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Facing AIDS tr, such " pruifying exp?» Incum- in the, ("yes of almost .myunv. lt didn't mum-r how safe l'u' always been and nu mall” hm“ much I may have lislvnvd In my mother in I Wm uppnmrhing my When you sit in the chair and the blood is drawn from your arm, your instant gut reitctitrtt is, "What will ite find?" as I wan lm'ns. Part 1 - Overcoming the anxiety of being tested Any and all statistirsl may haw heard abnul. in paving. are what start tlooding my mind. More than 56,000 people in Canada. as of 2002. are vslimznvd m be living with AIDS (1r HIV. A third of these pmmle dotit even know it. ' "What if I'm a statistic and I don't even know it?" I thought to myself. ln Waterloo Region alone, there have been approximately 230 reported ease». of HIV since l985 --- which. to me at first, seemed like a surprisingly low number until l started to think about how that's only the number of cases report- ed. It's impossible to esti- mate how many HIV cases exist in our region that haven't been detected yet because people go untested. I have never been tested. I started realizing l was part of the majority who felt there was no need to get tested. But how rould l he an sttrv? How could anyone? $0 I muldn" help hm feel a Huge oi guilt and nvrvmw ”ms. as l walkvd up the steps In the tron! than of the rvgum's AIDS tnmmitlm- ianlny. known ax the AIDS (.mmnillm- of Cambridge, Knrhvm'r. \Vatvrlun and A rr'a 1M1 IKWAJ. Located at W: Frederick 'nt. m krtHterttsr. ACCKWA is "tt1rrttg a \nmll group oi lm ilitrcs In the ri‘gmn who (nnrlurl work]; anunynnnu-~ HIV “Ming chu" a. N1 .K WA's drop m l Imus hiki' pl.“ " "very lhursduv front 4 In T p m, Mums 2m- ulsu wt 1mm the Rvgmn oi Walrrlnu l'uhlu Ih-nlth dvpmnm-m. WI Hrwnn fit S. In Wmmlnn. By In.“ (lawn) In! “I"! hmmrh' Registered nurse Mark Roberts from Region of Waterloo Public Health holds up a vial of blood after for an HIWAIDS test at ACCKWA‘s clinic, in Kitchener. every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.111.. and at Cambridge's Health and Social Services building. at 150 Main St., on the first ' trvery Tuesday from l In 3 pm. Upon entering M I mm. the perceptions I had of a sterilized clinic lobby and waiting mum were com- plvtely hutchvred by l970s shag carpeting and friendly faces, rlw [utility immediately paws ax a safe heaven for anyhndy in thy tummunily m 'str'P into if thvy m-vd slum-mn- to talk It). In tht, next mum is a living mum with " comfy rnm'h. u pvrr fem atmosphere " any bud); who may hr sevking Hum-ad: 0r counseling. I was dirvrtvd down " lung hallway where at thy ond was. the testing mum. a small nil'u'r with brtr,'hlly [Minn-d will)“ walls, wrth a (ll-sk and a paddvd than In um pulu‘nls. Iivgistsvred nunw Mark “Uhl'n's. 1mm Hu'gnm ”I Watcrloo l'llhlu Hculth. nultllu'lx the HIV [mix at the lhn-I- drop In Inkling LIFESTYLE c I i n i c region Roberts, who is also the region's HIV case manager. doesn't wear a lab coat or a stethoscope around his neck at the L‘linics like you may expect, because he feels it can often create a barrier with some people who might he feeling too stand In get tested. "We put a lot of the con- trol in the pprmn’s hands." Roberts explained. "We tell them it's anonymous testing so we dun't ask for any iden- tifying iufornvatissn." The onfy information that is asked is my date of hinh. with which, along with an assigned code nunr 1wr, I an) uhli‘ In get my test results back wltvn I am swim-(19d m n-lurn In thy rlinir a work Ian-r. Hnlwns insixtx nu providing the rrsullx. both gum! and bad. only lurr‘ Inf-1n) In vnslm' IIMI Ii therv arr any ummli (alums that they am alllc' In pnn'ulv pc-uplv with (hr pmprl orutnsvlli"g and usshlullt P Ruhrlh sun! there arr will-n s,vvrsral n-usnnx whv s thruughnm the EirrEEEijEEyEEIE ir) FiiiGriiCiE , mm. 10'1"!