Pattaya AIDS death

[lookforzeros]

A friend of my girlfriend passed away at the start of the week due to AIDS.  She was 30 years old. She had come to Pattaya from Khon Kaen as a teenager to make money to send to her mother. The money she sent back set her mother and siblings up in a nice big, new home. When she started to notice she was losing weight and feeling sick, she went to a clinic and was eventually diagnosed as HIV+ and having developed AIDS. 

 

When she told her family, their response was awful - they called her a whore and told her to stay in Pattaya. they didn't want her bringing shame on them back home. They said she deserved to be sick for doing that kind of work. They told her not to come home. So she ended up in the care of an NGO in Pattaya. Of course, there are drugs which can prolong and improve the quality of life for HIV sufferers, even those with AIDS. But they are expensive, and this lady was now homeless and weak. There was no way she could get the treatment she needed. In her last days, she talked at the NGO to other working girls and urged them to take every chance to learn skills to get out of the game - speaking English, hairdressing and so on. There was nobody from her family at her funeral yesterday. 

[billd766]

I suspect that the family quite happily took the money she was sending home though.

[Briggsy]

There are two sides to every story. (except in Thailand where there are 93)

[KittenKong]

16 minutes ago, lookforzeros said:

There was no way she could get the treatment she needed. In her last days, she talked at the NGO to other working girls and urged them to take every chance to learn skills to get out of the game - speaking English, hairdressing and so on. There was nobody from her family at her funeral yesterday. 

 

It would be better to teach working girls to save their money and not to give it to anyone else at all, especially their family. Personally I would never rely on anyone in Thailand, regardless of skin colour, to be anything other than greedy and selfish. I think it must be something in the water here.

[jay1980]

36 minutes ago, lookforzeros said:

Of course, there are drugs which can prolong and improve the quality of life for HIV sufferers, even those with AIDS. But they are expensive, and this lady was now homeless and weak.

 

Sorry to hear of your girlfriend's friends story, I am not posting to be argumentative but one part of your post I do not feel is true is the part above. The drugs to treat HIV are now not expensive and very available, and Thai national's can get them under the 30 baht health scheme. There is a seperate dedicated building at Banglamung hospital that is open on Tuesdays and Fridays for this purpose.

 

Another very good resourse for anyone affected by HIV is here:

www.okwecare.com (website in English and Thai)

To the OP if your gf comes across any other friends in a simular situation she could pass on this information to help them.

 

RIP to your GF's friend, it is very sad to hear of someone dying at only 30 years old of a condition that can be so easily and cheaply managed in 2016.

Edited September 8, 2016 by jay1980

[lookforzeros]

17 minutes ago, jay1980 said:

 

Sorry to hear of your girlfriend's friends story, I am not posting to be argumentative but one part of your post I do not feel is true is the part above. The drugs to treat HIV are now not expensive and very available, and Thai national's can get them under the 30 baht health scheme. There is a seperate dedicated building at Banglamung hospital that is open on Tuesdays and Fridays for this purpose.

 

Another very good resourse for anyone affected by HIV is here:

www.okwecare.com (website in English and Thai)

To the OP if your gf comes across any other friends in a simular situation she could pass on this information to help them.

 

RIP to your GF's friend, it is very sad to hear of someone dying at only 30 years old of a condition that can be so easily and cheaply managed in 2016.

 

Thanks Jay, that's definitely a resource I will pass on. I don't know all the details about my GF's friend, of course. Perhaps it was just too late. She spent her life selling her body, getting beaten up, giving away her money to people who eventually rejected her. Hopefully the health scheme and resources you mentioned will be able to help others like her before it's too late.

[jay1980]

56 minutes ago, lookforzeros said:

 

Thanks Jay, that's definitely a resource I will pass on. I don't know all the details about my GF's friend, of course. Perhaps it was just too late. She spent her life selling her body, getting beaten up, giving away her money to people who eventually rejected her. Hopefully the health scheme and resources you mentioned will be able to help others like her before it's too late.

 

Another resourse I have just remebered for people like your GF's friend is this:

 

http://www.gloryhutfoundation.or.th/

 

I have been there with Thai friends to donate some food etc, they are a self help comunity giving basic accommodation for poor Thai's with HIV who have been rejected by their family's like the your GF's friend.

 

Anyone can go there and donate some food, basic toiletries or just a few baht.

