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...
HIV/AIDS
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...
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...
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...
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....
Back to School!
School is back in session, and sexual health should be included among the many things that teenagers and young adults are learning about. But unfortunately, it isn't a priority. The CDC recently reported an increase in Sexually Transmitted Infections, with half...