RICK’S STORY-LIVING WITH HIV

RICK’S STORY-LIVING WITH HIV

MASTER TEACHER Helen Mebane

GRADES 7 TO 10

OVERVIEW
This video provides the personal story of Rick Harrington who is 13 years old and is HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) positive. He contracted the virus from his mother at birth. He is taking Endenovir, a risky new drug which may prolong his life. Even though the video was produced in 1996, it has an excellent animation of how the HIV virus works and how this new drug slows down the HIV virus from entering the healthy T cells which protect our bodies from infection. Students will also simulate contracting the HIV virus by doing a hands-on lab activity.

ITV SERIES
Teen Issue Series: #108 Living with HIV

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to:
* identify the ways the HIV virus may be transmitted
* describe the different ways HIV virus may not be transmitted
* explain how the HIV virus attaches to the healthy T cells
* simulate the transmission of the AIDS virus
* graph the rate of infection in a given population, using data collected in the classroom and predict the future growth of this epidemic

MATERIALS
Handout - Questions pertaining to the video
Phenol red (indicator)
0.001 M HCl (See Activity on AIDS on how to make this solution)
0.1 M NaOH
a large beaker
a test tube rack
Note: Above chemicals may be purchased from Flinn Scientific, Inc. See Activity on AIDS handout

(per student)
Handout - Activity on AIDS
one test tube with either weak HCl or weak NaOH (which you will make from following the procedure in Activity on AIDS)
one eyedropper
safety goggles
graph paper
ruler

VOCABULARY
World Health Organization - the largest biological medical center in the world
AIDS - Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
HIV- human immunodeficiency virus which is the late stage of infection
semen- male’s sperm
Endenovir- a risky drug used to prevent the HIV virus from entering the healthy T cells
Protease inhibitor- enables Endenovir to prohibit the AIDS virus from entering the T cells
T cells- white blood cells that fight off diseases

PREVIEWING ACTIVITIES
Ask your students if they know anyone (famous person or not) with HIV. Say, “Today, we are going to view a video about Rick Harrington. A 13 year old, who got the HIV virus from his mother. It will show how he lives with this disease every day.” Then ask, “How does someone contract AIDS/HIV? (It’s contracted by exchange of bodily fluids.) Can you name at least eight ways someone may contract AIDS/HIV?” (Sexual contact with an infected person, blood transfusions, organ transplants, infected mother before of after childbirth, infected mother’s milk, blood exchange in fighting, tattooing, and biting.)

FOCUS FOR VIEWING
Say, “As part of our study of viral diseases, we will learn some ways in which people may contract the HIV virus.” To give the students a specific responsibility while viewing say, “I want you to look for two ways children might contract the HIV virus. You will need to record the answers to the questions on your activity sheet while viewing Rick’s Story.” Teacher then passes out the activity sheet.

VIEWING ACTIVITIES
Begin the tape where Tracy Smith says, “According to the World Heath Organization, there are currently 15 million people living with AIDS, one million new cases are reported each year, and about 1750 babies are reported to have HIV in the United States.”

Pause the tape after you see Tracy stop walking and look straight into the camera. You will hear her say, “...birthing process or nursing their mother’s milk.” Have students look at the activity sheet, review the first statement on the handout. “___ are some of the ways some children may contract the HIV virus.” (Birthing process or nursing their mother milk are some of the ways children may contract the HIV virus. Most children die after contacting AIDS but other who receive treatment early are living much longer.) Now listen to learn the condition of the immune system of a person with AIDS/HIV.

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you see Rick emptying his pill bottle on the palm of his hand. You will hear him say, “I’m considered to have full blown AIDS and ...depressed.” Ask the students to complete the second statement on the handout, “People with AIDS/HIV have ___ the immune systems.” (People with AIDS/HIV have depressed the immune systems. The immune system is what fights off diseases.) In the next section listen to learn why Rick has choosen not to attend school.

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you see Rick sitting at his desk. You will hear him say, “I choose not to go to school because...” Ask students to answer the third question on the handout. “I choose not to go to school because kids may get chicken pox, measles, or a common cold which could kill me if I were at school.) In the next segment learn why students with HIV are discouraged form playing contact sports.

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you see Dr. Pizzo talking at his desk. You will hear him say, “...discourage against HIV students.” Ask students to complete the fourth question on the handout. “Why do doctors discourage HIV students from playing contact sports?” (Doctors discourage HIV students from playing contact sports because if they get their blood on someone’s skin; they could infect someone.) Now listen to learn how a person contracts HIV.

