Blog Posts + Articles + Happenings
WT(cell)F? Great Lab Results
I went in for my routine lab work last week. Too lazy to do a contest, I just figured I would land in the circa 600 range that has been the norm for me over the last few years. (Very thankful for those results.) So I was shocked when the results came back... 829...
The New Meaning of “HIV Free”
Remember when "HIV free" simply meant living without the virus in your body? Well, terrible laws and even worse implementation have created a new definition for this term. Now, "HIV Free" means the release of someone who was erroneously sentenced under HIV...
Newspaper Article on My Smalltown HIV History
Gwenn and I recently spoke with Brad from the Staunton News Leader about our experiences as educators, how we approach sex in our relationship and what it was like testing positive for HIV in 1987 in nearby Waynesboro, Virginia. (Staunton is about 10 miles away from...
Let’s Put an HIV Positive Guy on the Cover of Men’s Health
(CLICK HERE- Vote for Vaughn in "Healthiest Lifestyle" category... you can vote once a day! Thanks!)Hey y'all!A short while back, I wrote a blog post about Vaughn Ripley's attempt to be the first person living with HIV and hemophilia to grace the cover of Men's...
Happy Birthday, Sean Strub
May is full of birthdays featuring beloved people in my life. Just this past Monday, I got to see my big brother and celebrate the day of his arrival.. it was 41 years ago that my parents welcomed him on Mother's Day. This Monday, my best friend and partner, Gwenn,...
National Nurses Week
Every day is Day, every week is a Week, and every month is a Month of one type of recognition or another. It's not a bad thing- there are lots of causes that need more attention than they can get. Especially in this great age of great distractions. I miss a lot of...
The 30/30 Project
To donate to The 30/30 Project click here.Ryan Lewis is best known for his work with Macklemore, which has earned him 4 Grammys. Something that not many people know is that his mother, Julie Lewis, has been living with HIV for 30 years. Alongside Julie,...
Ripley’s You Better Believe It
Vaughn Ripley is a man on a mission. With over 30 years of living with HIV under his bike shorts, the avid cyclist, dad and author of Survivor: One Man's Battle With HIV, Hemophilia and Hepatitis C is ready to tackle his next goal: be the first openly HIV positive man...
Help Honor Ryan White’s Legacy- Takes One Minute
Today marks 24 years since Ryan White's passing at the age of 18. Born with hemophilia, Ryan became the adolescent face of the epidemic when he was kicked out of school for having HIV in the mid 1980s. You can learn more about Ryan by reading this Poz article,...
I’ve Been YouTube’d and Called… a “Faygo?”
YouTube is known just as much for its hateful Comments as it is for its cute cat videos. So of course, the first Comment on my Win Tosh's Car video is... well, check it out for yourself. At first glance, it's just a hateful Comment. But upon further investigation, I...
Trying to Win Daniel Tosh’s (Tosh.O) Car
On a recent episode of Tosh.O, Daniel issued a challenge to viewers: prove you are better than he is by doing something incredible. Record it and send it in for a chance to win his car. (A 2011 Subaru Outback with around 25,000 miles on it.) I can never resist the...
Side Effects- To Change Meds or Not To Change?
Overall, I was happy with the results of my latest labwork. My t-cell count was good and my viral load was undetectable. And since last June, when I started on my paired down daily regimen of Prezista (800 mg) and Norvir (100 mg), I've felt pretty good: a lot less of...
Happy Birthday, My Almost Brother
I'm not consistent on Facebook- I don't check in every day, or see updates from people I'm close to. I don't post my every brainfart or rehash the latest celebrity gossip. Often times in real life someone will say something, I'll look clueless, and they'll respond...
Why I Don’t Have Dallas Buyers Remorse
This year, The Academy Awards were once again touched by the hand of the AIDS epidemic. In 2013, AIDS activists rejoiced when How To Survive a Plague was nominated for Best Documentary. A decade before, Nicole Kidman won for Best Actress in 2003's The Hours... and a...
Labtest Contest X: Win Body Counts By Sean Strub
BE SURE TO VOTE AT POZ.COM ON SHAWN'S BLOG THERE! HERE! The Labtest Contest is back! And the grand prize has never been better- guess closest to my t-cell count and win a signed copy of Sean Strub's incredible new book, Body Counts! The rules are posted below... be...
