AIDS. I bow my head in respect for the memory of Freddy Mercury and others who died from AIDS, especially within the first 10 years after it was recognized in 1981-1982.
Having lived through the 1980s (and earlier), I remember clearly how puzzled we all were by news reports about something killing homosexual men in North America in the early 1980s. AIDS was not even named until September 24, 1982. Yes, please note that Bohemian Rhapsody was written well before that, in 1975.
@AstaTone I remember that too. At one point some doctors and researchers were calling it "4H disease," the four Hs being homosexuals (actually it's only gay men who are at particular risk, lesbians are the lowest-risk group with regard to sexual orientation), Haitians (from some kind of ritual involving blood), heroin users (still a major high-risk group, from sharing needles), and hemophiliacs (from contaminated blood products). We've really come a long way since then in terms of being able to treat/manage it. Now it's "living with AIDS" instead of "dying of AIDS." I remember the excitement...
@AstaTone I remember that too. At one point some doctors and researchers were calling it "4H disease," the four Hs being homosexuals (actually it's only gay men who are at particular risk, lesbians are the lowest-risk group with regard to sexual orientation), Haitians (from some kind of ritual involving blood), heroin users (still a major high-risk group, from sharing needles), and hemophiliacs (from contaminated blood products). We've really come a long way since then in terms of being able to treat/manage it. Now it's "living with AIDS" instead of "dying of AIDS." I remember the excitement when the first antiretroviral drug, the reverse transcriptase inhibitor AZT, became available.
I once had a kind of pneumonia that's particularly common among people with AIDS (not sure if it was the kind that killed Freddie). I have a normally-functioning immune system, but I was in the ICU for weeks and at first they were worried I was going to die. I can only imagine how bad it must be for someone who has AIDS.
AIDS. I bow my head in respect for the memory of Freddy Mercury and others who died from AIDS, especially within the first 10 years after it was recognized in 1981-1982.
Having lived through the 1980s (and earlier), I remember clearly how puzzled we all were by news reports about something killing homosexual men in North America in the early 1980s. AIDS was not even named until September 24, 1982. Yes, please note that Bohemian Rhapsody was written well before that, in 1975.
thank you I thought I was going to explain it
thank you I thought I was going to explain it
@AstaTone I remember that too. At one point some doctors and researchers were calling it "4H disease," the four Hs being homosexuals (actually it's only gay men who are at particular risk, lesbians are the lowest-risk group with regard to sexual orientation), Haitians (from some kind of ritual involving blood), heroin users (still a major high-risk group, from sharing needles), and hemophiliacs (from contaminated blood products). We've really come a long way since then in terms of being able to treat/manage it. Now it's "living with AIDS" instead of "dying of AIDS." I remember the excitement...
@AstaTone I remember that too. At one point some doctors and researchers were calling it "4H disease," the four Hs being homosexuals (actually it's only gay men who are at particular risk, lesbians are the lowest-risk group with regard to sexual orientation), Haitians (from some kind of ritual involving blood), heroin users (still a major high-risk group, from sharing needles), and hemophiliacs (from contaminated blood products). We've really come a long way since then in terms of being able to treat/manage it. Now it's "living with AIDS" instead of "dying of AIDS." I remember the excitement when the first antiretroviral drug, the reverse transcriptase inhibitor AZT, became available.
I once had a kind of pneumonia that's particularly common among people with AIDS (not sure if it was the kind that killed Freddie). I have a normally-functioning immune system, but I was in the ICU for weeks and at first they were worried I was going to die. I can only imagine how bad it must be for someone who has AIDS.