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you see Rick riding his bike on the street and jump a small ramp. You will hear him say, “...found in semen, breast milk...” Ask students to complete the fifth statement on the handout. “The HIV virus is found in (4 answers) and not in (4 answers” (It is found on semen, breast milk, blood, vaginal fluids but not on sweat, urine, or by hugging, or kissing. You do not get it by casual contact.) Learn in the next section how important attitude can be in fighting HIV.

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you see his younger brother run out in the street after Rick. You will hear Rick say, “...positive attitude.” Ask students to complete the sixth question on the handout. “What is very important for anyone fighting HIV?” (Positive attitude is very important for fighting HIV.) In the next section listen to learn what drugs are available to fight HIV.

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you see Tracy walk into the studio. You will hear her say, “...nineteen drugs.” Ask students to complete the seventh statement on the handout. “Currently, there are ___ approved drugs to fight HIV infections” (Currently, there are nineteen drugs approved to fight HIV infections. Most work for a short period of time but the virus mutates; it finds a way around the drug.) Say, “Since this video was made in 1996, do you think this number might change in the future?” (Answers may vary according to students’ opinions.) Listen to learn how scientists test new drugs for HIV.

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you see Tracy standing in front of a TV with “Living with HIV” on the screen. You will hear her say, “...scientists test new therapy drugs.” Ask students to complete the eighth question on the handout. “How do scientists test their new therapy drugs?” (Scientists test over 100 new therapy drugs in test tubes, animals and humans beings. People risk unknown side effects to live longer. But for Rick the side effects outweigh the risks.) In the next section you will learn what role the National Institute of Health plays in dealing with HIV.

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you see Serena Altschul talking with Dr. Pizzo. You will hear her say, “...the role of NIH.” Ask students to complete the ninth question on the handout. “What is the role of the NIH in relation to AIDS research and epidermic? (The NIH “National Institute of Health” is the largest biomedical center research in the world. Its job is to explore treatments and preventions, and to understand the mechanics of the disease.) Rick is a piooneer. Leran why he is considered one in the next section.

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you see Rick and Serena in a hotel room. You will hear him say, “...fifth kid in the world.” Ask students to complete the tenth statement on the handout. “I’m only the ___kid in the world to be on this new experimental drug. (The drug which I am going to be on now, I’m the fifth kid in the world to be on this new experperimental drug. In the video Rick say, “They haven’t seen the results on a kid but it’s suppose to be working great in test tubes.” Dr. Pizzo says, “Ideally, several scenarios show the HIV virus decreases and the immune cells go up. We hope that we can help him. Rick is like a pioneer in this regard.”) Now learn what precautions are taken beforeRick starts a new drug.

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you see a nurse with a blue sweater. You will hear her say, “...complete physical.” Ask students to complete the eleventh statement on the handout. “Before starting a new drug, he has a ___ physical.” (complete) Learn why Rick is willing to risk trying new drugs.

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you see Rick hooked up to new drug. You will hear Serena say, “...risky business.” Ask students to complete the twelfth question on the handout. “Do you feel this is risky business?” (Yes, but what is my alternative...dying?) In the next section learn if Dr. Pizzo believes there is a cure for HIV.

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you see Serena talking to Dr. Pizzo. You will hear her say, “...cure or vaccine.” Ask students to complete the thirteenth question on the handout. Is there going to be a future long-term control or potential cure? (If I didn’t believe there was going to be a cure or vaccine in the future. I shouldn’t be working here.) Learn what Rick believes about the future in this next segment.

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you see Rick wearing a blue cap with Serena. You will hear Rick say, “...best possible things to happen.” Ask students to complete the fourteenth question on the handout. “Do you have any fears?” (I hope for the best possible thing to happen everyday.) Rick has written on how he plans to live his life. Listen for his plans.

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you see Rick reading a letter he wrote. You will hear him say, “...educate people.” Ask students to complete the fifteenth statement on the handout. “On my good days, I intend to ___ ___and live my life to the fullest. On days I don’t feel well, I plan to ___ .” (On my good days, I intend to educate people and live my life to the fullest. On days I don’t feel well, I plan to stay close to the people who love me the most.) How did the new drug wotk for Rick? Find out in the next segment.

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you see Tracy. You will hear her say, “...loss of weight ...” Ask students to complete the sixteenth question on the handout. “Did the new drug work on Rick?” (It didn’t work...he lost weight, wasn’t feeling well, and slept a lot.) What does Rick take next and what is it like?

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you see Rick tapping the bottle of medicine into his mouth. You will hear Tracy say, “...Endenovir.” Ask students to complete the seventeenth statement on the handout. “Endenovir tastes sweet, like baby aspirin but it is very bitter, like ___.” (Tracy Smith puts her finger into the small bottle of Rick’s mediation. She tastes the medicine and Endenovir tastes sweet, like a baby aspirin but it is very bitter, like sucking on a metal...a horrorable taste!) In the next segment you’ll find out hwo HIV affects a person’s cells. Listen closely.

