My Disease is worse than yours

Yesterday I was reading various tweets on Twitter and clicked on a link to an article about HIV. It talked about how HIV isn't a death sentence anymore. It also talked about how HIV is compared to having diabetes - both are considered manageable diseases. In the comments section of the article, people were arguing about how their disease is worse than HIV. Specifically there were people arguing about whether having HIV or Diabetes was worse.

When I was first diagnosed with HIV a few thoughts ran through my head. How bad is this? Am I going to die right away? If I go on medications will I have horrible side effects? Will my friends and family still love me? And so on. The next week I met with my HIV doctor, an infectious disease specialist. The first thing he said to me is, HIV isn't a death sentence, it's like having diabetes. Both are manageable chronic illnesses. Both require daily medications to control the disease. Both can result in death or other illnesses if not managed properly. Type 1 Diabetics have to inject insulin everyday. I get to swallow pills. Both HIV and Type 1 Diabetes have no cure.

According to the Mayo Clinic website, the theory behind Type 1 Diabetes is the immune system destroys insulin producing islet cells. Complications of Type 1 Diabetes include:

• Heart and blood vessel disease
• Neuropathy
• Kidney damage
• Eye Damage
• Foot Damage
• Skin and mouth conditions
• Osteoporosis

According to the Mayo Clinic website, HIV destroys CD4 cells which play a roll in protecting the immune system. When CD4 cells are destroyed, the immune system becomes compromised. Complications include:

• Tuberculosis
• Cytomegalovirus (can cause damage to eyes, digestive tract and more)
• Neuropathy
• Kidney Disease
• Cryptococcal Meningitis
• Kaposi's Sarcoma

You're probably wondering why I am comparing the diseases. The reason I am comparing them, is I want to know, is one disease truly worse than the other? I don't believe so. Both diseases are horrible diseases to have. Both diseases affect quality of life. Both diseases can lead to serious complications and/or death. Looking at the complications, they are quite similar and serious in nature. Both can result in neuropathy, kidney damage and damage to the eyes. Is it fair to say my disease is worse than yours? I don't believe so. Is it fair to say some diseases are more serious than others? Absolutely. At the end of the day, how bad a disease is for someone is for that person to decide. 

I was shocked to see how many people in the comment sections of that article were trying to say "their disease was worse than someone else's, or worse than HIV. I think as human beings, not all, but a lot like to have a pity party. It helps us deal with what is affecting us. I don't agree with saying my disease is worse than yours. I don't know how your disease affects you, I am not you. I only know how my disease affects me. If it's horrible to me, then it's horrible. If your disease is horrible for you, then it's horrible. It's all relative to that person, to their circumstances, their life. 

Instead of judging each other and trying to compete with each other, using are diseases as a game, let's show compassion for each other. Let's try to understand each other and be there for each other.