A Farewell to Drew

I seriously doubt most of my colleagues can remember all their patients. With the sheer volume of patients passing through their doors on a daily basis, it's almost impossible to recall them all.

But there will always be a handful who will stand out throughout our careers. For me, it's the awful tragedies that always remain crystal clear in my memory - from the teenage boy who succumbed to dengue shock syndrome on my first month of work to the Vietnamese worker who lost his fingers in an industrial accident ( how I met Big Bicep Barry incidentally ).

And of course the man I met yesterday. Drew.

Rare indeed that I meet a self-confessed gay man - especially in the hospital setting! Last one I met had attempted suicide - and I wouldn't even have guessed if my nurses hadn't dropped a hint into my ear.

Drew was different though. Not only was his sexuality brazenly splashed all over the notes, Drew was also unabashedly out and proud, almost ferocious in his defence of his raging homosexuality. Guess he figured he obviously didn't have much more to lose - seeing as his once healthy body was already riddled with the dire hallmarks of AIDS. Reason enough for him to lash out bitterly at his loved ones even as he struggled to breathe his last.

Not the first time I've had patients with HIV but it's rare that I find them well enough to tell me a story ( much too late once they come through to intensive care! ). Yet once I shut the curtains, Drew - no doubt recognizing a kindred spirit - poured out the usual coming-out story of prejudice, intolerance and alienation. Then the endless partying with the sexual promiscuity so prevalent in certain niches of gay life.

As he spoke, what struck me was the thought that it could have been anyone of us afflicted with the same. Could be any one of my friends lying there in that cold nameless hospital cot with the half empty intravenous drip and the miserable hot water bottle.


You ain't tapping this ass, man, till you rubberize.
Gosh, this is gonna sound like a public service announcement. According to recent studies, HIV infection among gay men in Asia is rising - possibly due to a number of factors including less funding for programs that target men who have sex with men and the fact that there are new groups much less aware of the risks of unprotected sex.

Look, it certainly would be hypocritical of me to preach about safe sex methods when I know I've been regrettably lax a time or two in the past. Impossible to demur ( or to make that embarassing run to the pharmacy ) when the the lights are dimmed, the hormones are raging and the hunk's baring his sleekly muscled flesh in front of you. Foolish mistakes were made.

But this certainly acts as a stern reminder. Sexual promiscuity isn't wrong ( to a wicked fella like me at least ) but it does increase the chances of catching a sexually transmitted infection.

So be smart. Be safe.