Shawn Decker

Long-Term Survivin’ and Thrivin’

Long-Term Survivin’ and Thrivin’

Mark S. King caught up with Tez Anderson, founder of Let’s Kick ASS (AIDS Survival Syndrome), at the International AIDS Conference in Montreal and it’s a conversation worth reading. Any longterm survivor can relate to the wear and tear of HIV and the side effects that...

Goodbye For Now, Mom (Pam Decker 1950-2022)

Goodbye For Now, Mom (Pam Decker 1950-2022)

On the last day of June my mom continued her sleep, no longer bound by a body that had betrayed her. Her pain, in every way this life can deliver it, is over. Your work here is done, Mom. Thank you for your love and for fighting for me… See you again on the other...

The Importance of HIV/STD Testing

A lot of times when people delay getting tested for HIV and STDs, it is because of the stigma. Or simply not wanting to know the actual answer to a question that your brain cannot seem to turn off. But the reasons for knowing your status should trump your fears,...

March 26, 1987: My Diagnosis Date With Destiny

March 26, 1987: My Diagnosis Date With Destiny

When I tested positive for HIV at age 11 I'd already lived my "kid life", as I call it, around medical conditions. I had a good decade without this virus, a stable home and the bleeding disorder, hemophilia, that I'd been born with didn't prevent me from playing farm...