A Boy, A Virus and the Education of a Community
Recently I was contacted by Brian Bridgeforth, a fellow Waynesboro, VA native and the little brother of a longtime classmate and friend, Patti. (I believe Patti and I met in Kindergarten in 1980, and graduated together in 1993.) Brian works for the Waynesboro Heritage...
Body Counts by Sean Strub
Sean Strub's memoir, Body Counts, hit stores yesterday, and Gwenn and I were fortunate enough to get to our local bookstore just in time to nab the last three copies: one for us, one for my mom (who is a huge fan) and one for a future Labtest Contest prize. But, don't...
HIV “Cure” in Miracle Water
The word "cure" is getting thrown around a lot these days. There is a lot of promising research taking place and I am in hopeful place that in a decade's time (give or take) I'll be living a life free of HIV... or, at the very least, a life free of the daily routine...
Operation AIDS Elves
So I'm somewhat remiss in not posting a blog entry on World AIDS Day. Which got me to thinkin'- how can we extend the magic that is World AIDS Day deeper into the holiday season? And that's how Operation AIDS Elves was born. It's a simple, fun way to spread some...
The War on Blowjobs & Ken “The Cooch” Cuccinelli
This Tuesday (tomorrow) my home state of Virginia is hosting an intriguing race for Governor, pitting the sitting Attorney General, Ken "The Cooch" Cuccinelli against Terry McAuliffe. I'm voting for McAuliffe. To be honest, The Cooch scares the hell out of me. He is...
20-Year High School Reunion
A week and a half ago I attended my 20-Year High School Reunion. In the months leading up, I had the same feeling most people do in regard to these kinds of affairs: did I really want to go? Would it be more fun than awkward? Thankfully, one of my longtime friends...
Surviving Bleeding Disorders and HIV
This month I wrote an article for Poz.com about what it was like for three young men, who were born in the 1980s with a bleeding disorder. Mark tested positive at an early age and wasn't expected to survive childhood- he is now the proud father of twins. Nick was born...
False HIV Rumors About Miley Cyrus
Wednesday night a group of bottomfeeders from 4chan launched a cowardly, anonymous online campaign entitled "Cure For Miley". The goal? Presumably it's either to trick people into thinking the singer is HIV positive- Oh my God, how awful for her reputation, what an...
GREAT Results on Hepatitis B Labwork
My lab results came back today on my hepatitis B Viral Load follow-up tests... and, it's gone down. Considerably. From 100,000 copies at four weeks ago to less than 20 copies. I couldn't be more thrilled about this development. This means I won't have to add Truvada...
B Patient (Posted September 25)
Forgot to cross post this entry from last week... September 25, 2013 In August I had a pretty hefty dose of concentrated blood plasma to treat a hemorrhage. My childhood was filled with these kinds of episodes, but not since I was a kid had I been exposed to such a...
Adventures in HIV Medication Part 2: The Lab Results
I posted a blog entry in late July about my decision to switch from week on/week off treatment of HIV to a continuous regimen that consisted of a lower dose of HIV medication. Well, this week I got my 6-weeks-in lab results and....There's good news and bad news.The...
Tommy Morrison and HIV Denialism
Last Sunday, Tommy Morrison passed to spirit. I don't have firsthand information on the whys and hows, but I did read an article that said the cause was an infection that occurred when he had pectoral implants removed last year. His promoter, wife and even he himself...
Support the Ryan White Care Act
Last month I did a video for AIDS Healthcare Foundation about PEPFAR. This month I was once again excited by the topic they presented- the need for continued funding of the Ryan White CARE Act. Learn more about it by watching the video above. For your convenience,...
Post-Show Attack of the Hemophilia!
Me with Andy, Tony and Gopal of Bella Morte moments after the show (photo by Angel Miranda) At the Infusion Center at UVA, about a week after the show. (photo by Gwenn) So the big show on August 3 with my friends went well... very well! It was unbelievable how...
Never Forgetting Sean Sasser, 1968-2013
Sean Sasser, whom many of us were introduced to through our televisions in 1994 via The Real World, has passed to spirit at the age of 44. My heart goes out to his friends, family and partner, Michael Kaplan. Sean was one of my heroes. When The Real World: San...