Blog
Absurd Bleeds Related To Living With Hemophilia
My latest musings on Rare Disease about some of the unforgettable bumps and bruises that have occurred as a result of hemophilia. I really love that there is an illustration for each of the three horror/humor stories! https://raredisease.net/living/absurd-mishaps...
Brain Drain, ADHD And HIV
For a long time one of my biggest fears about living with HIV has been the effects on the brain. Several years ago I leaned into that, which unexpectedly led to a diagnosis of ADHD after some testing. It's understandable how something like Attention Deficit Disorder...
The Back-To-School Special About Disclosure
With school starting up again, I decided to take the opportunity to discuss one of the biggest hurdles for people living with HIV: disclosure. For many years, I never thought I'd even openly discuss HIV. I'm thankful that, when I was ready, I was in a safe space to do...
Dedicated To Garth McMurray
Had a ton of fun writing my recent article for Rare Disease, inspired by the What If series of Marvel comics. https://raredisease.net/living/what-if I'm retroactively dedicating this one to Garth McMurray. Garth was avid comic book fan and artist that we recently...
Some Of My Life Essentials As A HIV Longterm Survivor
There are a lot of factors as to why I'm able to live the life I am today. Part of being a longterm survivor, for me, is gratitude and understanding of the safety nets I had (supportive family, safe roof over my head, etc) growing up. I was fortunate that, by the time...
My Top 5 POZ Magazine Blog Posts of 2022
I have had very active blogging fingers. The last year certainly gave me a lot to write about. Most significantly, the passing of my mom... and her messages to me from beyond the grave (which I'm still, and will always be, receiving). I also gave some flowers to one...
My Rare Disease Journey With Hemophilia
Most of my "medical resume" musings from the patient perspective have been about living with HIV. That's why I am excited to be contributing to RareDisease.Net, where I'll be sharing thoughts on a lifetime of lessons living with a bleeding disorder (Hemophilia A). My...
Traveling During COVID
This month I got on a plane for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic started. In the twenty-four years since we've been together, this is the longest stretch that Gwenn and I have been "grounded". And I was okay with it. Okay with being grounded for a bit. Okay...
A Loving Look Back On Our Wedding Day
It’s been 18 years since Gwenn and I got married. We’ve now spent half our lives together. I’m so thankful for her love and my entire, beautiful journey.
Roadtrip Down Memory Lane
I’ve been curious about trying to find the first home I remember living in. Went to a guy to see if he was interested in joining me: my Dad.
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...
Messages from Mom and the Great Beyond
Our loved ones spirits remain with us and, if you listen closely, I think you can hear them from time to time.
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,...
That’s The Spirit: A Tribute to Fletch (Depeche Mode) and a Love Letter to Music
I had what I thought was the perfect set. Two days before my last show as Synthetic Division I woke up, put on my vintage Depeche Mode t-shirt and headed to the Infectious Disease Clinic for my bi-annual appointment with my HIV doc. I didn't eat before I went, like...
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...
50. Pedro Zamora Would Have Turned 50-Years Old Today.
Today Pedro Zamora would have turned 50. Last December, I blogged about what would have been Ryan White's 50th birthday. I never really knew that they were the same age until now, partly because it seems like people we lose are forever frozen at the age that they...
HIV… What’s Love Got to Do With It? Everything.
Valentine's Day is here again! I remember signing valentine's day cards for my classmates when I was a little dunderhead. Someone's stock would go way up if they got you a comic book character valentine. Or a hard piece of gum that never spoils. Then god knows when...
Is Kanye West Telling Friends That Pete Davidson Has AIDS?
I was all set to chill out and play some video games, and then a gossip site ran a story suggesting that Kanye West is telling people that Pete Davidson has AIDS. I know, that's a lot to take in. Just focus on the someone using AIDS as an attempt at slander. I'll...
Betty White Was, Indeed, A Friend
On New Year's Eve, fans of Betty White mourned the loss of their adopted celebrity grandmother, who was just a few weeks shy of her 100th birthday. People Magazine released a lush magazine in December, celebrating her birthday early and taking advantage of holiday...
25 Years Ago My Life Changed When I Became a POZ Magazine CoverBoy
Read the issue on POZ.com! We have moments- both grand and grim- that are gamechangers in our bumblefuck journeys through this physical plain. For me, a couple of those moments are wrapped snuggly around "my pet virus", or HIV, as most know it. My HIV diagnosis at age...
50. Ryan White Would Have Turned 50 Years Old Today.
Today would have been Ryan White's 50th birthday. As some of you may know, there are some similarities between his story and my own. However, as time goes by that changes. The biggest difference is no longer in how each of us responded to the earliest days of our...
Goodbye Everybody, I’ve Got to Go: 30 Years Since Freddie Mercury Passed to Spirit
I recently blogged about Magic Johnson's announcement thirty years ago that he had contracted HIV. I was a junior in high school, and by the end of the day I'd heard my first Magic AIDS joke. Shockingly, even though Freddie Mercury passed shortly thereafter, I never...
Thirty Years Since Magic Johnson Disclosed His HIV Status
I was a junior in high school. Coming off a sophomore year that had been defined by some drama where HIV was concerned. I'd really fallen in love, and was experiencing my first dose of sexual activity. I didn't disclose my status, but I thought if we were just having...
Why I Lied To Get a Booster Shot
Last month I went into a Costco and received a booster shot for my Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which I received in March. I travelled about two hours for that first shot in March, because information was trickling in slowly with regard to when the vaccine would be...
Once Silent, Now Paying it Backward for Peter Staley’s NEVER SILENT Memoir
Opening up about HIV at age 20 was the best decision I've ever made in my life. After a decade of keeping my status to myself at all cost, what should have been a tough change came quite naturally. All at once, it suddenly felt harder to not talk about HIV. I...
Pretty Sure I Got COVID This Past Summer…
On July 5th I wrote a blog entry about getting sick. I was careful not to assume it was COVID-19. I even took an at home test that came back negative. Admittedly, I didn't take the second test. You see, the kit comes with two and encourages you take both. Guess I...
Seeing Ads for HIV Meds During the Olympics? That’s a Win for Everyone.
I love the Olympics. Despite a crush on Katarina Witt, I didn't really start watching regularly until I was in my 30s. (I'm 46 for context.) It makes sense, because I've always loved games. Games shaped my childhood, my friends and I would make up all kinds of...
My HIV in the 90s Experience, HIV Unmuted
Recently I spoke with The International AIDS Society as part of their HIV Unmuted podcast series. The episode that I am on focuses on the 1990s, you can learn more about the episode and listen to it by going here. Dr. Ho is featured, and you'll also hear from...
Hemophilia: The Neglected of the Neglected Pandemic on VICE
Vice aired a special program called 'HIV: The Neglected Pandemic' to commemorate four decades of HIV/AIDS. Jonathan Van Ness narrated the program, and it was bopping along at a nice pace. But when it got to Ryan White, the boy with hemophilia who did his...