 

there is actually a story on ThaiVisa about the place here:

 

 

I would guess your GF friend died of an opportunistic infection due to untreated HIV/AIDS and by the time she got help from the NGO she eventually went to for help it was too late to treat the opportunistic infection. It is very sad when people are too shy, or don't have the knowlage to get help in time

 

Thanks

 

 

Edited September 8, 2016 by jay1980

[NickJ]

Horseshit.. Meds are free.

She waited and waited. Went to a temple and did the wai thing. 

She died a unless death.

But the family thing true to nature of the Thai villagers.

Bet they have another young in they can't wait to shoot down the money pipe to Pattaya. She would-be about 14.... Just my suspicion. 

[Pdavies99]

1 hour ago, jay1980 said:

 

Sorry to hear of your girlfriend's friends story, I am not posting to be argumentative but one part of your post I do not feel is true is the part above. The drugs to treat HIV are now not expensive and very available, and Thai national's can get them under the 30 baht health scheme. There is a seperate dedicated building at Banglamung hospital that is open on Tuesdays and Fridays for this purpose.

 

Another very good resourse for anyone affected by HIV is here:

www.okwecare.com (website in English and Thai)

To the OP if your gf comes across any other friends in a simular situation she could pass on this information to help them.

 

RIP to your GF's friend, it is very sad to hear of someone dying at only 30 years old of a condition that can be so easily and cheaply managed in 2016.

 

 

Your comments are fairly correct, and I can confirm all required drugs are available for Thais in Thailand, I have worked with an NGO who help all in need with AIDS and other illnesses including somewhere to live and care, with no charge etc.

 

[champa]

I see many of lady from upcountry, end up like this lady. 

 

R.I.P. 

 

 

[Merylhighground]

Nice work Jay 1980.  Good to see informed posters able to post good info if too late in this sad, tragic case.  Thanks. I'm sure your info will of good use to many. 

[JHolmesJr]

What's truly alarming is not just how she got it, but how many others she might have passed it on to….

 

When in pattaya, make like a felafel and wrap up.

[wpcoe]

8 hours ago, jay1980 said:

 

Sorry to hear of your girlfriend's friends story, I am not posting to be argumentative but one part of your post I do not feel is true is the part above. The drugs to treat HIV are now not expensive and very available, and Thai national's can get them under the 30 baht health scheme. There is a seperate dedicated building at Banglamung hospital that is open on Tuesdays and Fridays for this purpose.

 

This is not an excuse, but possibly part of her problem:  If she didn't go through some bureaucratic process to change her official residence to Pattaya, her B30 health care coverage would only apply to hospitals in her home province.  I've heard (third-hand) that it's not always easy to change official residence for such purposes.

 

My condolences to the OP's GF.  It must have been painful to watch her friend die like that.

[manxninja]

Must have been very unlucky, its very hard to catch it unless doing risky stuff.

[orchis]

The people I know who died of aids mostly didn't get treated in time because of shame and stigma, 

not because of lack of available free drugs. Lack of education and non-adherence to medication are also reasons.

I understand for many people bureaucracy (facing it and the difficulties put up by it)

are an extra barrier to treatment.

Edited September 9, 2016 by orchis
expanded

[coppywriter]

On 08/09/2016 at 3:41 PM, jay1980 said:

 

Sorry to hear of your girlfriend's friends story, I am not posting to be argumentative but one part of your post I do not feel is true is the part above. The drugs to treat HIV are now not expensive and very available, and Thai national's can get them under the 30 baht health scheme. There is a seperate dedicated building at Banglamung hospital that is open on Tuesdays and Fridays for this purpose.

 

Another very good resourse for anyone affected by HIV is here:

www.okwecare.com (website in English and Thai)

To the OP if your gf comes across any other friends in a simular situation she could pass on this information to help them.

 

RIP to your GF's friend, it is very sad to hear of someone dying at only 30 years old of a condition that can be so easily and cheaply managed in 2016.

The Thai Red Cross also has an HIV clinic called the "Anonymous Clinic" at Ratchadamri Road close to the Silom end. It's not completely free but very reasonable as they dispense generic drugs which are cheaper, as well as branded ones.

 

It is also open to all foreigners who need it. As the name suggests, you do not have to give your name, address or any ID numbers, just fill in a simple form and they issue you a number and give you a little green card with your number on it, that you present each time you need to go there.

 

http://en.trcarc.org/?page_id=632

[coppywriter]

The Thai Red Cross also has an HIV clinic called the "Anonymous Clinic" at Ratchadamri Road close to the Silom end. It's not completely free but very reasonable as they dispense generic drugs which are cheaper, as well as branded ones.

