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