Hope Survives- 30 Years of AIDS with Anderson Cooper

It's been 30 years since HIV received its name. Today a friend told me that this Friday, Anderson Cooper will be hosting a special on CNN called “Hope Survives-30 Years of AIDS”.
Wow! 30 years. That made my mind reel with the implications of what happened over the past 30 years. I'm initially struck by how many people died in the early stages, the mid-to-late 1980s. And then in the early 1990s we had hope with some new treatments. But I still watched one of my friends come to work one day with red splotches on his cheek.
Billy died three months later.

Then there was my roommate Rick. Rick and his partner Jeff had contracted HIV in the late 80's. We buried Jeff the year before Billy and Rick was living every day like it was his last. Making every moment count. Rick hung in there until about five years ago. I still miss him.
And then of course in the mid-90s I was infected. I faced the same fear and shame that everyone else did. Perhaps a bit more, having been negative watching my friends Billy and Jeff die.
I watched Rick, over the years, take medication that would make him so sick he couldn't even go to work waiting tables. Even when I suspected I had been infected by HIV I didn't want to be on those meds...officially I didn't find out until 1999. Yes... I was one of those.

When I finally did find out, the doctor immediately put me on a AZT which laid me out flat on the sofa. We know now that that was because of the kidney failure that was slowly creeping up on me, but still, AZT, what a nasty drug.
When I finally went on anti-retroviral treatment they had added the protease inhibitor's...I was now on a "cocktail" as they liked to refer to it.  I responded much like most people do. Within 30 days I had an undetectable viral load and my T-cell count began climbing.

Since that day in 1999, I have always taken care of myself and looked at life as if it were short. Now I look at it like everyone else does.....maybe I will actually GET to use my retirement. Maybe i'll live long enough to see some more really great things happen. Maybe i'll live long enough to see a cure for this illness.

Join me and watch "Hope Survives-30 Years of AIDS" this Friday night on CNN

Bye for now,

Red

Pro Ball Player Hiding his HIV Status? Sad...very, very, sad.

Roberto Alomar, Steroids and HIV

By The POZ Staff on January 6, 2011 11:28 AM | 5 Comments

By Ian Anderson (President, Smart + Strong)

Is former second baseman Roberto Alomar HIV positive? If so, did he hide his status to engage in unprotected sex with his wife? Yes or no, congratulations are still in order for becoming the newest member of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. He was elected to the Hall of Fame after being picked on a whopping 90 percent of the ballots (75 percent is needed to get elected).

He was a 12-time All-Star, won a record 10 Gold Gloves at second base, hit .300 and helped the Toronto Blue Jays win titles in 1992-93. ESPN also called him smart, graceful and acrobatic on the field.

All of the stories about Alomar's induction also cover the players who didn't get in this year because of their ties to the "Steroid Era." These are the players with big numbers and even bigger muscles.

"We are asked to consider character when casting Hall of Fame votes, and I don't believe those who used performance-enhancing substances meet that standard," Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle said in an e-mail to ESPN.

The only blemish mentioned on Alomar's record? He had an incident in 1996 where he spit on umpire John Hirschbeck. It received a lot of play in the media at the time and was amicably settled in a very public display early the following baseball season.

What is missing from most of the reports I've read so far is any mention of his more recent problems. The one where his wife accused him of hiding his HIV status in order to have unprotected sex with her.

Nothing has been proved when it comes to the case. But as Yahoo! contributor Ron Hart wrote: "The facts include that Alomar has denied the allegations, though did settle one out of court and [did] not countersue for slander...all of which would give anybody pause..."

So at a time when HIV-positive people like Willie Campbell are getting jailed for spitting on people, which has virtually zero chance of spreading the virus, the Hall of Fame voting committee is more worried about who did and didn't use steroids.

On the one hand, it is encouraging that Alomar's HIV status didn't factor into the committee's decision and the media reporting of it. On the other, you have to wonder what will happen if it turns out he is HIV positive--and if that was his status when he had that little spitting incident. 

 

Article Courtesy of POZ magazine!

Red

Strength in Numbers 2011!

Welcome 2011! we've been waiting for you! Especially those of us living with HIV/AIDS. For us and anyone living with a chronic illness, everyday is a battle. First you wake up in the morning, you take a deep breath and open  your eyes, and stretch and you realize you made it to another day. There may be pain, there may be sorrow, and there will most certainly be fear, but there will also be joy, laughter, happiness and love.

Sometimes it's very hard getting through the holidays living with a chronic illness, HIV/AIDS is not alone in that fact . I belong to a social group called strength in numbers, SiN for short. It is a health and wellness social group through Yahoo groups. It was founded on the idea of sero sorting. Basically that means that we date within our own community of HIV-positive people ensuring that we are not spreading the disease, even by accident. It has turned into a huge social network of fun and support for those of us living with HIV/AIDS. I receive daily e-mails from the group about functions, support groups, yoga classes and other fun events. For instance every year our group plans a trip to the Disney gay dayz and twice a year there is a group of us that get together to go on a cruise. While not specifically an HIV-positive cruise, nevertheless it is a group of like-minded men and women who are generally together to support and nurture each other.

Sometimes along the way you're lucky and you meet someone you fall in love with. It happened to me in the most unlikely person I could think of. Unfortunately while we love each other very much were not good together and this New Year's Eve, while I couldn't be with him, I raised a glass to him thanking him for reminding me what love was.

Yesterday, New Year's Eve 2010, I got an e-mail that was very down and sad from somebody within my SiN group. While I love to write and I'm finding it a great talent that I have, I still am uncomfortable being in the public eye. I don't usually respond to group emails, but I couldn't stand by and say nothing while this person was obviously hurting. There may be others out there feeling the same way. So I sent an e-mail to the entire strength in numbers group in New York City. Here is what I said:

"Hi Everyone,

I see a lot of people lately that seem to really be down about the holidays.....I know this can be a really tough time for a lot of us. Me...I feel a bit down sometimes too, and this New Years I cant be with the one I love....

BUT.....WE woke up this morning! WE get to see the dawning of a new year!

WE are alive.....so even though there seems to be a lot of emotional turmoil over the time, (feeling it myself included) I prefer to focus on the fact that WE have all survived another year and that means WE will all be there for each other in the coming year.

So to all of you.....my brothers in SiN

HAPPY NEW YEAR.......lets make it great together"

So no matter what illness you're dealing with, just know that you're not alone. And when those days of depression creep up on you, and they will, remember you got to wake up today!

For more information on Strength in Numbers please visit your local SIN website....they are listed all over the world as SIN<city name> ie: SINNYC, and here is a website for the organization.

http://www.strengthinnumbers.org/

So WELCOME 2011! We greet you full on, chest held high, ready to see what you hold!

By for now.....

Red