“ waft: ti0itu'tM1e may not feel that Ihey should get tested. including the often heard stereotype that AIDS and HIV arr "gay diseases" so the disease doesn't apply to them. "fhe global picture is that it has always been a heterosexually transrnitted disease. but unfortunately in North America. the first cases we had in New York and San Francisco were in the gay population and with injection drug users, so that really stuck in the public's mind." Rubens said. "A lot of people were convinced that as long as you're not part of those groups, you'd be UK and you wouldn't have to worry about it. "Even until recently we had physicians that still told patients that they were safe. We had people that knew they had unprotected sex and would like an HIV test, but their doctors would say. 'Well, you're a woman, don't worry about it," continued Roberts. mentioning that perspective mostly came from older male physicians. It wasn't until about five years ago. Roberts said, that the pandemic saw a turn- around in Waterloo Region. "Fifty per cent of our new (HIV-positive people in the past five years) are actually through heterosexual trans- mission." said Roberts. However. Roberts mew tions that even though the number of homosexual transmissions has decreased. most of the region's caws‘ of HIV and AIDS are created from "men having was with men", a term which Rnbt’rts prefers to usr because not evvryhody identifies as gay or hisvxual. "We've certainly had married mvn who tested positive who would norm dvscrilw therrrwlvvs as gay (n hiwxual, ITwir risk was Hwy had wx with ammlwr man But that dmnngmphir has horn changing in the Lust live years." thvrts sand. "Yuung people. lm-nugrrs. un- oftcn luhvlk'd as [wing prmnm'lmux hm yu'r W't' gr! an inrn'dlhlr Continued on page In The St. Agnes Catholic Women's League is holding a Queen of Hearts dessert card party Nov. 21 from 7f30 to 10 p.111. Dumsrgpern at 7 pm. Ihere will be a raffle for major prizes. door prizes and desserts. Tickets are S6 per person. lhe event will be at the Parish Centre. located a! 75 Bluevale lit. N. in Waterloo. The public is invited to catch a sneak preview of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire this Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Empire Studio. formerly the Silver City Theatre. located on Gateway Park Drive in Kitchener. Tickets are only $10 arid all proceeds go to the Children's Safety Village in Cambridge. _ _ Tickets can He puréilased Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Children's, Safety Village. 200 Maple Grove Rd, (Iambridgg _. _ Tickets are limited and will be sold on a first- come-first-serve basis. For more information. contact Lisa Hummel at 653-7700 ext. 8545. The Waterloo Regional Police members and their families present their 13th annual craft and hobby show, "A little on the crafty side", at the Waterloo Regional Police Association and recreation centre off Dumfries Road in Cambridge. Admiksion to the (rah show is a non-derishahle food item or a cash donation to the Food Bank of Waterloo Region. The craft show will takeioiace this Saturday from 9 a.m. to c, p.111. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 pm. Numeral}; tables of hand-crafted treasures will be on sale. and a charity Home table will he heaped with Christmas goodies. All the proceeds from the charity [mats talue will ho donated in various charitalsle organizations. Slap by an any Salurduy m Novvrnlwr In 'u'" what Woodside Nulinnnl Illalunr Site is cooking for the Christmas svusnn. fhis Salurdny p, "stir up" time. when stall will he pn-puting langhsh plum pudding. If minim-mm" is your favourite, corn" and "hut with “a” alum! it (Ill Nov, 26. Uwphy itttlwattvrurrrntiimlt- \(lllll' sarrrplcs. Waterloo regional police annual craft and hobby show this weekend Harry Potter sneak peek supports region's Children's SafetyVillage Bring your sweet tooth to dessert card party Woodside historic site cooks up some early Christmas goodies