information and research to become the book I have been meaning to publish.
Expecting terrible side effects after taking the anti-retroviral drug, I did developed many concerns - my mother would call it hipokonders - and infact, it was only my imagination. One side effect of the drug, however, was very real - vivid dreams. But this turned out to be just what I needed to complete the overwhelming task of sorting all the information I have treasured for more than a decade. This collection of autobiographical data represents a space of time shared with street kids, under-aged prostitutes and other outcasts of society and reflects my own thoughts, ideas, actions and reactions.
