It's some time since I updated my posts on my Thai boyfriend's condition following his very serious bouts of illness after his diagnosis as HIV+. I've just returned from seeing him and I'm happy to report that it's nearly all good news. He looks strong and healthy and his efforts to regain weight after becoming so painfully thin have, perhaps, been too successful as he's developed a "stomach" and says "me like moo" (I look like a pig).
A very obvious improvement is his skin which is now smooth and firm. Two years ago it was covered in sores which became infected and his back looked dreadful. Today the scars are very few and you'd never know the problems he'd had. His hair had become thin and receded at the front but is now thick and healthy looking although, sadly, he dyes it a colour he calls "Chocolate" which I hate.
His upper body shows more muscle now and we are a close match at arm wrestling (not a regular activity of mine but a useful way of monitoring his increasing strength which was, at one point, badly affected by muscle wasting which was never really explained. He lost all the strength in his legs at one point and couldn't even stand).
His CD4 count had remained low for over a year but suddenly climbed and has continued to rise for the last seven months.
Cataract operations on both eyes have been a complete success despite him discharging himself early from hospital. He left with one eye covered and only partial vision from the other as he peered out from beneath a bandage.
My main worry is his dependence on sleeping pills. He had severe problems sleeping when he was first ill and now adds an extra dose, which he buys, to the ones he's still prescribed. He won't accept that it's not a good idea and says he can't sleep without them. I don't like to lecture him after all he's been through. I can certainly report that he sleeps solidly through the night and snores loudly for most of the time. My earplugs are a standing joke between us.
I was glad to be able to sort out some confusion about his anti-virals. I was worried that his combination of anti-virals was being changed because of availability problems with the Thai "one size fits all" pill. But it is only the way they are being delivered and not the basic constituents that has changed and he now takes them as three pills rather than one.
As well as his overwhelming determination to survive I put a lot of my boyfriend's survival down to his genes. His grandmother, who'd still still lucid and active, is 104. His grandfather is less active following a fall but isn't doing badly considering he's 100. Sadly a powerful storm in Ratchaburi prevented us visiting his grandmother as the roads had were becoming flooded and it didn't seem wise to continue from our first stop to see his mother.
I still support him and pay his bills but I'm much more optimistic that he will soon get a job and support himself. He's probably unusual for a Thai of his age (31) in that he owns his house so that saves him (me) money. But he wants to leave the area where people know his HIV status and where he suffers some prejudice.
We'll be returning to Cambodia at Christmas for a holiday which we both enjoyed before he became so ill. It's a measure of his improvement that I feel confident enough to think about taking him out of Thailand which I never thought I would again.
So a great trip even with storms and temperatures around a 100┬░ at one point. I just don't have time to acclimatise in a short trip but will be in Thailand longer at Christmas and the New Year when the weather should suit me better anyway.
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Originally Posted by John Botting
