What percent of those with aids are gay? If it is high then we don't need an awareness program, but a "change sexual activity program"
David Thompson never thought he would live to see 40.
For six years, he waited for what he considered his imminent death after being diagnosed with HIV in Chicago in 1989. The news was shocking for Mr. Thompson, who was infected after an unprotected sexual encounter.
"I was in denial," he said. "At that point, it was like doctors were just waiting for us to die."
Almost 20 years since he contracted HIV, Mr. Thompson, 43, now realizes that his diagnosis was not a death sentence, and he works to inform others about the importance of knowing their status -- not only today, World AIDS Day, but every day of the year.
He tests individuals for HIV at the Medical College of Georgia Hospital and sees daily that anyone can get infected, he said.
"The one thing all the people I see have in common is they're human," he said. "You get tested for cholesterol; you get tested for colon cancer; and you should get tested for HIV."
The native of Farmville, Va., said that in the mid-1980s he got tested annually because he was a part of a high-risk group: gay men. Once he tested positive for HIV, Mr. Thompson said, he did not consider treatment a priority.
"I figured I would just deal with it until it made me sick," Mr. Thompson said. "At that time, there wasn't much they could do."
He did not mention his diagnosis to anyone for several years, he said. He moved back to his hometown in the early 1990s. By 1995, he had decided to seek treatment.
"I was bruising easily, so I thought it might be related to the HIV," he said. "The doctor told me that my body was trying to fight the virus and it was destroying my platelets."
His doctor immediately put Mr. Thompson on a three-medication cocktail. Slowly, he said, he started to see that a fulfilling life was possible.
A sales job brought Mr. Thompson to Augusta in 1998. He had already been speaking to schools and other groups and saw a need to raise awareness in Augusta.
"It was like it was the '80s," he said. "It was something that no one wanted to talk about."
Community groups and schools invited Mr. Thompson to speak. In 2001, the Medical College of Georgia Hospital asked him to take part in the Ryan White Outreach Program team. He works as an advocate for newly diagnosed HIV patients and conducts testing.
Mr. Thompson said he believes that if the stigma leaves AIDS and HIV more people will get tested.
"People are still talking about HIV being the gay disease," he said. "The people who are diagnosed are not one common group. They are people in their 60s and 70s, people who haven't had sex in 15 years."
When Mr. Thompson is not educating people about HIV and AIDS, he is spending his free time with his partner of six years or renovating his home. He said he plans to spend this week testing people across Augusta.
"If you're negative, we want you to know that for sure," he said. "If you're positive, we want you to live well and teach you how to protect yourself and others."
Reach Stephanie Toone at (706) 823-3215 or stephanie.toone@augustachronicle.com.
WORLD AIDS DAY EVENTS
For more information on any event, contact Avis Smiley Harris at asharris@mcg.edu or Sandra Wimberly at (706) 667-4342.
Awareness Ceremony
WHEN: Noon today
WHERE: St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 605 Reynolds St.
WORLD AIDS DAY WALK
When: 6 tonight
Where: Paine College, 1235 15th St.
FREE HIV TESTING
WHEN: 10 a.m. to noon and 1-3 p.m. Tuesday
WHERE: South Augusta Health Department, 2520 Windsor Spring Road
GIRLS NIGHT OUT
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday
WHERE: Macedonia Baptist Church, 1829 Wrightsboro Road
HEAR THE POSITIVE TRUTH, SPOKEN WORD
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: Soultry Sounds Cafe, 1035 Ellis St.
WORLD AIDS DAY INFORMATION BOOTH
WHEN: 4 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Augusta Common, 836 Reynolds St.
RED RIBBON BALL
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Marion Hatcher Center, 519 Greene St.
COST: $25
NOTE: The cost of the ticket is tax deductible.
WORLD AIDS DAY PICNIC
WHEN: Noon Saturday
WHERE: Lake Olmstead, 2200 Broad St.
AIDS DAY WORSHIP SERVICE
WHEN: 11 a.m. Sunday
WHERE: St. Mark United Methodist Church, 1296 Marks Church Road
NOTE: All events are free except where specified.
OUTREACH
For more information about the Ryan White Outreach Program, visit www.csrasafetynet.org.
Comments
What percent of those with aids are gay? If it is high then we don't need an awareness program, but a "change sexual activity program"
HIV/AIDS is not just a gay disease. It effects anyone having uprotected sex. The best way to prevent HIV/AIDS is to not have sex. Since that is unrealistic in our society, the next best way to drastically reduce the chances of getting it is by using condoms. It is obvious that condom usage has not really increased, as the number of unintended pregnancies hasn't declined. The awareness program is a good idea because it teaches all people who have sex about protecting themselves. To say that there should be a "change sexual activity program" as soldout suggests doesn't stop the epidemic because the disease is passed by all forms of sex. One of the fastest growing groups of HIV+ individuals is the heterosexual black female. With that said, every man should be alarmed, get tested, and insist that his lady get tested as well. This is not a gay men-only disease. Society can learn a thing or two from the military, as our armed forces personnel are trained on transmission of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, and are tested for the disease yearly.
I hardly ever post on the Augusta Chronicle as there are some very ignorant people on here, but it is very obvious that sold out is one of the most ignorant of them all if you think gay people are the only ones to get AIDS. You are one very sad individual and you obviously don't think before you speak. God bless Mr. Thompson for speaking out and trying to educate people on this deadly disease. Sold out, I'll say a prayer for you as well as you obviously need it!
The number in question is less than half. IIRC correctly, there are about 1 million HIV+ people in the US and 40-45% are gay males. The remainder are infected by heterosexual contact, particularly in AA or Hispanic communities. IV drug use is still a measurable proportion of the population but it's not major. Moreover, there are arguably 10-15 million gay people in the US which means that less than 5% are HIV+.
So the main source of this disease appears to be sin in some form. Looks like if you remove the sin you get a huge reduction in the disease. No; we can't expect everyone not to engage in sexual sin but to not expect conseguences because of sin and call the sin okay seems foolish to me.
By the way, am I the only one that doesn't call people names and attack them when they express their view.
I am not one to usually criticize someone, but I do believe that constructive criticism is a good thing. With that in mind, I believe the real sin here is that soldout is putting his/her thoughts in writing.
i think the title of this article and content is misleading in some ways. maybe being hiv positive isn't initially a death sentence but eventually it will cause aids and in turn the diseases that are a result of aids cause death. to me this gives people a false sense of security in that maybe they don't have to use protection because someone said that "hiv positive is not a death sentence". u know some ignoramous is going to not use protection because of this article. u never know how a disease is going to affect u as an individual, it doesn't necessarily act the same or give each one of us the same quality and length of life.
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