Unique Triology on Stickman's reader submissions

[Steve]

Maybe I believe it because I want to believe it. I loved the story. It appealed to the good in me, to be good, to do the right thing, and therefore it is real...at least to me. And if it encourages the good in the reader then it should be treatd as real. Is that so wrong?

[Grabii]

steve,

 

I agree with you. Whether the particular people and situations are true or not, the human condition described in the stories is very real.

 

Were the Greek comedies and tragedies real? Were the stories Shakespeare real? Was Steven Leather's 'Private Dancer' real? If not, does that make them any less meaningful?

 

Grabii

 

chocolat steve said:

Maybe I believe it because I want to believe it. I loved the story. It appealed to the good in me, to be good, to do the right thing, and therefore it is real...at least to me. And if it encourages the good in the reader then it should be treatd as real. Is that so wrong?

[thai3]

 

 

'to do the right thing'

 

what like leaving his GF young daughter to die in a wat with no effective drugs or proper nursing care? This guy's inaction is not what I would call doing the right thing. Certainly one the most moving stories I have read set in Thailand though.-peter

[chilli13]

well put. very moving - be it true story or partly fiction

[SingaporeSteve]

OK - so nobody knows if this is fact or fiction however I read this on Sticks site (at least the aids one) before IB posted this and I personally believe its true. However perhaps more to the point, I see nothing wierd with the actions of the author. I think its fair to say that as contributors to this board, we collectively have a higher understanding of HIV than the average guy in the street, given the minefield we often choose to play in.

 

Therefore the comments that she should be taken to a hospital and put on medication is a natural comment for some to make. However, if you were in his shoes and knew diddly squat about AIDS other than a load of people die from it, would it not be natural to assume the girl is in her last days and beyond the help of medicines? He mentioned that medical staff come to the wat so I reckon its a normal reaction to believe what your told by the alleged experts. Certainly the way its written, the girl has accepted the inevitable and has come to terms with it. How cruel could it be to raise her hopes of treatment as such a late stage only to have them broken.

 

Certainly I never doubted the doctors when I was told my father was dying of cancer, albeit of course I went straight back home and tried to find out as much as I could and what treatment options there were - its a natural reaction for someone familiar with the internet and by my nature I tend to want to double check things for myself (perhaps I have been in Asia too long !!)

 

Assuming its true, the situation in Thailand today is that he would have two options:

1. Take her to a private hospital

2. Take her to a govt hospital

 

Assuming he took her to a govt hospital, I truly believe that the doctors would say nothing more can be done for her and she is dying. Not that they truly believe this, but more because they do not want to put these concerned relatives in a position where they say " Sure, we can save her - we can give her all these new fangled medicines that may mean she recovers" and then also have to say to the relatives "oh and by the way the cost of the treatment for an advanced AIDS patient is 20,000 bht per month for the rest of her life." assuming she lives for another 20 years, thats around 5,000,000 baht in medicine alone, let alone the countless tests and everything else you have to do. Major loss of face for the relatives who have to conceed that they cannot come up with that kind of money for more than a couple of months let alone years. Personally I do not think a doctor in a govt hospital would put relatives in that position.

 

OK if he took her to a private hospital, they may have a slightly different take on things but would still be real wary of going down the treatment road without fully understanding the financial drain it places on people looking after her. FYI, the low cost govt drugs for HIV are not good at late stage AIDS infections. they are moderatly successfull in early case HIV but are considered to be second and third rate treatment options in the west.

 

Dont forget most of the transient population of Thailand do not qualify for the 30baht healthcare scheme as they are not registered in their province. Highly likely as he describes of someone by the sound of things not a Bangkok born resident. For example my GF is from Korat but lives with me in Pattaya. I asked her about the 30baht scheme and she told me that she is not covered because she does not live at home in Korat, so if she needs to go to the hospital, she has to pay. OK not quite the same given she has only been twice in the last 4 years but thats the mentality.

 

Also to the point of the poster about 22 yrs at an advanced stage - this is highly possible. The 'average' time from infection to reaching full blown AIDS without treatment is 8 years. Therefore by the use of an average, you are going to have some at 4 years and some at 12 years. Multiple infections, other STD, poor diet etc could all speed the rate in which the disease attacks the immune system - OK, 22 is young but its still highly possible.

[chilli13]

yeah I guess I made some similar thoughs while not so much economically, but more from the whole context the only choice was more whether the mother would go & see the daughter or not than making any drastic changes from the daughters life at the hospice...

 

anyways we really have no clue when she could have been infected or how quick one could die after being hiv infected, but clearly being infected before reaching say 18 is not unlikely...

 

peace

[Guest]

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