Hi Guys
What a hectic couple of months.
Firstly on the HIV side, things have been a bit uncertain as my last test results showed a viral load of 245, and my doctor decided at my last appointment to change my medication. I seemed to be more concerned than him about this and ironically my CD4 was higher.
I have always felt that a change of medication means a reduction in future options of treatment. This is partly true but actually with new drugs arriving he felt that the new regime was the most potent and therefore should keep the load stable for some time.
Also some of the drugs I was on before have noted long term side effect s on the liver and guts and in actual fact it is good to not take them anymore.
I have also got some other big news.
I am heading back to Africa again, this time Malawi. Yes I know I seem to be doing a tour of the most homophobic countries in the world but the job is very exciting. I am leaving in 3 days and will be away for a year.
I am helping establish a new training and social enterprise centre for UK based Microfinance company. They work exclusively with women and also work with many people affected by HIV. Since 11% of the population there is living with HIV that is hardly surprising.
My job will be to work with groups to help them set up new businesses which will help them earn income and also have various other social benefits, such as solar energy, irrigation projects and knitting and sewing schools.
It will be a very different experience to anything I have done before as I will be living one hour outside the capital (Lilongwe) and so a much more rural existence. Pretty exciting and scary in equal measure.
As I write I am packing and saying my farewells to friends including the lovely man who I have started seeing here. Sod’s law to start a new relationship and then have to go away again.
He has been very supportive and as you may remember from a previous diary entry has spent a couple of years volunteering in Africa as a trainer of nurses, so he knows the score. Although he is used to being the one going out, not staying behind.
We will really try and make it work and I will definitely be back at Christmas and that is only 5 months away!
It is really lovely to know that he is here whilst I am away and that will also mean that I will not need to have any contact with the gay scene in Malawi (which is currently extremely underground following the recent high profile gay couple case.)
Anyway must dash and finish my packing. Wish me well and will do my very best to keep in touch
Paolo
