Yesterday, I received a letter of thanks from someone I won't identify, here. Though many who read what I write, here, may know him; what he says is directly relevant to anyone who gives of themselves to support agencies and facilities in the fight against AIDS and HIV. I can add nothing to what he says; thus, I cede my space to this man to share what he has to say...
Hello
Some of you have been getting emails from me intermittently for the last decade; some are more recent recipients. All of you are aware of my battle with HIV/AIDS.
On October 28th of this year, I celebrate a special anniversary. It will be 20 years ago to the day I sat in Whitman-Walker clinic in Washington, D.C. and Dr. Graham Beard and Dr. Henry Wray forever changed my life; they told me I was HIV+. I was a senior in college, bartending at the local college watering hole, dating a nice Jewish girl from Chicago and sleeping with my first boyfriend, a med student from [redacted for privacy].
Some of you are aware, at my low point, Christmas of 2005, I survived fungal meningitis, but not without physical cost. My T-Cell count was 2. 1-2. Several of you more sensitive folk held a naming contest for the 2 of them. Ever since then, I have worked with some of the top doctors in the world that specialize in patients who long term survivors with low t-cell counts. It has been a long, hard road over these last years, and I am thrilled to tell you I was told today my TCell count is 211, the highest it has ever been and my viral load is undetectable. As an added bonus, my uric acid is under control, and I have not had a gout flare up in 9 months... I have put away my Gouty the Clown red nose and shoes.
Why am I telling you this? Is it to tell you how happy I am that things are looking up? You bet. But there is another reason. Many of you reading this have served on Boards of HIV/AIDS organizations across the country; volunteered hundreds if not thousands of man hours to help those affected by HIV/AIDS, and have written so many checks for AIDSRiders, AIDSWalkers, AEF, GMHC you drained the ink in your pens and some of your savings... sometimes you might wonder... to what end?
Read my note above. I am walking, living, thriving proof that all your efforts count; they matter. The drugs that raise my TCell that cost millions of dollars to develop, the services available in San Francisco, and all across the country, that support those affected by HIV/AIDS, my ability to co-exist in this community...you had a part in it. And for your full circle moment, this allows me to work diligently for [redacted for privacy], be of service to the recovery community here in SF, and try as best as possible to be available as a friend and family member.
So I guess this is a long-winded Thank You note.
So, thank you.... what more can I say?
See you soon (it feels great to write that)
Some of you have been getting emails from me intermittently for the last decade; some are more recent recipients. All of you are aware of my battle with HIV/AIDS.
On October 28th of this year, I celebrate a special anniversary. It will be 20 years ago to the day I sat in Whitman-Walker clinic in Washington, D.C. and Dr. Graham Beard and Dr. Henry Wray forever changed my life; they told me I was HIV+. I was a senior in college, bartending at the local college watering hole, dating a nice Jewish girl from Chicago and sleeping with my first boyfriend, a med student from [redacted for privacy].
Some of you are aware, at my low point, Christmas of 2005, I survived fungal meningitis, but not without physical cost. My T-Cell count was 2. 1-2. Several of you more sensitive folk held a naming contest for the 2 of them. Ever since then, I have worked with some of the top doctors in the world that specialize in patients who long term survivors with low t-cell counts. It has been a long, hard road over these last years, and I am thrilled to tell you I was told today my TCell count is 211, the highest it has ever been and my viral load is undetectable. As an added bonus, my uric acid is under control, and I have not had a gout flare up in 9 months... I have put away my Gouty the Clown red nose and shoes.
Why am I telling you this? Is it to tell you how happy I am that things are looking up? You bet. But there is another reason. Many of you reading this have served on Boards of HIV/AIDS organizations across the country; volunteered hundreds if not thousands of man hours to help those affected by HIV/AIDS, and have written so many checks for AIDSRiders, AIDSWalkers, AEF, GMHC you drained the ink in your pens and some of your savings... sometimes you might wonder... to what end?
Read my note above. I am walking, living, thriving proof that all your efforts count; they matter. The drugs that raise my TCell that cost millions of dollars to develop, the services available in San Francisco, and all across the country, that support those affected by HIV/AIDS, my ability to co-exist in this community...you had a part in it. And for your full circle moment, this allows me to work diligently for [redacted for privacy], be of service to the recovery community here in SF, and try as best as possible to be available as a friend and family member.
So I guess this is a long-winded Thank You note.
So, thank you.... what more can I say?
See you soon (it feels great to write that)
------------------
I can add nothing to what this man has to say...
Onward, all...
Kile
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