 

It is also open to all foreigners who need it. As the name suggests, you do not have to give your name, address or any ID numbers, just fill in a simple form and they issue you a number and give you a little green card with your number on it, that you present each time you need to go there.

[williamgeorgeallen]

17 hours ago, manxninja said:

Must have been very unlucky, its very hard to catch it unless doing risky stuff.

like being a thai hooker?

i am staying up in the village with my girl and our kids. my girl was shunned when she moved down to pattaya 12 years ago. at one stage she wanted to give it up but was ridiculed when she went home. now has a nice house and 2 very white children and seems to be quite respected by the locals from what i can tell. locals stop to stare at our kids and want to hold them.  anyway many of the locals who shunned her now have daughters in phuket and pattaya. they keep their mouths shut now as there is easy money coming in.  horrible ending for the girl in this story.

[andre47]

Unfortunately many Thais are quite ignorant. I know one lady which got the diagnosis that she is HIV+ and she got the correct medication. Two year I didn't met her after that. Then she called me and told me that she feels very bad. It turned out that she did not take her medicine for over one year. I asked her why she stopped to take the medicine. She could not give me an answer. She just stopped because she felt better. Then she got tuberculosis because her CD4 count became lower than 50. And she didn't have any money to pay for her room or for food. Her family did not care about her. They just complained that she didn't send money any longer. I struggled about one year to get her back into a good condition. Now she is ok again because she take the medicine. She can work again. Sometimes it is not easy to understand Thai people. Some/many of them are like children.

[Bighel]

Am pretty sure medication is free,and I am led to believe that it is an offence to inform anyone of someone else's HIV status.....if so they have to pay compensation.

[Thingamabob]

You can get anti retro-virals very cheaply in Thailand from Govt hospitals. Why didn't somebody tell her ? Very sorry for her. Very sad.

[mesterm]

On 9/8/2016 at 2:16 PM, Briggsy said:

There are two sides to every story. (except in Thailand where there are 93)

 

One from each family member.

[mesterm]

On 9/8/2016 at 2:13 PM, billd766 said:

I suspect that the family quite happily took the money she was sending home though.

 

Guess they didn't find that shameful, eh?

[mfd101]

Ignorance, reinforced by illiteracy and combined with a host of basic irrationalities, is a formidable enemy. A decent education system would be a strong weapon but I fear this is a 50-year project ...

[Rimmer]

A troll post has been removed

[dotpoom]

A very sad story....may she RIP.

 The Nuns have a center in Soi 25 Naklua that for free offer skills to bar ladies who wish to "get out". Skills like computers, English, German (I think) Massage etc.,.

[stephenterry]

Very sad for anyone to die at age 30 from an AIDS related illness, especially as this chronic disease can be treated nowadays, and sufferers can live a 'normal' life while taking appropriate and not costly medication. Regrettably, the stigma of HIV/AIDS permeates through Thai society, and especially at grass roots level where such education is sparse at best.

 

Which probably accounts for a major part of the family's rejection, as they themselves would have been outcasts in their locality if they had taken her back. The thinking, if I'm correct is that they could believe that the disease could be passed on by bodily contact, and it is a common fear among uneducated people - and others more educated as well, which gives rise to unfounded rumours and statements about HIV/AIDS. Still believe in spirits and ghosts etc etc. 

 

As to calling her a whore, and not attending her funeral, that's to save face among their neighbours. It is a sad reaction, but a common one - as I would surmise behind closed doors at least one parent would be grieving her loss (as a daughter and not an ATM provider).   

 

Time to visit the temple, and thank Buddha, I guess.

 

[manarak]

previous posters pointing out Thais' "fatalist" approach to illnesses are right - the number one factor in these deaths are the girls themselves, because first most don't want to take tests to know their status, second when they know they are ill, most don't go seek treatment, although it is available.

[KKr]

RIP,
another victim of irresponsible customers.
 

No comments about the relatives, they don't deserve it.

Edited September 11, 2016 by KKr

[Missing Troll]

The big problem for all sex workers is that the shame of being infected with HIV make them suffer in the dark. There is free medications and even if you have contracted AIDS the medication can help you bring up T-cells and also help your viral load decrease to undetectable. Thailand is still so under educated when it comes to HIV and that's a shame. The Red Cross and some other organisation does a great job informing sex workers but it's missing a education for the general population in the villages around. I have friends that live in Isan and have to go to Pattaya to get medications even though they can get free medication locally, but they are afraid hospital workers will tell friends and the news comes to their families and then they are shunned.