Monday, October 20, 2008

HIV/AIDS

"You have no T-cells at all, none that we can detect" (pg. 11)

In this simple aside sentence, Cunningham informs the reader that Richard suffers from the HIV/AIDS virus. HIV (which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus) finds and kills certain white bloods cells (T-cells) that fight infections. AIDS (which stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is the final stage of the HIV. Richard is in the final stage of HIV and even though there are new drugs for him to take to try and save his body, Cunningham makes it clear that Richard's mind is beyond repair.

Link: http://www.aids.gov/basic/overview/index.html

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