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you see the animation of HIV attacking the T cell. You will hear Dr. Pizzo say, “...healthy cell.” Ask students to complete the eighteenth statement on the handout. “HIV virus cannot live on its own. It must get into a __ cell.”(It must get into a healthy cell to find a building block to make more of its own. It attaches to a T cell which protects our bodies from infection. HIV converts the healthy T cell into a factory for more production of HIV.) How does Protease work? Learn in this next section.

Resume the tape. Pause the tape after you hear, “...locking on the T cell.” Ask students to complete the nineteenth statement on the handout. “Protease inhibitor prevents the virus from locking on the T cells. (It gives the T cell a fighting chance to wart off infection. Doctors believe the protease prohibitor slows down or stops the production of the HIV viruses. It allows the patient time to gain strength and maybe a new drug may come by to be a cure. It may buy some valuable time, six months to one year, for another discovery.)

Stop and eject the tape after you see Rick looking around with his blue cap in slow motion. Now ask the students, “...For question number twenty, write any other questions you may have after viewing this video on the HIV virus.”

POSTVIEWING ACTIVITIES
Say, “We have just learned from viewing the video how the AIDS virus may be contracted. Now, we will do a simulation of the transmission of AIDS virus through random selection.” Say, “Each of you will receive one test tube and one eyedropper. The clear liquids in the test tubes represent normal body fluids. One of the test tubes has a liquid that represents the body fluids of a person infected with the AIDS virus. Now, each of you will choose a total of four people with which to exchange a eyedropper full of liquid. Remember, you will put an eyedropper full of liquid into your partner’s test tube, and they will place an eyedropper full of liquid into your test tube. Watch this demonstration! Are there any questions on how to do this?”

Record the names of the four students with whom you did the exchange on your lab paper. When four exchanges are complete, return to your seats.

Next, the teacher will add two drops of phenol red (an indicator) to each test tube. The test tubes which turn to a bright pink color are infected with AIDS virus. The test tubes that turn a bright yellow are not infected.

After all the results have been recorded say, “Is it possible to determine who was the original carrier of the AIDS virus?” No, it’s impossible to determine who started this epidemic.

Now look at second page of the activity sheet and fill in the answers from your data collected in the classroom.

ACTION PLAN
Have a physician from your town, county health department, or the school nurse come to your classroom to speak about AIDS/HIV virus epidemic.

Write Dr. John Alderete, a professor of microbiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. You may read his biography at http://www.sacnas.org/bio/aldemid.html or write him through e-mail at alderete@uthscsa.edu

EXTENSIONS
SCIENCE
Students may download frequently asked questions about AIDS and HIV from these websites:
http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/topics/aids_basics/
http://www.avert.org/faq1.htm
http://www.avert.org/symptoms.htm
http://www.avert.org/geninfo.htm
HISTORY
Using the internet, determine the past number of infected cases of HIV people and predict the future number of people to be infected in year 2000. See website: http://www.avert.org/statindx.htm

Using a world map, locate the countries or states which have the highest reported percentage of infected people with HIV. See website: http://www.avert.org/worldstats.htm
Record a hypothesis on why you think that country or states has the highest number of HIV cases.
MATH
Using the internet, what would be your prediction of infected HIV people in the years 2005, 2010, and 2015.
ENGLISH
Students may draw a poster and write a short explanation on how AIDS/HIV virus may not be transmitted by donating blood, mosquitoes bites or other bugs bites, hugging, shaking hands, kissing, coughing, sneezing, using swimming pools or toilet seats, and sharing cups, utensils, or telephones.

Activity Sheet

1. ________________ and ___________________are some of the ways some children may contract the HIV virus. (List 2)

2. People with AIDS/HIV have _________________ the immune systems.

3. I (Rick) choose not to go to school because____________

________________________________________________.

4. Why do doctors discourage HIV students from playing contact sports?____________________________________

________________________________________________

5. HIV virus is found in (4 answers) and not in (4 answers). __________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

6. What is very important for anyone fighting HIV? ________________________________________________

7. Currently, there are ____________________ approved drugs to fight HIV infections.

8. How do scientists test their new therapy drugs?

_________________________________________________

9. What is the role of the NIH in relation to AIDS research and epidermic?____________________________________

________________________________________________

10. Rick is only the ______________ kid in the world to be on this new experimental drug.

11. Before starting a new drug, he has a ___________________ physical.

12. Do Rick feel this is risky business? ________________________________________

13. Is there going to be a future long-term control or potential cure? ___________________________________________

________________________________________________

14. Does Rick have any fears?________________________

15. On my good days, he intends to _______________ _______________ and live my life to the fullest. On days I don’t feel well, I plan to ____________________________

___________________________________________________.

16. Did the new drug work on Rick? ___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

17. ________________ tastes sweet, like baby aspirin but then it is like _____________________________________

___________________________________________________.

18. HIV virus cannot live on its own. It must get into an ______________________ cell.

19. Protease inhibitor prevents the virus in ___________________________________.

20. Write any questions you may have after viewing the video on HIV virus. ___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

ACTIVITY ON AIDS

Objective: To observe how the AIDS virus (simulation) is transmitted through random selection.

