What's Normal Anyway?

Zero

whatsnormalanyway@yahoo.com (Sarah and Carmen Anthony Sacco) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:00:00 GMT

Sure, we adults can understand mathematically what "zero" means. But I wonder if we can truly understand what it would mean if there were "zero" cases of HIV; "zero" people afflicted with AIDS. What the world would be like if there were no babies born positive. If there were no graves dug, no child orphaned. Not even one.

Inspiration

whatsnormalanyway@yahoo.com (Sarah and Carmen Anthony Sacco) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:29:00 GMT

This morning I opened my e-mail to find something beautiful. I'm not talking the kind of beautiful that the stars have -- air-brushed "perfection" unattainable in the real world. I'm not talking about the kind of beautiful that advertisers sell to the masses. I'm talking about a beautiful story of a mother's love, a young man's incredible gift. It had me in tears -- the best tears really.

For those of us who struggle each day, who face challenges (and who doesn't?) and who sometimes wonder how to keep on going, this story gives inspiration. Won't you watch it, too?

Staying Adherent in the Midst of Early Childhood

whatsnormalanyway@yahoo.com (Sarah and Carmen Anthony Sacco) — Thu, 1 Sep 2011 08:30:00 GMT

Before I became a mother, I rarely had problems with missing my medication doses. I guess life was calmer and I had less to think about. Being in the midst of early childhood has often left me sleep-deprived. Whether it was the constant wakefulness of early infancy, cutting teeth, or more recently potty training and being sick, as a mom, I often find myself struggling to face mornings! I find that I am most likely to forget my meds when I am running late and particularly if I don't sit down to eat (the eating reminds me to take my meds with the food).

HIV: Just Another Chronic Disease?

whatsnormalanyway@yahoo.com (Sarah and Carmen Anthony Sacco) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:04:00 GMT

Many people are fond of saying that HIV is a chronic disease these days -- comparable to diabetes. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?

I was recently asked this question, and it made us both start thinking. What with the medical advances of the past decade, and the miracle of antiretrovirals (at least those of us who are blessed to be able to get them), we HIVers are living these days. I've heard of people who have been alive for the full 30 years of the known epidemic. Through my work, this blog, and reading I've been doing from people living with other chronic diagnoses, it seems that there are a lot of comparisons to be made. And yet ...

HIV Testing: Does It Contribute to Stigma?

whatsnormalanyway@yahoo.com (Sarah and Carmen Anthony Sacco) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:31:00 GMT

Within the first year of my diagnosis, a close friend who worked in the medical field had an exposure to bodily fluids and had to go for testing. They knew my status, and in telling me the story very innocently said that they had to go to the "Whore House" for the tests. WOW! I initially was very upset about the implications of this statement -- in effect calling ME a whore. But the intentions of the person were not leaning this way at all; they were just using a term that was common in their place of employment without thinking about the implications. After some time passed, my wounds healed and I began to wonder just WHY this term was so common.

Hope, Part 2

whatsnormalanyway@yahoo.com (Sarah and Carmen Anthony Sacco) — Wed, 25 May 2011 10:09:00 GMT

The week that I was diagnosed with HIV I was driving across the mountains of Colorado in a snowstorm headed to a speaking engagement. I was all alone on a mountain pass. Nobody else was foolish enough to be attempting the switchbacks in the storm. Truth be told -- I was just one wrong turn of the steering wheel -- one nudge of the gas pedal or the brakes at the wrong moment away from plunging down the mountain side. It was sure tempting to just quit looking through my tear-fogged eyes and end it all right there. No more waiting, imagining terrible endings to my life.

Poetry: Hope

whatsnormalanyway@yahoo.com (Sarah and Carmen Anthony Sacco) — Fri, 1 Apr 2011 09:58:00 GMT

Hope ... the word rolls around on my tongue,
slides around my mouth giving an exquisite taste sensation.
I open up my jaws, ready to take a bite --
can it really, truly, be mine?
Hope ... I desperately want to believe it,
to taste it, to enjoy it, to luxuriate in it.

To Rent or to Buy?

whatsnormalanyway@yahoo.com (Sarah and Carmen Anthony Sacco) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 04:58:00 GMT

The burning question in our not-so-normal life these days is this: to rent or to buy? You see, we just started earning enough money to be able to fully pay for our own housing! Yeah!! We've been working towards this goal for years, now -- and finally the day is here. Time to celebrate some measure of self-sufficiency.

And we are. But, I guess there must still be some part of me that wants to have a "normal" American life. The one with a white picket fence, a home mortgage, 2-1/2 kids, mowing the lawn for weekend fun, you get the picture.

Dead Man Walking

whatsnormalanyway@yahoo.com (Sarah and Carmen Anthony Sacco) — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 09:04:00 GMT

In our last post we talked about being diagnosed with HIV (AIDS in Carmen Anthony's case.) Here's the lyrics to the song "Dead Man Walking" that reflects this time in our lives.

Diagnosis AIDS

whatsnormalanyway@yahoo.com (Sarah and Carmen Anthony Sacco) — Tue, 8 Mar 2011 19:12:00 GMT

When I (Sarah) was 23 years old, I thought that I could conquer the world! Fresh out of college and traveling the world, I became fired up about HIV/AIDS while spending time in Africa (the continent with the highest HIV prevalence rate in the world). I started telling anyone who would listen that they should be tested for the disease. I thought I should walk the walk I was talking, and went to be tested myself. The tester was skeptical as I was technically not "at risk," being a young woman and having a short sexual history. I insisted. The test came back positive.

I thought my life was over. Nobody would ever love me -- I was damaged goods. The thing that I mourned the most and the deepest was that I would never become a parent. I knew that 1 in 4 babies born to untreated women would have HIV themselves, and I didn't want that for my child. I didn't know that the statistics are much brighter for women and children who undergo treatment while pregnant, at delivery and in the baby's first days; and that less than 1 in 100 babies born with proper care are positive. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I was hurting, grieving, and lost. That's where Carmen Anthony enters my story.