Who knows someone living with AIDS or HIV?

On World AIDS day, it seems like an appropriate question. It almost seems to be a "forgotten" problem sometimes. I (thankfully) don't have any friends or family members who've been diagnosed with it.

but no one that i know has told me that they do.

I had a friend die from AIDS

and your response prompted me to add a category to the poll.

mostly back in the mid 80s, when the only word for it was "holocaust."

I know two former co workers who are living with it.

Because they dropped by our office frequently, I got to know a few of them. Some were infected, some died before the newer treatments were discovered.

I had to pressure my boss into getting the test because he was slowly going nuts with fear. He did and, thankfully, came up negative.

anyone right now who has AIDS/HIV.

Thankfully he's doing well, but he has had some ups and downs over the years. Recently he started on a new combination of meds, and after 3 months his viral load has gone down and his T cell count is up, all very good news. :)

The medications are so far keeping him from getting full-blown AIDs.

more than one person who has passed on from HIV/AIDS. One was a child victim who got the virus from a blood transfusion as a toddler. Tragic.

His father (my uncle) also had AIDS but he killed himself 5 weeks ago. In a way I think you could say he died from AIDS related complications.

and a few other friends.

At least think you don't know that you know anyone with HIV or AIDS. I hope that is the case, but don't hold your breath.

I won't pry, but I hope medication is an option for you and that you re with us for a hell of a long time!

I have always been one to buck the system and prove everyone wrong. I plan on doing it this time also.

No one that I KNOW of.

Diagnosed sometime in the early 90s; I learned about it in a letter sometime after the fact. Seroconverted in '98. Still at work, still going strong.

on second thought: One of my college professors died of AIDS. I didn't think of him right off the bat, so I wouldn't count it as losing someone.

He is on the cocktail and doing fine. Two former lovers of his, both of who were friends as well, have died, one in the mid-80s, one about five years ago. The second only believed in homeopathic medicines.

One and four are not mutually exclusive---makes the poll hard to answer

friends to AIDS. I've lost a classmate and more than one neighbor.

It has been truly a horror that I will never get over.

:( I grew up with him. He was my next door neighbor when I was in High School and one of the sweetest people I knew.

My B-I-L had Leukemia 30 years ago and this was the 1 brother out of 6 whose bone marrow was a perfect match. Donald was the guy who saved my sister's husband. He's still alive and cured....thanks to Donald. I'll never forget him and I miss him...always will.

Know someone quite close with the virus and have lost someone quite close to the condition.

He has never developed full-blown AIDS yet. He's always taken the most recent drugs (legal and not) to help keep his T-count up.

I had several friends die of AIDS in the late 80s, early 90s, including a friend's sister, who contracted it from her husband. He had cheated on her with another woman, and gave it to his wife. Left three little kids orphaned, as he died shortly after of AIDS complications as well. Very sad.

one currently that is HIV positive, and his partner that has AIDS. Heart breaking stories all.

Regards,

Mugu

I don't even know anyone who knows anyone that has either. I guess that's a good thing.

I just had a friend who was recently (three weeks ago) diagnosed with HIV. I have lost too many friends. The constant loss was the big reason I stopped working directly with AIDS patients and chose to go the education route.

Aunt is in quotes because, even though she and my uncle lived together for 20 years, they never actually married. She contracted the disease in 1982, was a confirmed carrier in 1985, and yet didn't show any symptoms until 2000. She started taking large amounts of drugs to fight it, but passed away in October 2004.

It's certainly not a problem I forget about.

So far so good. No major illnesses or hospitalizations. I've had some close friends die of the disease and still have plenty of friends who are also HIV+ and continue to live vibrant and healthy lives. Some are on meds...some aren't. I actually do not have to take any drug regimen at this time. The virus almost seems to be in some sort of time warp within me and hasn't caused any problems. (Hasn't replicated much without the use of the anti-virals.) It's a mystery to me and my doc but Mom and Dad say it's their prayers. :) I swear 14 yrs ago I never thought I'd still be here. But here I am. I still weep for those who have passed and maybe even feel a little guilty for still being healthy and alive; while so many have died. But one thing I learned is that HIV is not the be all and end all of who I am. It's just a very small part and I still have plenty of living to do. Kudos to the one who started this thread.!! :grouphug:

I have a co-worker who is able to trace his HIV infection back to 1981. Although he at one point had an AIDS diagnosis, he never has taken any HIV meds. He's considered a "Long Term Survivor".

...or I'd ask you to add both "I've lost more than one person to AIDS," and "I've lost ten or more people to AIDS."

P.S. to the folks who say they don't know anyone with HIV or AIDS: You do, but you just don't know it. Yet.

And I still have friends living with AIDS. Unfortunately, the black community has suffered greatly from this disease.

The biggest obstacle for us in education has been getting our information into the churches. There's still the stigma that this is only a gay disease.

By some strange fluke, I think I've known almost as many straight women who've died from AIDS as gay men, even though I'm pretty active in the queer community. I have many friends who are living with the diagnosis.