Background: In this simulation, students will be given a diluted HCl acid (Hydrochloric acid) which has the same acid strength as vinegar and a weak base NaOH (Sodium hydroxide). 0.001 M HCl (M stands for molar and HCl stands for Hydrochloric acid). This solution is made by dissolving 1 milliliters of HCl in 99 milliliters of distilled water.
0.1 M NaOH (M stands for molar and NaOH stands for Sodium Hydroxide). This solution is ready to use from Flinn Scientific.
HCl may be purchased for $5.80 by ordering catalog H0014. NaOH may be purchased for $5.30 by ordering catalog S0149. Phenol red may be purchased for $4.15 by ordering catalog P0100. All chemicals may be ordered from Flinn Scientific, Inc. Pipets or medicine droppers may also be purchased for $2.28 for a package of twelve by ordering catalog AP 5102. Flinn’s address is P. O. Box 219, Batavia, IL 60510-0219. Telephone 1-800-452-1261 or Fax (630) 879-6962. Prices are guaranted until January 31, 2000.

Students need to use caution when dealing with acids and bases and if these solutions come in contact with their skin or clothing. They should flood the affected areas with lots of water.

Materials:
Phenol red (indicator)
0.001 M HCl
0.1 M NaOH
a large beaker
a test tube rack

(per student)
Handout - Activity on AIDS
a clean test tube
an eyedropper.
each student with the exception of one with three pipettesful of diluted HCl in their test tube
one student will receive a test tube of diluted NaOH
safety goggles
graph paper
ruler

Procedure:
1. The teacher will demonstrate the chemical reactions which occur in an acid/base reaction. When two drops of phenol red are placed into the diluted HCl, the solution becomes bright yellow. When two drops of phenol red are placed into the diluted NaCl, the solution becomes bright pink. This is the simulation of the AIDS virus.

2. The teacher will discuss the math variable and probabilities of the student population contracting the AIDS virus. Next, the teacher will discuss the type of lifestyle someone may have which increases their risk of contracting the virus. What are some generalizations of individuals because of their sex, age, occupation, rural/urban status or other factors may become infected with AIDS? Next, the teacher will discuss the ways bodily fluids are exchanged in order for the transmission of AIDS to occur (sexual contact, blood transfusion, or sharing needles among drug users).

3. Each student with the exception of one will be given a clean test tube containing three pipettesful of diluted HCl and one eyedropper.

4. Only student is given a test tube which contains the diluted NaOH. This student is unaware of this fact since the liquid looks the same as in all the other test tubes. The teacher may want to mark this test tube.

5. Each student exchanges a dropperful of solution with four other students. This exchange is made by putting a dropperful of his of her solution into the other student’s test tube. This represents the exchange of bodily fluids. Record the names of the students with whom the exchanges are made.

6. After students have completed four exchanges, ask them to bring their test tube to the front of the classroom.

7. Students then gently place their used eyedroppers into a large beaker. The teacher will then add two drops of phenol red to each student’s test tube. Remember, infected solutions turn pink and others turn yellow. Separate all the test tubes in the test tube rack; the ones infected on one side and others on the opposite side.
8. Ask those who have becomed infected to step aside so that all the students may see what proportions of the class became infected with the AIDS virus.

Note: If two “infected” test tubes diluted NaOH are used, then the results will be more dramatic!

Results: Name the four people with whom who exchanged bodily fluids with:
Exchanged first with ___________________, second with ____________________,

third with _____________________ and fourth with ___________________________.

Beginning of simulation the number of students with
the number of students diluted NaCl= ___________
with diluted HCl = _________

After the four exchanges
the number of students                 the number of students
with AIDS = _____________     which did not get AIDS =
                                                    _____________

Conclusions:

1. Explain how you felt if you were one of the students who became infected with AIDS

___________________________________________________

2. Explain how you felt if you were one of the students who did not become infected with AIDS
___________________________________________________

3. Explain in your own words what type of individual would most likely become infected with AIDS because of their lifestyle (sex, age, occupation, rural/urban status or other factors) ___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

4. Using the graph paper provided, graph your results by determining the rate of infection collected in this classroom. Predict the future growth of the AIDS epidemic in our school.

___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

Updated: April 01, 2008