Let me introduce you to a couple of bloggers who author Bent Collective. They are Steve O’Brien and Al Rae, authors of Bent Collective. I have mentioned in the past that Steve is a favorite blogger because of his many and varied humanitarian projects in medicine, as well as his amazing talent as a prolific writer. From working in the Sudan and in Africa to aiding the victims of Katrina in New Orleans, Steve uses his extensive medical education to care for people who often live in areas that blatantly lack in comparison to the Western world. To say I see this gentleman as modern day hero would be an accurate assumption.

Steve has his masters degree in the nurse practitioner program at UCLA, and is currently studying for his PhD on a specialization in HIV clinical management from an underserved urban and international perspective.

Al has is transitioning from a masters in literature to a PhD in the written referencing of pandemics and disease, from Bubonic Plague to HIV. He is currently working in the ethical research field, in the area of measuring emergency treatment and functional outcomes. He was and still is an advanced life support paramedic. Al spent a year in Bosnia with the restoration project. He helped train and set up the first post war air ambulance system. As well Steve and Al worked together in Sudan their last year there.

Both Steve and Al learned they had a rare genetic cell mutation known as a CCR5 delta 32 panel deletion. That means both gentlemen have an immunity to HIV/AIDS. They are part of a study of this immunity that is ongoing. On Bent Collective, these gentlemen discuss their status in greater detail and how it effects their lives and perspectives.

Right now, Steve is working with a medical team over in Uzbekistan administering medical care. It is an area of the world that doesn’t recognized HIV/AIDS as a problem for the Islamic community. His willingness to travel to a country that is surrounded with political upheaval and give aid to the people who live there has garnered my respect, admiration and support. I have kept in contact with Steve via email and his and Al’s blog Bent Collective.

I am honored to call both of these men my friends, and I met them through blogging. Steve’s work in Uzbekistan is desperately needed, and Steve is deserving of all the support his friends and readers can share with him. I know Al has been a great supporter and intrical part of Steve’s communication with those of us here in the United States and in Canada.

I highly recommend checking out and reading about Steve’s Humanitarian adventures in Uzbekistan and those from his past in Africa, Thailand, Sudan and New Orleans. If we could clone a few more Steves and Als, I do believe the world would be a much kinder place to live. As I keep in touch with Steve through email, I would very much like to send him support from a wider range of bloggers, known as the readers here at Stumbling/Grace, as he continues his humanitarian efforts over in Uzbekistan.