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...
HIV/AIDS
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,...
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...
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...
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...