The above picture shows doctors, nurses, staff, volunteers and patients from the Positive Health Program. Can you tell who is who? (Hint: I am on the right:-)
This picture was just one of many taken in a photoshoot for a fundraiser for the Positive Health Program. We also had our individual pictures taken and some were placed in a beautiful wooden chest along with our bios and given to patrons.
You notice I am wearing the dark glasses... I completely forgot about them and no one said anything to me. I did the entire shoot with them on. Now I am "paranoid" about having my picture taken while wearing the glasses.
In 1992, my partner, Dan, started getting sick and I was introduced to all the wonderful people at San Francisco General Hospital's AIDS/Oncology Outpatient Clinic, Ward 86 (now known as the Positive Health Program). On November 3, 1993, Dan was told that he had cancer (KS), and, at that moment, I had a major progression with my eye disorder and lost my sight. In less than 1 year, my partner died, I lost the business and the house and found myself homeless, alone, blind, depressed, ready to die. Someone reminded me of Ward 86. I went in and they immediately jumped into action. Within a month, the social workers had me hooked into the services I needed (housing, social security, the Lighthouse for the Blind) and I was receiving treatment for all my ailments. I was reborn thanks to the good people of PHP!
I had the same primary doctor, (Donald Abrams) for 10 years. When he accepted a new position and stopped seeing patients, I was devastated... However, when I met my new doctor, Brad Hare, I fell in love with im... He decided to get me into treatment for my Hep C right away and that is when I met Val Robb, the nurse for the Hepatitis initiative. (Click on the "Resources" link for more info on this.) Brad started a family and left in 2014 to work at Kaiser San Francisco so he would have more time to spend with his children. (He is now Victor's doctor so we still both see him on a regular basis.) Currently, my doctor is Oliver Bacon who I have also fallen in love with...
I truly believe that I am "special" in some way... After all, I am still alive after being diagnosed with AIDS in 1986. Therefore, I participate in many studies that will, I hope, find out what makes me "unique" so as to one day find a cure and/or a vaccine.
Since March 2004, I have been part of a support group for people with both the HIV virus and either the Hepatitis B or C virus. It is a terrific group of people in all stages of life and treatment... I was helped by the group when I went through treatment and love being a volunteer to help others going through the same thing.
Our group helped the OASIS Clinic make a coinfection video... they produced it and we starred in it. The "official" premier of the video, a grand affair with a "red carpet" (butcher paper), was held on December 1, 2006 (World AIDS Day) at Carr Auditorium at San Francisco General Hospital. I was co-emcee for the event. Since its release, the video has been distributed all over the world on DVD and has received "rave" reviews. Click here to watch the co-infection video on YouTube.
There have been other videos made with the OASIS clinic as well. Here is one about Hepatitis C without HIV:Click here to watch the Hepatitis video on YouTube.
In 2009, Dr Hare and I appeared in an advertisement in the San Francisco "Bay Area Reporter" promoting the Positive Health Program and their program to help those people coinfected with both HIV and HCV and/or HBV. Click here to see the ad (PDF file)!
And in January 2011, the University of California did a story on me and Brad on HIV infected individuals who are aging... I kinda feel my part has been exaggerated a bit to fit the narrative of the story, but I really did say all those things... Click here to read the story.
And, the story continues... It was on June 5, 1981 that the first reports of a mysterious illness affecting gay men in Los Angeles -- now referred to as AIDS -- started being reported. For the 30th anniversary, the AIDS Foundation of San Francisco and Hank Plank of CBS5 did a series of special reports, "AIDS At 30 Years -- Past, Present and Future." Here are the video files from the series:
There is also a print article by another reporter which you can read by clicking here.
Click here for a great resource for those with HIV/AIDS and/or hepatitis.
Here are some past issues of Positive Spin, the Positive Health Program's newsletter: