This World Hemophilia Day I thought it would be fun to share some whimsical blood-lettings of days past... having four-and-a-half decades of life with hemophilia under my belt, I've certainly seen my fair share of my own plasma. So without further ado,...
Blog
Do The Ryan White Thing (1998 Positoid Column, POZ Magazine)
The following is a Positoid column I wrote when I was 22, published in the January 1998 issue of the magazine. I'll catch you on the other side to explain how Ryan had one more surprise in store for me... Lying on my bed last night, scarfing cookies and...
A Telling Moment- Do I Feel TOO Safe?
Picture it: it's eight days after my Johnson & Johnson vaccination. I walk into a coffee shop on St. Patrick's Day. My friend who works there is wearing a festive green hat. Irish folk music plays in the background. As I notice how extra covered up my friend is,...
I’m Vaxx’d. Great! Now What?
On Monday afternoon I got the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. We drove about two hours to get it, because information in Charlottesville (where I live) was slow to come by in terms of when I'd have the opportunity to get vaccinated. It may be because...
Condoms: A Love Story For International Condom Day
You never forget seeing your first condom. I was probably 10. One day at my grandparent's swimming pool, one of the older boys down the street, a rebel who claimed "Rowdy" Roddy Piper as his favorite wrestler, pulled me aside. "Know what this is?" "A balloon?" I...
Rush Limbaugh and His AIDS Update
In 1990, then 40-year old Rush Limbaugh aired a short-lived segment on his radio show called "The AIDS Update." He'd make wisecracks about the epidemic while songs like “Kiss Him Goodbye" and “Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places” played. He'd later claim...
The POZ/Beatles Connection: An Interview With Sean Strub on the Anniversary of John Lennon’s Passing
Tuesday, December 8 marks forty years since John Lennon's murder at the age of 40. In the frantic moments that immediately followed the tragedy, Sean Strub was among the first people on the scene. He was 22 at the time and five years removed from an HIV diagnosis,...
Is The Additional Tax of Aging With HIV Coming Due?
Growing up in Waynesboro, Virginia, I often saw how the threshold of the age of 40 is met: with dread. Lots of jokes about having one foot in the grave. Uncles and aunts complaining of new aches and pains, bemoaning the fact that they have gotten older... truthfully,...
Record High CD4 Count Related to COVID-19?
The last five years or so, my average t-cell count has been around 600. In January, before the Covid-19 lockdown, my count was 635. I'm more than thrilled with that because, paired with my consistently undetectable viral load, it's a sign that my...
Anyone Else Missing More Doses of HIV Meds?
Since I started taking HIV medications in 1999, I've been very good at not missing any doses. Even during my extended period of week on/week off (2003-ish to 2013-ish), I was diligent about remembering which day was the start day for another week of pills....